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.
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 an automated output was already created within the dedupe window. This usually happens when an automation is set to wait a certain amount of time before re-firing for the same account.
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. Any new automations must be activated to trigger. Note: new automations are not set to active by default.
Always check the automation logs. If there are no logs in Success but logs in Skipped or Failed, 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.
There are no new accounts or users that satisfy the filters. This can be identified by checking the automation logs and seeing if all recent runs are Skipped. This happens when Set how often this automation re-runs if nothing's changed is set to Never.
Reset the automation (switch from Active to Inactive).
For Slack automations — ensure that Slack has been successfully connected to Hook. For sending messages to 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 this is set up correctly.
For automations that use Signals — ensure that the Signal types and categories used in the automation are activated (not disabled in Signal settings).
My {{variable}} tags aren't resolving
Ensure there are no typos in the variable path, and check they have been copied correctly.
Multi-product only — ensure the correct product is used in the merge tag.
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}}
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
How often do automations run?
Automations are set to run on a 2-hour schedule.
How can I send emails from an email address that isn't my own?
Send emails from an alias. An alias can be set up by following the instructions in your Hook settings.
How can I test automations?
For testing email automations, you can view the draft email output by selecting the option to create an email as an action in the Send an email output.
Automations can be tested against test accounts that appear in your Hook instance. These can be associated with test contacts and users. Trigger an automation that is filtered on that account only. Ask your implementation consultant or reach out to [email protected] for more details.
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, it's best to use an alias.
Who has access to create automations?
Managers and Technical Admins can create automations.