This article walks through how to troubleshoot automations when they don’t behave as expected such as when an automation doesn’t fire, fires multiple times, or shows an error.
Where to Find Automation Information
Before troubleshooting why an automation didn’t work, it’s important to know where to look. Aptly provides multiple places to view automation activity, logs, and errors.
Automation Logs (Per Automation)
On most boards (such as Location or Process Workflow boards), you can view logs for a specific automation:
- Open the board.
- Click the sparkle icon to open Automations.
- Locate the automation you want to troubleshoot.
- Click the three dots next to the automation and select View logs.
These logs show every time the automation attempted to fire. If an error occurred, it will be highlighted with a red error message explaining what went wrong.
Diagnostics Tab (Board-Level View)
To see automation issues across an entire board:
- Open the board.
- Navigate to the Diagnostics tab.
- Select Automation warnings.
This view displays all automations on the board that have encountered errors. Clicking into an automation shows:
- A list of affected cards
- The specific error message for each card
You can click the blue card link to open an individual card and investigate further.
Automation History (Per Card)
Each card also maintains its own automation history.
To access it:
- Open the card in Kanban view and click the three dots, or
- Open the card fully and select Automations from the More menu
Here you’ll see:
- All active and inactive automations on the board
- Which automations fired for that card
- The time each automation fired
If an automation encountered an error, you’ll see a red “i” icon. Hover over it to view the error details.
From this view, you can:
- Retry an automation
- Skip an automation
- Open full automation logs
- Edit the automation
Common Reasons an Automation Did Not Fire
No Valid Email or SMS Recipients Found
This is the most common automation error, especially for email and SMS automations.
What it means:
At the time the automation met its conditions, no valid contact was available to receive the message.
This can happen when:
- The contact was not yet added to the card
- The contact type did not match what the automation is configured to send to
How to fix it:
- Edit the automation to confirm the correct contact types are selected
- Ensure the contact is added to the card before the automation conditions are met
- Manually re-trigger the automation after fixing the issue
Inbox Not Available or Not Assigned
What it means:
The automation attempted to send a message, but the inbox was unavailable.
This can occur when:
- The inbox was disconnected
- The inbox was not assigned
- The automation is set to send from the assignee’s default inbox, but the assignee does not have access
How to fix it:
- Reconnect or reassign the inbox
- If using the assignee’s default inbox, verify the assignee’s settings under Settings → My Profile → Default Inbox
- Confirm the user has access to that inbox
SMS Automations Not Sending (A2P 10DLC)
For SMS automations, additional requirements apply.
What it means:
The automation cannot send SMS messages because SMS compliance is incomplete.
How to fix it:
- Complete A2P 10DLC registration
- Assign your Twilio phone number to the correct campaign
Without this setup, SMS automations will not fire.
Deleted Communication Template
What it means:
The automation references an email or SMS template that no longer exists.
How to fix it:
- Edit the automation
- Select an existing communication template
- Save and re-trigger the automation
Why an Automation Fired Multiple Times
If an automation appears to be firing more than expected, the trigger type matters.
Custom Condition Automations
Custom condition automations fire whenever a card meets the defined criteria.
If conditions are reset or met again, the automation can fire multiple times.
How to resolve:
- Review the conditions
- Adjust logic to prevent repeated triggering if needed
Stage Change Automations
Stage change automations only fire once per card.
Once a card enters a stage:
- Leaving and re-entering the same stage will not trigger the automation again
How to re-run a stage change automation:
- Reset the automation
- Reset the card’s stage so it can enter the stage again
Re-Triggering Automations After Fixing Errors
Any automation that encounters an error will not automatically retry.
After resolving the issue, you must:
- Manually re-trigger the automation from the card, or
- Reset conditions or stages (depending on automation type)
Quick Troubleshooting Checklist
- Check automation logs for error messages
- Review Diagnostics for board-wide issues
- Confirm contacts exist and match automation settings
- Verify inbox access and assignments
- Confirm SMS compliance (A2P 10DLC)
- Ensure communication templates still exist
- Re-trigger the automation after fixes
If issues persist after following these steps, reviewing automation logs alongside the affected card history is the fastest way to identify the root cause.
Support
If you’re stuck on why an automation didn’t fire, don’t hesitate to reach out to help@getaptly.com. Be sure to include screenshots of the automation setup, a link to the card, and an explanation of what you expected to happen with the automation.