Invisible automation

Reading needs no permission. Anything that leaves the system needs a standing grant from you and one first confirmation. Money is never automated. What is not allowed waits in an approval queue.

How an automation action is gatedAn action an automation wants to take is sorted by kind. Read-only actions run without a grant. Actions that leave the system run only if you hold a standing grant for that action type and have confirmed it once; otherwise they wait in an approval queue for you to approve or reject. Money movements are always refused.yesnoAn automation wantsto take an actionWhat kind?Read onlymail, calendar, documents,a web pageLeaves the systemsend or reply, label mail,calendar, documents,webhookMoneytransfer, purchase, refundRuns, no grant neededStanding grant,confirmed once?RunsWaits in theapproval queueRefused, alwaysYou approve or reject.Approving also records thefirst-time confirmation
Reads run freely, outside actions need a standing grant plus a first confirmation, and money is never automated.
Diagram as text
  1. An automation wants to take an action.
  2. Read-only actions (read mail, read calendar, read documents, fetch a web page) run without a grant.
  3. Actions that leave the system (send or reply to mail, label or archive mail, create or change a calendar event, create or edit a document, call an outside webhook) need a standing grant for that action type and a first-time confirmation.
  4. Money movements (transfer, purchase, refund) are refused and cannot be granted.
  5. With a grant that has been confirmed once, the action runs.
  6. Without one, it waits in the approval queue, and you approve or reject it. Approving also records the first-time confirmation, so the next action of that type runs unattended.
  7. Revoking a grant also clears the confirmation, so granting it again asks again.

What a grant is

You grant one action type at a time with a switch in Settings, Automation: send mail, reply to mail, label or archive mail, create or change a calendar event, create or edit a document, call an outside webhook. Grants are explicit and revocable, so nothing gains permission silently. Revoking one also clears its first confirmation, so granting it again asks again. The feature needs a paid plan.

Why the digest exists

“It ran while I was away” never means “I do not know what happened.”

Findings are collected and delivered once per period, as a plain list with the actions still waiting for you. Nothing pings per event, and a day with nothing to report sends nothing.

How long it can run

Your plan sets the running time for unattended background jobs. Follow a job live, or read its log afterwards, under Jobs.

For a /goal in chat, the automatic limits are rounds and repeated lack of progress.