# Actions

> Automate Flax with trigger→effect actions — a control change, schedule, threshold, or button that fires webhooks, Slack, Discord, or email, with full run history.

*[View this page in the Flax docs](https://flax-analytics.com/docs/automation-ai/actions)*

Actions are Flax's automation framework. An action fires on a single **trigger**
and runs an ordered list of **effects**. Use them to notify a channel when a metric
crosses a threshold, to fan a dashboard control change out to an external system, or
to give viewers a button that kicks off a follow-up. Manage them at
`/app/settings/automation`.

> [!IMPORTANT]
> Actions never write to your data warehouse. They send notifications and call
> allow-listed in-app operations only — there is no path from an action to a
> warehouse write.

## Triggers

| Trigger | Fires when… |
| --- | --- |
| **Manual** | A viewer clicks an action button on a dashboard. |
| **Schedule** | A cadence elapses (hourly, daily, weekly — see [Scheduled deliveries](/docs/automation-ai/scheduled-deliveries)). |
| **Threshold** | A measure crosses a comparison you set (`>`, `>=`, `<`, `<=`, `=`, `!=`). |
| **Control** | A dashboard filter or parameter changes. |

## Effects

An action runs its effects in order. Effects are isolated — if one fails the rest
still run, and the run is marked *partial*.

| Effect | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Webhook** | Signed HTTP POST (HMAC-SHA256 signature, SSRF-guarded, retried on 5xx). |
| **Slack** | Post to a Slack incoming webhook. |
| **Discord** | Post to a Discord incoming webhook. |
| **Email** | Send email via Flax's mailer. |
| **Flax action** | Run an allow-listed in-app operation. |

Control triggers are limited to webhook, Slack, and Discord effects, and are
debounced, so a burst of filter changes can't spam a channel.

## Run history

Every fire is recorded. Open an action's **History** to see each run's overall
status — success, partial, failed, or running — with per-effect results (success,
failed, or skipped), the trigger, who triggered it, and timestamps. Runs are
retrieved from `GET /api/actions/{id}/runs` and de-duplicated so a retry doesn't
double-fire.

## Access and oversight

An action has an **audience** that governs who it applies to and who can manage it:

- **Custom** — owner-only.
- **Team** — managed by a team lead or an org admin.
- **Org** — managed by an org admin.

Admins and team leads see the actions they oversee under "Shared actions you
oversee". A manual or control run authorizes by the caller's view access to the
dashboard, then runs the effects under the action owner's identity, rate-limited
per user.

## Related

- [Scheduled deliveries](/docs/automation-ai/scheduled-deliveries) — recurring deliveries and alerts.
- [Interactivity](/docs/visualizations/interactivity) — the dashboard controls that fire control triggers.
- [Webhooks](/docs/developers/webhooks) — receiving signed webhook effects.