> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://resources.athenaintel.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Automations > Create versioned workflows with triggers, explicit steps, approvals, and budgets An Automation is an asset that defines when work starts and which steps run. Use one when you want an explicit sequence of actions, decisions, and waits with a published version and run history. ![Flow from trigger to published version to steps to run history, with a note that an approval step pauses the run and that an Automation runs as its own identity.](https://mintcdn.com/athenaintelligence-e46bc9d3/6ueVSVCwufwDQRFe/images/diagrams/automation-run.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=6ueVSVCwufwDQRFe\&q=85\&s=c743d47657eb2167b500bd6c193a0b32) A trigger starts a run of the published version. Steps run in order and every run is recorded. ## Choose how to run your work | You need to | Use | | - | - | | Explore a task with Athena and refine it in conversation | A session | | Reuse instructions and inputs for an agent | An Agent Operating Procedure (AOP) | | Define triggers, ordered steps, approvals, and spending limits | An Automation | An Automation is separate from an AOP. An Automation can include an **AOP run** step when part of the workflow needs an agent to follow a procedure. ## Check availability and access Your deployment must have Automations enabled, and your workspace must be enrolled. You must be a signed-in, active workspace member acting as yourself, or an authorized admin. On Athena's managed cloud, all workspaces pass the enrollment check. Other deployments require workspace enrollment or a deployment setting that enrolls every workspace. Enrollment alone does not turn Automations on. You need view access to read an Automation. You need edit access to change its draft, publish from the editor, run it from the UI, or pause its triggers. > [!NOTE] > > If Automations are unavailable, ask your deployment admin to check the deployment setting and workspace enrollment. Access to an individual Automation still depends on its asset permissions. ## Create an Automation in Athena 1. Open **Automations** from the navigation. 2. Select **New automation**, then **Blank**. 3. Enter a name and select **Create Automation**. 4. Open **Definition**. Start a definition, then use **Outline** to select and configure triggers, steps, and policies. You can also edit the definition in **JSON** or **YAML**. 5. Set `home.project_asset_id` to the home project's asset ID in **JSON**, and configure the assets and inputs the steps need. 6. Review the validation results and fix reported errors. 7. Select **Publish** and confirm with **Publish**. For later draft changes, the button reads **Publish changes**. Publishing can require a separate approval under your workspace's approval policy. ## Ask Athena to draft one 1. Select **New automation**, then **Describe it**, or describe the workflow in a session with the Automations tools available. 2. State the trigger, work to perform, expected result, and any required approvers. 3. Ask Athena to create an Automation draft. Athena uses `create_automation_draft` to generate and validate the definition. 4. Open the draft Athena returns. Review the steps, permissions, triggers, and budgets before publishing. Creating a draft does not publish it or activate its triggers. A person must authorize publication. You can publish in the editor, or explicitly ask Athena to publish the reviewed draft on your behalf. ## Choose a trigger | Trigger | When it starts work | | - | - | | **Manual** | You start a run. | | **Schedule** | A recurring schedule or one-time scheduled instant arrives. | | **Table change** | A configured database table change occurs. | | **Run completed** | A matching run finishes. | | **Event** | A supported event matches the configured subject and filters. | | **Webhook** | The Automation receives a request through its configured webhook. | Available event sources and integration steps depend on the capabilities configured for your deployment. Publishing checks the definition and refuses unsupported capabilities. ## Choose steps | Step group | What you use it for | | - | - | | **Tool**, **HTTP request** | Call an eligible Athena tool or an allowed HTTPS endpoint. | | **AOP run**, **Agent run**, **Call automation** | Delegate part of the work to a procedure, agent, or another Automation. | | **Judge** | Make a structured model judgment from instructions and inputs. | | **Approval**, **Notify** | Request a decision or send a notification. | | **If**, **For each**, **Parallel**, **Try** | Branch, repeat, run branches concurrently, or handle failures. | | **Delay**, **Wait for event** | Wait for time to pass or a matching event. | | **Emit event**, **Webhook out**, **Continue session** | Publish an event, send an outgoing webhook, or continue a session. | | **Set**, **End**, **Fail** | Store intermediate values or end the run. | The tool picker contains tools eligible for Automation steps. A tool available in a session is not necessarily available as an Automation step. ## Keep drafts separate from published versions **Definition** edits the draft. Runs use a published version, so changing the draft does not change a run's pinned plan. A published version is immutable. Publishing a changed definition creates another version. **Versions** records publication history. Review the version a run used when comparing results after a change. Publishing activates the configured triggers. Check schedules and event sources before you confirm. ## Grant the Automation access The Automation runs as its own identity. It does not inherit the publisher's or starter's asset access or admin privileges. 1. Open **Settings** and find **Identity and access**. 2. Check **Runs as** and the listed grants. 3. Select **Add asset** to grant access to an asset the workflow needs. You must have the required sharing rights on that asset. 4. Use **Revoke** to remove a grant when it is no longer needed. Sharing the Automation with a person controls who can use or edit it. Granting an asset to the Automation controls what its runs can access. ## Related * [AOPs](https://resources.athenaintel.com/docs/pillars/applications/aops.md) * [Automation approvals](https://resources.athenaintel.com/docs/pillars/applications/automation-approvals.md) * [Automation run history](https://resources.athenaintel.com/docs/pillars/applications/automation-run-history.md) * [Automation budgets](https://resources.athenaintel.com/docs/pillars/applications/automation-budgets.md) This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.