---
title: "Automated Actions"
description: "Give a workflow steps that run themselves: an action step sends a webhook to a URL you choose or emails a third party a view-only link to the request, with no approver votes and no waiting. Failures retry automatically and surface to the workflow's editors; requesters only ever see a neutral waiting state."
category: "Ways requests arrive"
updated: 2026-08-27
canonical: https://approvethis.com/docs/manuals/automated-actions
---

# Automated Actions

Some steps in a workflow don't wait on a human: a downstream system needs to be pinged, or someone outside the approval chain needs to see what was decided. An automated action step handles both, sending a webhook to a URL you choose or emailing a third party a view-only link to the request. This guide is for Administrators working on a flow's Workflow canvas, and assumes you already have a workflow open there with its approval steps in place. The picker offers two actions today, a webhook and an email; there is no create-task action yet.

**Who this is for:** an Administrator.

> **Prerequisite:** Sign in as an Administrator.

> **Getting here:** On the workflow you want to automate, switch to the Workflow tab — the approval chain is drawn there starting from the trigger, and every step card has a + below it to add the next step. One thing to decide up front: the email action's recipient should be an address whose inbox you can open, because the last section reads the email it receives.

## Add an automated action step that sends a webhook, and send a test delivery to prove the endpoint answers

A webhook step hands the request summary to whatever system needs to hear about the decision, and the test delivery tells you the endpoint answers before any real request depends on it. Deliveries are unsigned, so the receiving system should treat them as notifications and fetch trusted details from the API.

1. Sign in as an Administrator.
2. Click **Add a new step below this one** at the position in the workflow where the action belongs.

   ![Click Add a new step below this one at the position in the workflow where the action belongs.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/automated-actions/screenshots/automated-actions-s1-01.png)

3. Click **Automated action**, the third step mode beside the approver options.

   ![Click Automated action, the third step mode beside the approver options.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/automated-actions/screenshots/automated-actions-s1-02.png)

4. Click **Send a webhook Sends a summary of the request to a URL you choose.**

   ![Click Send a webhook Sends a summary of the request to a URL you choose.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/automated-actions/screenshots/automated-actions-s1-03.png)

5. In **Destination URL**, enter the endpoint that should receive the request summary.

   ![In Destination URL, enter the endpoint that should receive the request summary.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/automated-actions/screenshots/automated-actions-s1-04.png)

6. Press `Tab` to move focus out of the field so the URL is validated inline.

   ![Press Tab to move focus out of the field so the URL is validated inline.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/automated-actions/screenshots/automated-actions-s1-05.png)

7. Click **Send test** to fire a test delivery at that endpoint. Test sends are rate-limited to 5 per minute per user and step.

   ![Click Send test to fire a test delivery at that endpoint. Test sends are rate-limited to 5 per minute per user and step.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/automated-actions/screenshots/automated-actions-s1-06.png)

8. Click **Close** to return to the canvas.

   ![Click Close to return to the canvas.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/automated-actions/screenshots/automated-actions-s1-07.png)


> **Success cue:** With nothing below it, the step reports **Runs after final approval**, which is your cue that the webhook is placed as a final action.

## Add a second automated action step that emails a third party when the request is approved

Vendors, finance contacts, and other outsiders often need to see an approved request without being given an account or a vote. An email action sends them a branded notification carrying a signed view-only link, and each address you add becomes an external recipient rather than a workspace member.

1. Click **Add a new step below this one**.

   ![Click Add a new step below this one.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/automated-actions/screenshots/automated-actions-s2-01.png)

2. Click **Automated action**.

   ![Click Automated action.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/automated-actions/screenshots/automated-actions-s2-02.png)

3. Click **Send an email Notifies a third party — someone outside the approval process — when the request reaches this step.**

   ![Click Send an email Notifies a third party — someone outside the approval process — when the request reaches this step.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/automated-actions/screenshots/automated-actions-s2-03.png)

4. In **Add any email address…**, type the outside address that should receive the view-only link; the example uses `orders@harborsupply.example`.

   ![In Add any email address…, type the outside address that should receive the view-only link; the example uses orders@harborsupply.example.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/automated-actions/screenshots/automated-actions-s2-04.png)

5. Press `Enter` to turn the address into a recipient chip.

   ![Press Enter to turn the address into a recipient chip.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/automated-actions/screenshots/automated-actions-s2-05.png)

6. Click **Close** to return to the canvas.

   ![Click Close to return to the canvas.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/automated-actions/screenshots/automated-actions-s2-06.png)


> **Success cue:** The step summary reads **1 recipient**, confirming the address was captured.

## Submit a request and approve it — the webhook delivers and the email goes out

Running one request all the way through is how you find out that both action steps behave on real data rather than on a test send. Note that a failed final action leaves the request Approved by design: the status does not guarantee delivery, and any failure surfaces separately to the workflow's editors for retry.

1. Go to `@artifact:form_url` to open the request form.

   ![Go to @artifact:form_url to open the request form.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/automated-actions/screenshots/automated-actions-s3-01.png)

2. In **Cost**, enter the amount the request is for, e.g. `1849`.

   ![In Cost, enter the amount the request is for, e.g. 1849.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/automated-actions/screenshots/automated-actions-s3-02.png)

3. In **Item**, enter what is being requested; `Warehouse label printer` in the example screenshots.

   ![In Item, enter what is being requested; Warehouse label printer in the example screenshots.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/automated-actions/screenshots/automated-actions-s3-03.png)

4. Click **Submit**.

   ![Click Submit.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/automated-actions/screenshots/automated-actions-s3-04.png)

5. Go to `@artifact:flow_url` to open the workflow's requests.

   ![Go to @artifact:flow_url to open the workflow's requests.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/automated-actions/screenshots/automated-actions-s3-05.png)

6. Click the request you just submitted, such as **Warehouse label printer** in the example.

   ![Click the request you just submitted, such as Warehouse label printer in the example.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/automated-actions/screenshots/automated-actions-s3-06.png)

7. Click **Approve**.

   ![Click Approve.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/automated-actions/screenshots/automated-actions-s3-07.png)


> **Success cue:** **You Approved This Request** records your decision, and the final action fires from there.

## Open the emailed view-only link as the recipient

Checking the link the way the recipient receives it is the only way to see what an outsider actually gets: a no-login view of the request, with files downloaded from the view page rather than attached to the mail. The signed link expires on the workflow's configured schedule (7 days by default), though the viewer grant itself does not expire in this version.

1. Click **Account menu**.

   ![Click Account menu.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/automated-actions/screenshots/automated-actions-s4-01.png)

2. Click **Log Out**, since the view-only link is meant to work without an ApproveThis sign-in.

   ![Click Log Out, since the view-only link is meant to work without an ApproveThis sign-in.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/automated-actions/screenshots/automated-actions-s4-02.png)

3. Open the email inbox for the recipient address you added to the step.

   ![Open the email inbox for the recipient address you added to the step.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/automated-actions/screenshots/automated-actions-s4-03.png)

4. Open the shared-request notification, with a subject such as **A request was shared with you: Warehouse label printer**.

   ![Open the shared-request notification, with a subject such as A request was shared with you: Warehouse label printer.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/automated-actions/screenshots/automated-actions-s4-04.png)

5. Click **View Request**.

   ![Click View Request.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/automated-actions/screenshots/automated-actions-s4-05.png)


> **Success cue:** The view page opens for the address the step notified, shown as **orders@harborsupply.example** in the example screenshots.

> **What happens next:** What the webhook receives: a JSON summary with the request's id, status, and name. Deliveries are unsigned — treat them as notifications and fetch trusted details from the API. Placement decides timing: an action with nothing below it runs only after the request is approved, and its failure never holds or reverses the approval; an action mid-flow runs at its position and gates the steps below until it completes. A failed delivery retries three times with backoff, then the workflow's owner is emailed and editors see a needs-attention notice on the request with a one-click Retry. Test requests never fire actions — they show the step as "Skipped". The emailed view-only link expires (7 days by default, configurable per workflow); it shows the request's fields, files, and status only.