Automation rules¶

Automation rules allow the execution of one or more predefined actions in response to a specific trigger, e.g., create an activity when a field is set to a specific value, or archive a record 7 days after its last update.

When creating an automation rule, domain filters allow you to add conditions that must be met for the automation rule to run, e.g., the opportunity must be assigned to a specific salesperson, or the state of the record must not be Draft.

Automation rules are provided by the Automation Rules module (base_automation). If the menu described below is not available, go to the Apps app, remove the Apps filter from the search bar, search for Automation Rules, and click Activate.

Note

Managing automation rules requires developer mode and the Administration / Settings access rights.

To create an automation rule, proceed as follows:

With developer mode activated, go to Settings ‣ Technical ‣ Automation ‣ Automation Rules, then click New.
Select the Model the automation rule applies to, e.g., Sales Order.
Give the automation rule a clear, meaningful name that identifies its purpose.
Select the trigger and, if necessary, fill in the fields that appear on the screen based on the chosen trigger.
Click Add an action, then select the Type of action and fill in the fields that appear on the screen based on your selected action.
Save the automation rule.

screenshot: general-automation-rules-form

menu: Settings ‣ Technical ‣ Automation ‣ Automation Rules ‣ New
shows: Automation rule form: name, Model, Trigger and Delay fields, "Actions To Do" tab with one action line and the "Add an action" button, "Notes" tab.
highlight: The Trigger field and the "Add an action" button.
data: Rule "Follow up unhappy customers" on model Sales Order, trigger "After creation", delay 3 months.
module: base_automation
notes: English UI, developer mode active, 1440px width, crop to the form sheet.

Example

To ensure follow-up on less satisfied clients, this automation rule creates an activity 3 months after a sales order is created for clients with a satisfaction percentage lower than 30%.

screenshot: general-automation-rules-example-activity-conditions

menu: Settings ‣ Technical ‣ Automation ‣ Automation Rules
shows: Automation rule on the Sales Order model with trigger "After creation", delay 3 months, an extra condition on the customer satisfaction field lower than 30%, and a "Create Activity" action in the "Actions To Do" tab.
highlight: The Trigger/Delay block and the extra condition.
data: Rule "Follow up unhappy customers"; activity type "To-Do".
module: base_automation, sale
notes: English UI, developer mode active, crop to the form sheet.

Tip

Use the Notes tab to document the purpose and functioning of automation rules. This makes rules easier to maintain and facilitates collaboration between users.
The model targeted by the automation rule is set in the Model field of the automation rule form.
Automation rules can be created from any kanban stage by clicking the (Settings) icon that appears when hovering over the kanban stage name, then selecting Automations. In this case, the Trigger is set to Stage is set to by default, but it can be changed if necessary.

screenshot: general-automation-rules-kanban-stage
menu
Project ‣ (any project) kanban view
shows
Kanban stage header with the gear (Settings) dropdown open, showing the "Automations" entry.
highlight
The "Automations" dropdown entry.
data
Demo project "Office Design", stage "In Progress".
module
base_automation, project
notes
English UI, crop to the stage column header and dropdown.

Trigger¶

The Trigger is used to define what kind of event needs to occur for the automation rule to run. The available triggers depend on the model. Five trigger categories are available overall:

Values Updated
Email Events
Timing Conditions
Custom
External

Adding conditions¶

Domain filters allow you to determine the records an automation rule should target or exclude. Efficient filtering enhances overall performance as it avoids unnecessary processing on records that are not impacted by the rule.

Tip

Activate developer mode before creating an automation rule to have the most flexibility in adding domain filters.

Depending on the trigger chosen, it is possible to define one or more conditions a record must meet before and/or after a trigger occurs.

The Before Update Domain defines the conditions a record must meet before the trigger event occurs, e.g., the record must have Type = Customer Invoice and Status = Posted.

With developer mode activated, click Edit Domain, if available, then New Rule.
Extra Conditions, or in some cases Apply on filters, define the conditions a record must meet after the trigger event occurs, e.g., the customer invoice must have Payment Status = Partially Paid.

With developer mode activated if needed, click Add conditions or Edit Domain, as relevant, then New Rule.

When a trigger occurs, e.g., the payment status of a posted customer invoice is updated, the automation rule checks the defined conditions and only executes the action if the record matches those conditions.

Example

If the automated action should be executed when an email address is set for the first time (in contrast to modifying an email address) on an existing contact that is an individual rather than a company, use Email is not set and Is a Company is not set as the Before Update Domain and Email is set as the Apply on domain.

screenshot: general-automation-rules-before-update-domain

menu: Settings ‣ Technical ‣ Automation ‣ Automation Rules
shows: Automation rule on the Contact model with trigger "On save"; Before Update Domain "Email is not set" and "Is a Company is not set"; Apply on domain "Email is set".
highlight: The Before Update Domain and Apply on fields.
data: Rule "Welcome new individual contacts".
module: base_automation, contacts
notes: English UI, developer mode active, crop to the trigger section.

Note

The Before Update Domain is not checked upon the creation of a record.

Values Updated¶

Trigger automated actions when specific changes happen in the database. The triggers available in this category depend on the model and are based on common changes, such as adding a specific tag (e.g., to a task) or setting a field’s value (e.g., setting the User field).

Select the trigger, then select a value if required.

Email Events¶

Trigger automated actions upon receiving or sending emails:

On incoming message: when a message is received on the record.
On outgoing message: when a message is sent from the record.

These triggers are only available for models that have a chatter.

Timing Conditions¶

Trigger automated actions at a point in time relative to a date field or to the creation or update of a record. The following triggers are available:

Based on date field: The action is triggered a defined period of time before or after the date of the selected date field.
After creation: The action is triggered a defined period of time after a record is created and saved.
After last update: The action is triggered a defined period of time after an existing record is edited and saved.

You can then define:

a Delay: Specify the number of minutes, hours, days, or months. To have an action executed before the trigger date, specify a negative number. If you selected the Based on date field trigger, you must also select the date field to be used to determine the delay.

Note
By default, the scheduler checks for time-triggered automation rules every 240 minutes, or 4 hours. This frequency is generally sufficient for delays such as 3 months after the order date or 7 days after the last update.

For delays of less than the equivalent of 2400 minutes, or 40 hours, the system recalculates the frequency of this check to ensure that more granular delays, e.g., 1 hour before the event start date and time, or 30 minutes after creation, can be respected as closely as possible.

An on-screen message indicates the possible delay after the scheduled triggering of the rule.

screenshot: general-automation-rules-trigger-delay-message
menu
Settings ‣ Technical ‣ Automation ‣ Automation Rules
shows
Timing trigger with a delay and the grey information message below it about the possible delay after the scheduled execution of the rule.
highlight
The information message.
module
base_automation
notes
English UI, crop to the trigger/delay block.
To view or manually edit the frequency of the scheduler, with developer mode activated, go to Settings ‣ Technical ‣ Scheduled Actions to see all scheduled actions for your database.

Enter Automation in the search bar, then, in the list of results, click Automation Rules: check and execute. If desired, update the value of the Execute Every field. Click Run Manually at any time to manually trigger this scheduled action.
Extra Conditions: Click Add condition, then specify the conditions to be met for the automation rule to run. Click New Rule to add another condition.

The action is executed when the delay is reached and the conditions are met.

Example

To send a reminder email 30 minutes before the start of a calendar event, select Start (Calendar Event) as the date field for the Trigger and set the Delay to -30 Minutes.

screenshot: general-automation-rules-timing-trigger

menu: Settings ‣ Technical ‣ Automation ‣ Automation Rules
shows: Automation rule on the Calendar Event model with trigger "Based on date field", Delay "-30 Minutes" and trigger date "Start".
highlight: The Trigger, Delay and date field.
data: Rule "Meeting reminder".
module: base_automation, calendar
notes: English UI, crop to the trigger section.

Custom¶

Trigger automated actions:

On save: when a record is saved.
On deletion: when a record is deleted.
On archived / On unarchived: when a record is archived or restored, for models that can be archived.
On UI change: when a field’s value is changed on the Form view, even before the record is saved.

For the On save and On UI change triggers, you must then select the field(s) to be used to trigger the automation rule in the When updating field.

Warning

If no field is selected in the When updating field, the automated action may be executed multiple times per record.

Optionally, you can also define additional conditions to be met to trigger the automation rule in the Apply on field.

Example

To trigger an automated action upon the creation of a record, e.g., when a new contact is created, select the On save trigger and use ID is not set as the Before Update Domain and ID is set as the Apply on domain. Make sure the correct field is selected in the When updating field.

When a new contact is saved, it is automatically assigned a database ID, thereby triggering the automation rule.

screenshot: general-automation-rules-on-save-creation

menu: Settings ‣ Technical ‣ Automation ‣ Automation Rules
shows: Automation rule on the Contact model with trigger "On save", Before Update Domain "ID is not set", Apply on "ID is set" and the "When updating" field filled.
highlight: The two domains and the "When updating" field.
module: base_automation, contacts
notes: English UI, developer mode active, crop to the trigger section.

Note

The On UI change trigger can only be used with the Execute Code action and only works when a modification is made manually. The action is not executed if the field is changed through another automation rule.

External¶

Trigger automated actions based on a specific event in an external system or application using a webhook.

After the webhook is configured in Odoo, where the webhook’s URL is generated and the target record defined, it needs to be implemented in the external system.

Warning

It is highly recommended to consult with a developer, solution architect, or another technical role when deciding to use webhooks and throughout the implementation process. If not properly configured, webhooks may disrupt the Odoo database and can take time to revert.

screenshot: general-automation-rules-webhook-trigger

menu: Settings ‣ Technical ‣ Automation ‣ Automation Rules
shows: Automation rule with trigger "On webhook": the generated webhook URL with copy button, the "Target Record" field, the "Log Calls" option and an "Update Record" action.
highlight: The webhook URL field.
module: base_automation
notes: English UI, developer mode active; blur the UUID part of the URL.

Note

It is also possible to set up an automated action that sends data to a external system’s webhook when an event occurs in your Odoo database.

Actions¶

Once you have defined the automation rule’s trigger, click Add an action in the Actions To Do tab to define the action to be executed.

Tip

You can define multiple actions for the same automation rule. By default, actions are executed in the order in which they were defined.

This means, for example, that if you define an Update record action and then a Send email action where the email references the field that was updated, the email uses the updated values. However, if the Send email action is defined before the Update record action, the email uses the values set before the record is updated.

To change the order of defined actions, click the (drag handle) icon beside an action and drag it to the desired position.

Update Record¶

This action updates one of the record’s (related) fields. Click the Update field and, in the list that opens, select or search for the field to be updated. If needed, click the (right arrow) next to the field name to access the list of related fields.

If you selected a many2many field, choose whether the field must be updated by Adding, Removing, or Setting it to the selected value or by Clearing it.

Example

If you want the automated action to remove a tag from the customer record, set the Update field to Customer > Tags, select by Removing, then select the tag.

screenshot: general-automation-rules-update-record-tags

menu: Settings ‣ Technical ‣ Automation ‣ Automation Rules ‣ Add an action
shows: Action dialog with Type "Update Record", Update field "Customer > Tags", "by Removing" selected and one tag chosen.
highlight: The Update field and the by Adding/Removing/Setting it to/Clearing it choice.
module: base_automation
notes: English UI, crop to the dialog.

Tip

Alternatively, you can also set a record’s field dynamically using Python code. To do so, select Compute instead of Update, then enter the code to be used for computing the field’s value. For example, if you want the automation rule to compute a custom datetime field when a task’s priority is set to High (by starring the task), you can define the trigger Priority is set to to High and define the Update Record action as follows:

screenshot: general-automation-rules-update-record-compute

menu: Settings ‣ Technical ‣ Automation ‣ Automation Rules ‣ Add an action
shows: Action dialog with Type "Update Record", "Compute" selected instead of "Update", a custom datetime field of the Task model and a short Python expression.
highlight: The Compute toggle and the expression.
module: base_automation, project
notes: English UI, developer mode active, crop to the dialog.

Create Activity¶

This action is used to schedule a new activity linked to the record. Select an Activity Type, enter a Title and description, then specify when you want the activity to be scheduled in the Due Date In field, and select a User type:

To always assign the activity to the same user, select Specific User, then add the user in the Responsible field;
To target a user linked to the record dynamically, select Dynamic User (based on record) and change the User Field if necessary.

Example

After a lead is turned into an opportunity, you want the automated action to set up a call for the user responsible for the lead. To do so, set the Activity Type to Call and the User Type to Dynamic User (based on record).

screenshot: general-automation-rules-create-activity

menu: Settings ‣ Technical ‣ Automation ‣ Automation Rules ‣ Add an action
shows: Action dialog with Type "Create Activity", Activity Type "Call", User Type "Dynamic User (based on record)" and User Field "Salesperson".
highlight: The Activity Type and User Type fields.
module: base_automation, mail, crm
notes: English UI, crop to the dialog.

Send Email and Send SMS¶

These actions are used to send an email or a text message to a contact linked to a specific record. To do so, select or create an Email Template or an SMS Template, then, in the Send Email As or Send SMS As field, choose how you want to send the email or text message:

Email: to send the message as an email to the recipients of the Email Template.
Message: to post the message on the record and notify the record’s followers.
Note: to send the message as an internal note visible to internal users in the chatter.
SMS (without note): to send the message as a text message to the recipients of the SMS template.
SMS (with note): to send the message as a text message to the recipients of the SMS template and post it as an internal note in the chatter.
Note only: to only post the message as an internal note in the chatter.

Add Followers and Remove Followers¶

This action is used to subscribe/unsubscribe existing contacts to/from the record.

Create Record¶

This action is used to create a new record on any model.

Select the required model in the Record to Create field; it contains the current model by default. Specify a Name for the record, and then, if you want to create the record on another model, select a field in the Link Field field to link the record that triggered the creation of the new record.

Note

The dropdown list related to the Link Field field only contains one2many fields existing on the current model that are linked to a many2one field on the target model.

Tip

You can create another automation rule with Update Record actions to update the fields of the new record if necessary. For example, you can use a Create Record action to create a new project task and then assign it to a specific user using an Update Record action.

Execute Code¶

Important

Custom code runs with the rights of the automation rule and is not covered by standard upgrades. Have it written and maintained by a developer.

This action is used to execute Python code. You can write your code into the Code tab using the following variables:

env: environment on which the action is triggered
model: model of the record on which the action is triggered; is a void recordset
record: record on which the action is triggered; may be void
records: recordset of all records on which the action is triggered in multi-mode; this may be left empty
time, datetime, dateutil, timezone: useful Python libraries
float_compare: utility function to compare floats based on specific precision
log(message, level='info'): logging function to record debug information in ir.logging table
_logger.info(message): logger to emit messages in server logs
UserError: exception class for raising user-facing warning messages
Command: x2many commands namespace
action = {...}: to return an action

Tip

The available variables are described both in the Code and Help tabs.

Send Webhook Notification¶

This action is used to send a POST API request with the values of the selected Fields to the webhook URL specified in the URL field.

The Sample Payload provides a preview of the data included in the request using a random record’s data or dummy data if no record is available.

Note

It is also possible to set up an automated action that uses a webhook to receive data from an external system when a predefined event occurs in that system.

Execute Existing Actions¶

The action is used to trigger multiple actions (linked to the current model) at the same time. To do so, click on Add a line, then, in the Add: Child Actions pop-up, select an existing action or click New to create a new one.

Webhooks