Build your first Automation

Start Automating your Workflows with Domino

Introduction

First, make sure you've signed up for a Domino account. It's free to start!

Before you create an Automation, it's helpful to think about what you're trying to accomplish. For example, let's say you are monitoring Defillama for new protocols. You want to be the first to outreach to the protocols after they list on Defillama but you don't want to keep checking manually on defillama.com.

Start by breaking down the problem you're trying to solve into the following:

  • What apps do I want to use? (Defillama and Discord)

  • What event will trigger my Automation? (When there’s a new listing on Defillama)

  • What action will my Automation perform? (Send the new Listing to the team Discord)

  • What information do I want to move between those apps? "(The protocol's name, website, and category)

Basics

Domino works with dozens of apps, but available triggers and actions vary by app. To learn more about what's possible with an app on Domino, search for the app in our Explore page.

We'll walk you through how to set up your Automation with our Defillama-to-Discord example. Here are the steps:

Need help setting up automation for your business? We'd love to help. Contact us directly on the support chat or at support@domino.run

Set up your trigger

The Automation builder is where you'll create new Automations and edit existing ones.

Remember: A trigger starts your Automation. (Think of it as the WHEN of any automation.)

Select your trigger app and event

When you open the Automation builder, you'll be prompted to pick an app as your trigger.

You'll see popular apps integrated into Domino and built-in apps from the team. You can select from one of these, or look for the app you want to use in the search bar. If you're starting from an Automation template, what we call a pre-made Automation , both the trigger and actions will be selected for you.

Next, you'll be asked to choose a trigger event. This is the event that happens in your trigger app that signals Domino to start your Automation. In this case, it's when a new protocol is listed on Defillama.

Trigger events vary between different apps and app types. For example, a task management app might have New Task as a trigger, while a spreadsheet app could have Create New Row.

Connect to your app account and customize your trigger conditions

In some cases you'll be prompted to sign in to your app account if you haven't connected it before. Since Defillama doesn't require you to log in to view new listings, you don't have to connect your account here.

Note: For each app you connect, Domino will ask for a general set of permissions which allows you to be flexible with your Automations. The only actions Domino takes on your app accounts are those a given Automation needs to accomplish what you've set up.

Next, you'll customize your trigger conditions. Click + Add rule then the the dropdown menu in this step to select what conditions need to be met to trigger your automation, e.g. Category equals Gaming. We won't add any conditions as we want to trigger for all new listings.

Customizing your trigger event will look different, depending on your trigger app. Sometimes, you might not need to do any further customization.

Test your trigger

Once you've set up your trigger, it will pull in a sample trigger event from the past. You'll see the sample trigger event under the Sample tab.

When you're happy with your trigger, click Continue. The Automation builder will take you to set up the action step of your Automation.

Set up your Action

The action is the DO part of your automation. Actions are the events you want your Automation to perform after your trigger occurs. Without an action, you don't have a complete Automation.

Select your action app and event

Just like you did with your trigger, select your action app—this time by clicking the dropdown menu and searching for your app. Once you've selected your app, choose your action event—which is what you want your Automation to do—in the second dropdown menu. If you're using an Automation template, your action app and event will be pre-filled.

In our example, we want to send a Discord channel message to our team Discord. That way the whole sales team will know when a new protocol is listed on Defillama. Select the Discord app, and then choose the event that will send a message. When you're done, click Continue.

Just like with trigger events, action events vary between different apps and app types. For example, one chat app might have an action event to "send" a new message while another's event is called "post" a new message.

Connect to your app account and customize your action event

Next, you'll be prompted to sign in to your action app account if you haven't connected it before. Once you've connected your app, select the Discord server you want to use with your Automation. Click Continue when you're done.

Next, the Automation builder will prompt you to further customize your action event. Click on Setup to start customizing the Action.

In our example you'll have to pick the Discord channel first. The notifications will be sent here.

Domino separates the data that comes in from your trigger event into individual pieces, which can then be used in your action inputs.

In order to get your information from App A to App B, you need to tell Domino what information from your trigger app should be sent to which place in your action app. We call these pieces of information inputs and outputs. The outputs from your trigger, aka the protocol's name, category and URL will be the inputs to your action.

To add the protocol name, URL and category to the Discord message click the message field, select Event data and pick the three pieces of information. To make the eventual Discord message easier to read, add Name:, URL: and Category: in front of them. Think of it like multiple choice: You can select one option or several, and can add custom text. And unless a field is labeled "required" in red, you don't have to add an option. When you add a piece of data as an input —such as a URL—what you see in the builder is a placeholder. This placeholder data will only be used by your Automation when you test it. When your Automation is turned on, real data from your apps will be used when your Automation runs.

Once your Automation is turned on, actual data that comes through your apps will be used when your Automation runs.

If you want the same information to be used in a particular field every time an Automation runs, you can enter text instead, just like we did with Name:, URL: and Category:. When finished with the Setup, click Continue

Test your action

To make sure the message is as expected, click on Test step. It's always good practice to check your action app to see how it looks. In our case, a message should appear in the Discord channel.

When you test your Automation, Domino will perform the action in your action app. This means that when we test our example Automation, a new message will be sent to the Discord channel. However, it’s important not to skip the test. The test is how you'll check whether your Automation is working correctly. You can always delete changes made in your action app after you've completed the test.

If something doesn't look right, make any changes you need in the Automation builder and test your Automation again. Once you're happy with how your Automation works, click Turn on Automation.

Turn on Automation and monitor runs

Now that your Automation is up and running, it will automate tasks on your behalf. You can see what each step did in each past run by clicking on the automation history, then click on a run to see more details

Last updated