# Create, test and publish an automation

> Build a repeatable workflow, check it with a recent record, and put the reviewed version live.

_Collection: AI & Automation (ai-automation) — Kepler Help Center. Canonical: https://keplercrm.com/support/articles/create-an-automation/_

> **NOTE:** Your role must allow you to create or update automations. If you cannot see Automations or create a workflow, ask your administrator about your role.

Use an automation for work you want repeated when a particular event occurs. Start with a small workflow: for example, when an application moves to a chosen stage, create a follow-up task for its owner.

## Build the draft

  - Open **Automations** in the sidebar and select **New automation**.

  - Choose a trigger on the canvas. Configure the event and any filters so the automation applies to the records you intend.

  - Add the actions you need. Open each block to choose its target record, fields, assignee or message. Add conditions when different records need different outcomes, and delays only where the workflow should wait.

  - Give the automation a recognizable name. In **Settings**, check **Runs as** so you know whose permissions the workflow uses.

### Find contact details in an automation

The **Find contact details** step looks up a mobile, work email, personal email or LinkedIn profile for the run's candidate or contact, and spends enrichment credits when it finds something new. Under **What happens to results**, choose **Fill empty fields** to write what it finds into empty fields, or **Wait for a tick** to leave results on the record for someone to accept. With Fill empty fields, a LinkedIn profile Kepler is sure of is added, with Undo; one it is unsure of waits on the record for a tick. Set **Monthly limit for this automation** to cap how many lookups it may use each month (100 unless you change it). A test run never uses lookups.

You can also describe the workflow to the Assistant and ask it to build or revise the draft. Be explicit about the event, which records qualify, and what should happen. Review the resulting blocks and selected records before publishing; a saved draft is not a live workflow.

## Test before publishing

  - Use **Test with a recent record** in the editor's Test panel.

  - Check the sample record and each step's result. This is a dry run: nothing is written and no messages are sent.

  - Fix reported issues and test again. If the sample does not match the trigger, no steps run; check the trigger and filters rather than treating that result as a successful action test.

  - Review every action that changes records or sends messages, then select **Publish and go live**.

A live workflow runs its configured actions automatically. Later draft edits remain unpublished until you publish again; existing runs retain the version they started with.

## Check results and pause

Open **Runs** to inspect an individual run and its steps. Use the status menu beside **Publish and go live** to choose **Paused** or **Live**. Pausing or archiving also cancels its waiting runs; resuming does not revive those cancelled runs. To stop only one waiting run, open its details and cancel it there.

**Settings → Automations** lists everything Kepler runs by itself, such as AI suggestions, applicant scoring and campaign sends, with where to turn each off, and the automations built by you.

See [Troubleshoot an automation](/support/articles/troubleshoot-automations/) if a workflow does not behave as expected.