> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.findtempo.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Build an automation
> Create a stalled-deal Slack alert from scratch.
This builds one working automation: every Monday morning, send `#sales` any deal closing this quarter that is over \$50k and has not been touched.
## Two ways to build one
You can build an automation in the Tempo web app or over MCP from a connected AI platform. Both reach the same automation.
* **Web app** — click **Automations** in the left sidebar to open `/app/automations`, then click **New**. The page also has a **Run History** tab for past runs.
* **MCP** — describe the automation in plain language and Tempo builds it. The rest of this page follows this path, because every step is one prompt.
## Build an automation in the app
Open **Automations** and click **New**.
Choose a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule, or a meeting trigger — **When a meeting ends**, or a chosen lead time before one begins (**When it is 30 minutes before a meeting**, anywhere from 15 minutes to 1 day). Scheduled automations use your browser timezone.
Choose a specific opportunity or add filters based on opportunity, account, or contact fields.
Choose **Send message** for a Slack or email destination. Choose **Create Google Doc** to create a document from the output. Then choose the published Canvas template used for the action.
**Direct message to me** and **Email me** appear on personal automations only. A team automation has no single owner to receive a private message.
Email recipients must be members of your Tempo organization.
Connect [Slack](/integrations/slack) before you rely on a Slack destination. The picker does not check ahead of time, so if your Slack account is not connected and matched to your Tempo user when a run fires, **Run History** marks the message as skipped rather than dropping it silently.
To create Google Docs, connect or reauthorize [Google Workspace](/integrations/google) when Tempo prompts you.
Click **Test**, then click **Run Test**. Review the matching opportunities and rendered Canvas preview. A test does not send a Slack message or email. It does not create a Google Doc.
Click **Publish** after the test matches the deals you expect.
### Brief a meeting before it starts
Pair the before-a-meeting trigger with a meeting-anchored [Canvas](/canvas) template and a Slack action to deliver a prepared brief ahead of each call.
Each meeting is briefed once. Rescheduling a meeting sends a fresh brief for the new time, and a cancelled meeting produces none.
Scope follows the automation. A personal automation briefs meetings on your own calendar, for deals you own. A team automation covers the organization's meetings and delivers to a channel.
New automations created in this flow are personal. Open **Run History** after publication to review each run's date, opportunity count, and status.
## Before you start
* [Slack must be connected](/integrations/slack) if you want the automation to post there
* Email recipients must be members of your Tempo organization
* [Google Workspace must be connected](/integrations/google) if you want the automation to create Google Docs
* Team automations require the `configure_agents` permission; personal automations are yours to create
## 1. Create it disabled
Describe what you want. Tempo creates the automation in a disabled state.
```text wrap theme={null}
Create a team automation called "Monday stalled deals". Every Monday at 8am Eastern, find open opportunities with a close date this quarter and an amount over $50,000, and post them to the #sales Slack channel.
```
Nothing runs yet. That's intentional — you get to inspect it first.
## 2. Review it before it runs
Over MCP, ask Tempo to read the automation back to you:
```text wrap theme={null}
Show me the "Monday stalled deals" automation — its filter, schedule, and whether it's ready to enable.
```
This tells you how the automation is configured and what blocks it, not which deals it would match. To see the matched deals, click **Test**, then **Run Test**, on the **Automations** page. The test shows matching opportunities and a rendered Canvas preview without sending a Slack message.
Either way, check the filter here rather than finding out it was too broad in a Slack channel at 8am Monday.
## 3. Refine the filter
```text wrap theme={null}
Tighten that filter: also require that the account industry is not "Education", and exclude anything already marked closed.
```
Filters combine with **and** / **or** / **not**, so you can build up something specific:
```
and:
- IsClosed eq false
- Amount gt 50000
- CloseDate between [quarter start, quarter end]
- account.industry neq "Education"
```
See the [filter reference](/automations/reference) for every available field and operator.
## 4. Choose what it posts
An action is either literal text or a rendered [Canvas](/canvas) template. Canvas is the better option for anything you want formatted consistently.
```text wrap theme={null}
Have that automation post using our "Weekly pipeline review" canvas template instead of plain text.
```
Choose **Create Google Doc** when each run should create a private document instead of posting to Slack.
An automation can have up to 10 actions. Add separate actions when you want the same run sent to more than one destination, such as Slack and email.
## 5. Enable it
```text wrap theme={null}
Enable the "Monday stalled deals" automation.
```
Enabling validates dependencies. If it fails, you'll get a specific blocker — a disconnected Slack channel, a missing canvas template, or insufficient execution authority — rather than a silent no-op.
## 6. Adjust later
Any configuration change disables the automation again:
```text wrap theme={null}
Change "Monday stalled deals" to run Tuesdays at 7am instead, then re-enable it.
```
Remember to re-enable it. Editing an automation and leaving it disabled stops future runs.
Deleting an automation is a soft delete. Disable it instead if you might want it back.