Actions Library

The Actions Library is the backbone of every workflow you build. While triggers determine when a workflow starts, actions determine what it actually does. The library contains dozens of pre-built action types organized into categories like contact management, communication, data transfer, internal logic, AI, appointments, opportunities, and payments. Each action executes sequentially, and you can nest them inside branching logic to create conditional paths that adapt to contact behavior.

What Actions Library Does

Actions define the “do this” part of any automation. After a trigger fires, contacts flow through a sequence of actions that communicate, update records, assign tasks, route data to external systems, or make decisions using conditional logic.

Core action categories:

• Contact actions: Create, find, update, tag, assign ownership, add notes, create tasks, and modify engagement scores
• Communication actions: Send SMS, email, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram DM, make calls, and hand conversations to AI
• Data transfer actions: Webhook, Custom Webhook, and Google Sheets integration for moving data to external systems
• Internal tools: If/Else branching, Wait steps, Goal events, A/B Split testing, and Custom Code execution
• AI actions: AI Prompt for generating personalized content based on contact data
• Appointment actions: Update appointment status and generate one-time booking links
• Opportunity actions: Create, update, and remove deals in your sales pipelines
• Payment actions: Charge Stripe payments, send invoices, and deliver documents for signature

Actions execute in order from top to bottom. You can reorder them by dragging, duplicate them for efficiency, and nest them inside branches for complex decision trees.

Key Configuration Options

Adding actions: Open the Workflow Builder, then click the + button on the workflow line below your trigger. This opens the action picker panel on the right side of the canvas. Actions are grouped into categories with a search bar at the top for quick access. Select an action, configure its settings in the right-side panel, and click Save Action to commit.

Configuring messaging: SMS and email actions support personalization tokens like {{contact.first_name}} or {{contact.email}} that pull in contact data automatically. Build messages inline with the visual editor, use saved email templates, or insert custom HTML. Always include opt-out language in SMS messages to stay compliant.

Setting up webhooks: The standard Webhook action sends a fixed POST request with contact data and optional custom key-value pairs. The Custom Webhook action gives you full control over the HTTP method (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE), headers, authentication (Bearer Token, API Key, OAuth 2.0), content type, and raw JSON body. Use Custom Webhook when external APIs require specific formats or authentication.

Wait step options: Pause workflows for a specified duration (minutes, hours, days) or until a specific date/time. Use waits to space out follow-up messages, give contacts time to respond, or schedule actions for business hours. Pair waits with If/Else branches to check engagement before continuing.

Power Features

If/Else branching for conditional paths: Evaluate contact fields, tags, custom fields, engagement scores, or any other data point to route contacts down different paths. Each branch can have its own chain of actions. Nest multiple If/Else blocks for complex decision trees that adapt to contact behavior dynamically.

Goal events to skip ahead: Place a Goal node at a key milestone in your workflow (like booking an appointment or making a purchase). If a contact reaches that goal while waiting at an earlier step, they skip ahead to the goal, bypassing irrelevant follow-up. This prevents sending nurture messages after a conversion.

Custom Code for unlimited flexibility: Execute JavaScript or Python code within the workflow. Access contact data, perform calculations, call external APIs, and return values that downstream actions can use. This is the most flexible action in the entire library, letting you build logic that no pre-built action supports.

AI Prompt for personalized content: Generate AI-powered email copy, SMS messages, summaries, or decision outputs using a custom prompt you define. Feed in contact data, conversation history, or any custom values. The result is stored in a variable you can reference in later actions like Send Email or Send SMS.

Pro Tips

• Name every action clearly by replacing default labels like “Send SMS” with specific names like “Day 1 Follow-Up SMS” so your canvas is scannable at a glance.
• Use wait steps strategically to space out communication actions. A typical nurture sequence spaces messages 1 to 3 days apart to avoid overwhelming contacts.
• Combine If/Else with tags to check whether a contact has already converted or opted out before sending additional messages. This prevents irrelevant communication.
• Limit webhook payloads by only sending the fields your external system needs. Smaller payloads reduce errors and speed up processing.
• Use drip mode for large lists when bulk actions enroll thousands of contacts at once. Drip mode prevents your sending reputation from taking a hit by spacing out sends over time.

Common Questions

How many actions can I add to a single workflow?

There is no hard limit on the number of actions per workflow. However, performance and readability degrade with very large workflows. If your workflow exceeds 30 to 40 actions, consider splitting it into smaller connected workflows using the Go To action.

Do actions execute instantly or is there a delay?

Actions execute sequentially and near-instantly unless you add a Wait step. However, external actions like sending SMS or email may have slight delivery delays depending on provider queues and contact volume.

What happens if an action fails?

The workflow continues to the next action. Failed actions (like a bounced email or invalid phone number) are logged in the workflow execution history. Check Automation > Workflows > [Your Workflow] > Execution Logs to review failures.

Can I use custom values from one action in a later action?

Yes. Many actions output data into custom variables. For example, the AI Prompt action stores its response in a variable you name, and subsequent Send SMS or Send Email actions can reference that variable using curly-brace tokens like {{custom_values.variable_name}}.

What is the difference between Webhook and Custom Webhook?

The standard Webhook action sends a pre-structured payload of contact and workflow data. The Custom Webhook action lets you define the exact JSON body, headers, HTTP method (POST, PUT, GET, DELETE), and authentication for full control over the request format.