# Automations | Waitlyze Docs

> Five event-driven email recipes, personalization, consent, and delivery logs.

Canonical: https://waitlyze.com/docs/automations


Automations are event-driven recipes at `/waitlists/[id]/emails/automations`. Each waitlist has five recipes, versioned independently. Save a draft before enabling it; recipes are not enabled automatically.

## The five recipes [#the-five-recipes]

| Recipe | Trigger | Default delay | Purpose |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Welcome after confirmation | `SIGNUP_VERIFIED` | 0 minutes | Thank the subscriber right after they confirm. |
| Referral reminder | `SIGNUP_VERIFIED` | 1440 minutes (24h) | Nudge subscribers with zero verified referrals at send time. Skipped with `REFERRALS_ALREADY_VERIFIED` if they already invited someone. |
| Referral milestone | `REFERRAL_VERIFIED` | 0 minutes | Celebrate when verified referrals reach your configured goal (3 by default). |
| Welcome follow-up | `SIGNUP_VERIFIED` | 4320 minutes (72h) | Follow up with the subscriber's position, points, and referral link. |
| Launch countdown | `SIGNUP_VERIFIED` | 10080 minutes (7 days) | Build anticipation before launch with a personalized reminder. |

These are marketing emails: all five require verified email and explicit marketing opt-in, rechecked before delivery along with unsubscribe and suppression status. Signup verification itself is transactional and does not require marketing consent. The launch countdown is scheduled relative to confirmation; it is not tied to a configured launch date.

## Configure a recipe [#configure-a-recipe]

- **Delay**: 0 to 10080 minutes (0 to 168 hours). Use 0 for immediate.
- **Subject**: up to 160 characters.
- **Body**: up to 3000 characters.
- **Milestone count** (milestone only): integer 1 to 100. Default 3.

Subjects and bodies can use `{{waitlist}}`, `{{name}}`, `{{position}}`, `{{points}}`, `{{referral_link}}`, and `{{referral_count}}`. Values are resolved for each subscriber at send time; `{{referral_count}}` counts eligible verified referrals. When position or referral link is unavailable, those variables resolve to empty text. Use **Start from a saved template…** to load a saved Templates draft into a recipe, then review and save the recipe separately.

<Steps>
<Step>
### Edit and save a new version [#edit-and-save-a-new-version]
Saving creates a new version number. Already-scheduled runs keep their saved version; new runs use the latest.
</Step>
<Step>
### Enable only after saving valid content [#enable-only-after-saving-valid-content]
Enabling validates subject and body. An invalid recipe cannot be enabled until you save valid content.
</Step>
<Step>
### Pause to cancel pending runs [#pause-to-cancel-pending-runs]
Pausing cancels `PENDING` and `PROCESSING` steps for that recipe. Messages already handed to the provider may still arrive.
</Step>
</Steps>

Duplicate triggers are deduped by idempotency keys, so retried verifications do not double-send welcomes or milestones.

## Monitor runs [#monitor-runs]

The Automations page shows recent runs for each recipe. The **Logs** tab at `/waitlists/[id]/emails/logs` brings automation and broadcast activity together. Automation runs show recipient, status, time, and skip or failure reasons; broadcast entries show a delivery summary, not individual recipient error codes. Open a log row to return to its recipe or broadcast. Use this plus [Subscribers](/docs/subscribers) to diagnose “why didn't they get it?” - usually unverified, not opted in, unsubscribed, suppressed, or paused.

## Next [#next]

<Cards>
<Card title="Email tools" href="/docs/email" description="Templates and delivery health." />
<Card title="Broadcasts" href="/docs/broadcasts" description="One-time sends with the same consent rules." />
<Card title="Referrals" href="/docs/referrals" description="What counts toward milestones." />
</Cards>

## Related Links
- [API Reference](https://waitlyze.com/docs/api/reference) - REST API endpoints
- [Embed Widget](https://waitlyze.com/docs/embed) - Embed instructions
- [Waitlyze Home](https://waitlyze.com/) - Product overview