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Overview

Workflows in GAIA allow you to automate repetitive tasks and create sophisticated multi-step processes. Use AI to generate workflows from descriptions, or build them manually with triggers and actions.

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Understanding workflows

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What are workflows?

A workflow is an automated sequence of actions triggered by specific events:
  • Trigger: The event that starts the workflow (e.g., new email, scheduled time, todo completed)
  • Steps: A series of actions GAIA performs (e.g., create todo, send email, update calendar)
  • Conditions: Optional logic to control when steps execute

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Workflow components

Triggers

Events that start your workflow: time-based, email received, todo created, calendar event, or manual execution.

Actions

Tasks GAIA performs: send emails, create todos, update calendars, call APIs, or run custom logic.

Conditions

Logic that controls workflow execution: if/then rules, filters, and decision points.

Variables

Dynamic data passed between steps: trigger data, previous step results, or user inputs.

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Creating workflows

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AI-generated workflows

Let GAIA create workflows for you:
1

Describe your automation

Tell GAIA what you want to automate:
  • “Create a workflow that emails me a summary of my todos every morning”
  • “Automate meeting preparation: create a todo 1 hour before each calendar event”
  • “Send weekly reports every Friday at 5pm”
2

Review the workflow

GAIA analyzes your request and generates:
  • Appropriate trigger
  • Sequence of actions
  • Any necessary conditions or filters
3

Customize if needed

Adjust the workflow:
  • Modify trigger settings
  • Add or remove steps
  • Change action parameters
4

Activate

Enable the workflow to start automation.
Be specific in your description. Include trigger timing, actions to perform, and any conditions. The more detail you provide, the better GAIA can generate the workflow.

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Manual workflow creation

Build workflows step-by-step:
1

Open workflow builder

Navigate to Workflows in the sidebar and click Create Workflow.
2

Name your workflow

Give it a descriptive name like “Morning Email Digest” or “Meeting Prep Automation”.
3

Configure trigger

Select a trigger type and configure its settings:
  • Schedule: Run at specific times
  • Email: Trigger on incoming messages
  • Todo: When tasks are created or completed
  • Calendar: Before or after events
  • Manual: Run on demand
4

Add actions

Build your workflow steps:
  • Click Add Step
  • Choose an action type
  • Configure action parameters
  • Use variables from previous steps
5

Test the workflow

Run a test execution to verify it works correctly.
6

Activate

Enable the workflow to begin automation.

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From todos

Convert complex tasks into workflows:
1

Open a todo

Click on any todo that involves multiple steps or could benefit from automation.
2

Generate workflow

Click Generate Workflow in the todo details panel.
3

Wait for generation

GAIA analyzes the todo and creates a workflow in the background. You’ll receive a notification when it’s ready.
4

Review and activate

Check the generated workflow and activate it.
Workflow generation from todos is powered by apps/web/src/features/todo/api/todoApi.ts:321.

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Trigger types

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Schedule triggers

Run workflows at specific times:
  • Fixed schedule: Daily at 9am, Every Monday at 8pm
  • Cron expressions: Complex timing patterns
  • Intervals: Every 30 minutes, Every 2 hours
Run once per day at a specific time:
  • Morning summaries
  • End of day reviews
  • Daily backups or reports
Run on specific days of the week:
  • Monday morning planning
  • Friday afternoon reports
  • Weekend reminders
Run repeatedly at fixed intervals:
  • Check for updates every 15 minutes
  • Sync data every hour
  • Periodic health checks

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Email triggers

Start workflows when emails arrive:
  • All emails: Process every incoming message
  • From specific senders: React to emails from certain people
  • With keywords: Filter by subject or body content
  • With attachments: Trigger on emails with files
Email triggers are great for automated responses, task creation from emails, or forwarding important messages.

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Todo triggers

React to task changes:
  • Todo created: When new tasks are added
  • Todo completed: After tasks are marked done
  • Todo updated: When task details change
  • Todo overdue: When tasks pass their due date

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Calendar triggers

Trigger based on events:
  • Before event: Run X minutes/hours before an event starts
  • After event: Run when an event ends
  • Event created: When new calendar events are added
  • Event updated: When event details change

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Manual triggers

Run workflows on demand:
  • Execute from the workflow list
  • Trigger via chat command
  • Button in the UI
  • API call from external systems

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Action types

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Email actions

Send and manage emails:
  • Send email: Compose and send messages
  • Reply to email: Respond to incoming messages
  • Forward email: Share emails with others
  • Archive/Delete: Manage inbox automatically

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Calendar actions

Manage your schedule:
  • Create event: Add new calendar entries
  • Update event: Modify existing events
  • Delete event: Remove events
  • Find free time: Search for available slots

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Todo actions

Automate task management:
  • Create todo: Add new tasks
  • Update todo: Change task details
  • Complete todo: Mark tasks as done
  • Search todos: Find tasks by criteria

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Notification actions

Stay informed:
  • Send notification: Display in-app alerts
  • Email notification: Send email reminders
  • Browser notification: Desktop notifications

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Custom actions

Extend functionality:
  • HTTP request: Call external APIs
  • Run script: Execute custom code
  • Data transformation: Process and format data
  • AI tasks: Use AI for custom operations

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Workflow management

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Viewing workflows

Access your workflows from the Workflows page:
  • Active workflows: Currently running automations
  • Draft workflows: Unfinished or disabled workflows
  • Community workflows: Public workflows from other users

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Workflow list features

  • Filter by status: Active, draft, or all
  • Filter by source: User-created, AI-generated, or community
  • Search workflows: Find by name or description
  • Sort options: By date, name, or execution count
Workflow listing is managed via apps/web/src/features/workflows/api/workflowApi.ts:35.

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Activating and deactivating

Control workflow execution: Activate:
  • Click the toggle switch on a workflow
  • Or click Activate in the workflow details
  • Active workflows run automatically based on their triggers
Deactivate:
  • Turn off the toggle to stop execution
  • Workflows remain in your list but won’t trigger
  • Useful for temporary disabling
Activation is handled via apps/web/src/features/workflows/api/workflowApi.ts:88.

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Editing workflows

1

Open workflow

Click on any workflow to view its details.
2

Click Edit

Open the workflow editor.
3

Modify settings

Change trigger, actions, conditions, or any other configuration.
4

Save changes

Updates are applied immediately. If the workflow is active, changes take effect on the next execution.

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Deleting workflows

Remove workflows you no longer need:
  1. Click on the workflow
  2. Click Delete
  3. Confirm the deletion
Deleted workflows cannot be recovered. Make sure you want to permanently remove the automation.

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Workflow execution

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Automatic execution

Active workflows run automatically when their trigger conditions are met:
  • Schedule-based workflows run at their configured times
  • Event-based workflows trigger when events occur
  • Each execution is logged for monitoring

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Manual execution

Run workflows on demand:
  • Click Execute on the workflow
  • Or ask GAIA: “Run my morning digest workflow”
  • Useful for testing or one-off executions
Manual execution is available via apps/web/src/features/workflows/api/workflowApi.ts:132.

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Execution history

Monitor workflow performance:
1

Open workflow

Click on a workflow to view details.
2

View history

Navigate to the Execution History tab.
3

Review executions

See past runs with:
  • Execution time
  • Status (success, failed, running)
  • Duration
  • Step-by-step logs
  • Error messages if failed
Execution history is retrieved from apps/web/src/features/workflows/api/workflowApi.ts:159.
Use execution history to debug workflows and understand what happened during each run.

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Error handling

When workflows fail:
  • Execution stops at the failed step
  • Error details are logged in execution history
  • You receive a notification (if enabled)
  • Fix the issue and re-run or retry the workflow

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Advanced workflow features

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Conditional logic

Add decision points to your workflows:
  • If/then branches: Execute different steps based on conditions
  • Filters: Skip executions when conditions aren’t met
  • Loops: Repeat steps for multiple items

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Variables and data passing

Use dynamic data in your workflows:
  • Trigger data: Information from the event that started the workflow
  • Step outputs: Results from previous actions
  • User inputs: Values you provide when configuring
  • System variables: Current date, user info, etc.

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Workflow templates

Start from pre-built workflows:
  • Browse community workflows for inspiration
  • Clone existing workflows and customize
  • Share your workflows with others

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Publishing workflows

Share workflows with the community:
1

Create a useful workflow

Build a workflow that others might find helpful.
2

Click Publish

Open the workflow and click Publish to Community.
3

Add description

Provide clear documentation about what the workflow does and how to use it.
4

Submit

Your workflow becomes available in the community library.
Publishing is managed via apps/web/src/features/workflows/api/workflowApi.ts:193.

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Workflow best practices

Start simple

Begin with basic workflows. Add complexity as you learn the system.

Use descriptive names

Name workflows clearly: “Daily Email Summary” not “Workflow 1”.

Test before activating

Always test workflows with manual execution before enabling automatic triggers.

Monitor execution

Check execution history regularly to catch failures early.

Handle errors gracefully

Add error handling and fallback actions for critical workflows.

Document your workflows

Add descriptions explaining what the workflow does and why.

Keep steps focused

Each step should do one thing well. Break complex workflows into multiple simpler ones.

Use variables

Make workflows flexible with variables instead of hardcoded values.

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Common workflow examples

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Daily digest

Get a morning summary of your day:
  • Trigger: Every day at 8am
  • Actions:
    1. Fetch today’s calendar events
    2. Get today’s todos
    3. Summarize important emails
    4. Send combined summary via email

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Meeting preparation

Automate meeting prep:
  • Trigger: 1 hour before each calendar event
  • Actions:
    1. Create a prep todo
    2. Fetch related emails and documents
    3. Send notification with context

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Email automation

Auto-process incoming emails:
  • Trigger: New email arrives
  • Actions:
    1. Check sender and subject
    2. If important: create todo and notify
    3. If newsletter: archive
    4. If spam: delete

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Weekly reports

Generate status reports:
  • Trigger: Every Friday at 4pm
  • Actions:
    1. Count completed todos this week
    2. List upcoming events
    3. Summarize achievement
    4. Email report to team

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Task follow-up

Automatic follow-ups:
  • Trigger: Todo becomes overdue
  • Actions:
    1. Send notification
    2. Adjust priority to high
    3. Create follow-up todo for tomorrow

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Integration with other features

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Chat integration

Manage workflows conversationally:
  • “Show me my active workflows”
  • “Run my daily digest workflow”
  • “Create a workflow to archive old emails”
  • “Disable the meeting prep workflow”

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Todo integration

Workflows can create and manage todos:
  • Generate todos from workflow steps
  • Create workflows from complex todos
  • Link workflow executions to related todos

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Calendar and email integration

Workflows connect all your tools:
  • Trigger workflows from calendar events
  • Create events from workflow actions
  • Process emails with workflows
  • Send emails as workflow outputs

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Troubleshooting

  1. Check that the workflow is activated
  2. Verify trigger configuration is correct
  3. Review execution history for errors
  4. Test with manual execution
  1. Check execution history for error details
  2. Verify all integrations are connected
  3. Test each step individually
  4. Check for invalid variables or data
  1. Review step configurations
  2. Check variable values in execution logs
  3. Verify conditional logic
  4. Test with different trigger data
  1. Reduce frequency of scheduled workflows
  2. Limit the number of actions per workflow
  3. Use filters to reduce unnecessary executions
  4. Consider splitting into multiple workflows

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Next steps

Goal Tracking

Learn how to set and track long-term goals with GAIA.

Chat Interface

Manage workflows through natural language conversations.

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