Resolving Automation Issues
If your automation isn't firing as expected, a step is failing, or variables aren't resolving correctly, work through the checks below before contacting the Hook team.
If you're building an automation for the first time, see Conductor: Build Automations in Hook instead.
Before You Start
A few useful things to know when troubleshooting automations:
Automations run every 2 hours and immediately after an automation is created. If you've just created or activated an automation, wait for this time to pass before raising a support request.
Only Managers and Technical Admins can access automation settings.
All automation activity is recorded in run logs — see below for how to access them.
Incomplete automations are flagged in the UI. If an automation is missing a required step or has a configuration error, an Incomplete badge appears in the top right. Click it to open the Issues to resolve drawer, which lists every validation error and links directly to the affected step.
Viewing Automation Logs
Automation logs are the fastest way to diagnose why an automation isn't behaving as expected. They show every time an action ran, which customer or user it was applied to, and whether it succeeded or failed.
To view automation logs:
Go to Organisation Settings > Automations
Select the automation you want to check.
Click on an action under the Then... section.
Click the three-dot menu (⋮) in the top right of the action.
Select View activity.
Example automation logs filtered on Successful runs
Understanding Automation Logs
Each entry in the log shows:
Date — when the action ran.
Customer — the account the action was applied to.
User / Contact — the user or contact affected (if applicable).
Status — whether the action succeeded, errored, was skipped, etc.
Message — error details if something went wrong (e.g. "API request failed: No messages were sent successfully").
Filter by Status
Use the Status filter at the top of the page to narrow down logs. The available statuses are:
Success — the action ran and completed successfully.
Error — the action failed.
Skipped — the action wasn't run because the automation already ran for this account or user and is configured not to re-run. This is normal behaviour, not a failure. If you want the action to re-run in future, configure a re-run timeframe on the action itself.
Info — informational message about a run of the automation. No action required.
Closed — signal has been closed.
If you're diagnosing a problem, filter by Error to see only the runs that failed and check the Message column for details.
Fix Common Issues
My automation isn't firing
Set the automation to Active. New automations are not set to active by default. The automation must be activated to trigger.
Check for incomplete steps in the automation. If the automation has a configuration error, an Incomplete badge will appear in the top right. Click it to open the Issues to resolve drawer and see exactly what's missing. You can click any listed issue to jump to the affected step, or click Resolve to open the editor directly.
Always check the automation logs. If there are no logs in Success but logs in Skipped or Error, the automation has triggered but never successfully completed an action. Review the log messages to debug.
Check the filters for the automation trigger. If 0 accounts or users match the filters that have been set, there will be no successful runs. There will be a message showing how many accounts or users the automation will be checked against.
Check whether all accounts or users are being skipped. If all recent runs show as Skipped, it means the automation has already run for those accounts and is set not to re-run. This happens when Set how often this automation re-runs if nothing's changed is set to Never. If you want it to re-run, update the re-run setting on the action.
Reset the automation by switching it from Active to Inactive, then back to Active.
For Slack automations — ensure Slack has been successfully connected to Hook. For private channels, the Hook bot must be added to that channel. Check whether the Slack channel has been renamed or deleted.
For email automations — ensure your email is connected to Hook. If using an alias, ensure it has been set up and verified correctly.
For automations that use Signals — ensure the Signal types and categories used in the automation are activated (not disabled in Signal settings).
My automation shows as Incomplete
If an automation cannot be activated, the UI will display an Incomplete badge and block activation until all issues are resolved.
Click the Incomplete badge in the top right, or open the three-dot menu and select the issues option.
The Issues to resolve drawer lists every validation error in the automation.
Click an issue to jump to the affected step in the tree diagram, or click Resolve to jump to the step and open the editor simultaneously.
Fix each listed issue and attempt to activate again.
My {{variable}} tags aren't resolving
Check for typos in the variable path and confirm it has been copied correctly.
Ensure the correct product is used in the merge tag (multi-product customers only).
Useful variable tags
Account name:
{{account.name}}ARR:
{{account_meta.total_arr}}CSM:
{{agent_job_roles.csm.agents.full_name}}Earliest renewal date:
{{earliest_renewal_date}}Hook account URL:
{{account.hook_url}}Signal type:
{{accounts.risks_flag_name}}
My email automation doesn't look right
You can now preview email automations before they send. This shows exactly how the email will appear in the recipient's inbox, including how variable tags resolve.
Open the email action in your automation.
Find the Preview section.
Select the email you want to preview and the email address to send to.
Check that variables are resolving as expected and the formatting looks correct.
Still Not Working?
If the issue persists, contact the Hook team at [email protected] and include the exact error message shown in Hook, plus the name of the affected automation.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Who can create automations?
Managers and Technical Admins can create automations.
How often do automations run?
Automations run on a 2-hour schedule. They also run immediately after being created or activated. If you've just set up an automation, wait for a full cycle before raising a support request.
How can I test automations?
For email automations, use the Preview section on the email action to see exactly how the email will look before it sends. Select the user data and target email address to generate a preview.
You can also test automations against test accounts in your Hook instance. Trigger an automation filtered to that account only. Ask your implementation consultant or reach out to [email protected] for more details.
Why do some runs show as Skipped?
Skipped means the automation ran for that account or user before and is configured not to re-run. It's not an error — it's the automation working as intended.
If you want the action to re-run in future (for example, a recurring Slack alert), configure a re-run timeframe on the action itself. Set how often this automation re-runs if nothing's changed to a time period rather than Never.
How can I send emails from an address that isn't my own?
Use an alias. Aliases can be set up in your Hook settings. When you create or test an alias, Hook will verify it automatically. A display name is also set automatically on creation.
How do I duplicate an existing automation?
Open the automation, click the menu in the top left, and select Duplicate automation. Give it a name and it opens immediately, ready to edit.
Can automations be connected to other automations?
Automations can advance accounts from one workflow into another, so you can build multi-step customer journeys across separate automations rather than managing everything in a single workflow.
Select the Route to another automation option from the automation outputs list.
What is a virtual agent?
A virtual agent is a Hook user that represents a non-person identity. It can be used for assigning owners to signals, actions, and for cadencing automations. For sending emails from alternative email addresses, use an alias instead.