Automations let you create rules that automatically perform actions when certain events occur in XNote.
Important: Automation availability depends on your plan (see Section 4.1 for plan limits).
2.14.1 View Automations
Go to Settings -> Automations to see all your automations in a 2-column grid. Each card shows:
- Automation name
- Description (1 line, truncated)
- Trigger type icon (flash for event-based, clock for time-based)
- Status indicator (green dot = Active, red dot = Inactive)
- First 2 action service icons (Gmail, Slack, Drive, etc.) with a "+N" indicator if more actions exist
- Three-dot menu for Edit, Delete, or Activate/Deactivate
Header actions:
- History button (clock icon) : View execution history (see 2.14.6)
- Services button (link icon) : Manage connected services (see 2.14.5)
- Three-dot menu : Bulk operations Activate All, Deactivate All, or Delete All
When activating automations, XNote checks your workflow quota. If your plan limit is reached, you will be prompted to upgrade or select which automations to keep active.
If you have no automations yet, the screen displays available templates to help you get started.
2.14.2 Create an Automation
Tap "Create New Automation" (gradient button at the bottom) to start a 5-step flow:
Step 1 : Basic Info:
Enter a name (required) and description (optional).
Step 2 : Trigger:
Choose what starts the automation:
- Note : When a note is updated. You can choose the trigger mode:
- Every update : Fires on any change
- New content only : Fires only when new content is added
- Task : When a task is created or completed
- Event : When a calendar event is created or updated
- Time : On a recurring schedule:
- Hourly : Runs every hour
- Daily : Runs at a specific time each day (time picker)
- Weekly : Runs on a specific day and time (day selector + time picker)
- Monthly : Runs on a specific day of the month and time (day 1-31 + time picker)
For time-based triggers, you must also select a notebook and content type (handwriting, text, or both).
Step 3 : Conditions:
Optionally add one or more conditions (connected with AND logic):
- Text contains a keyword (available for note, task, and event triggers)
- Task priority : Filter by high, medium, or low (task triggers only)
- No condition : Always execute (default)
Conditions are not available for time-based triggers.
Step 4 : Actions:
Choose what happens when the automation fires (up to 10 actions):
- Gmail : Send an email
Configure: recipients (to, cc, bcc), subject and body (manual text, AI prompt, or auto-generated). You can use the {{content}} placeholder. A "Test" button lets you send a test email.
- Google Drive : Create or update a file
Configure: file name, file format (PDF, DOCX, TXT, HTML). Available for time-based triggers.
- Google Calendar : Create a calendar event
Configure: calendar selection, event summary (required), description.
- Google Tasks : Create a task
Configure: task list selection, task title, notes, due date.
- Slack : Send a message to a channel or DM
Configure: message content (manual, AI prompt, or auto), channel and/or user selection with search. You can use the {{content}} placeholder. A "Test" button lets you send a test message.
Each action shows its connection status. You must connect the service before configuring (see 2.14.5).
Step 5 : Review:
Review your automation settings before saving.
2.14.3 Edit an Automation
To edit an existing automation, tap the three-dot menu on its card and select "Edit". The same 5-step flow opens with your current settings pre-filled.
You can change:
- Name and description
- Conditions and condition values
- Action configurations
You cannot change the trigger category (e.g., switching from a note trigger to a time-based trigger). If you need a different trigger type, create a new automation instead.
2.14.4 Automation Templates
XNote provides 23 pre-built templates to get started quickly. Templates are organized by category:
- Productivity (7 templates) : Task tracking, daily standup, brainstorm capture, etc.
- Notifications (7 templates) : Alerts, reminders, emergency notifications, etc.
- Organization (9 templates) : Backup automation, archive system, appointment tracking, etc.
Examples:
- Meeting Notes Sync : Sync notes to Google Drive after updates
- Emergency Alert : Send email when a note contains "emergency"
- Weekly Backup : Auto-backup notes to Drive every Monday
- Task Creation Tracker : Create Google Task + send Slack message on new tasks
Tap a template to pre-fill the creation form. You can customize all fields before saving.
Templates are shown on the main Automations screen (4 in a horizontal scroll with "See All" link) and on the dedicated Templates page (full 2-column grid with category filter tabs).
2.14.5 Connected Services (Google, Slack)
To use actions in automations, connect the required services first. Go to Settings → Automations → Services (link icon in header).
Available services:
- Gmail : Send emails
- Google Drive : Create/update files
- Google Calendar : Create/update events
- Google Tasks : Create/update tasks
- Slack : Send messages to channels or DMs
Each service card shows its connection status and the connected account name/email.
To connect a service:
- Tap the service card.
- Sign in and authorize XNote via OAuth in the browser.
- The status will update to "Connected" with your account info.
To disconnect: Tap the service card again and confirm. If active automations depend on this service, a warning dialog will appear listing the affected automations by name and count. Disconnecting will deactivate those automations.
You can also disconnect all services at once from the menu.
2.14.6 Automation History
Tap the clock icon in the Automations header to view execution history.
Each entry shows:
- Automation name
- Trigger event type (e.g., "Note Updated", "Task Created")
- Execution timestamp (formatted per your date format setting)
- Status icon : Pending (yellow), Completed (green checkmark), Failed (red X)
- Per-action results : Each action listed with its own status (pending, completed, or failed), start/completion time, and error message if failed
History is sorted with the most recent executions first.