Sub-Workflows

The automation family lets one workflow invoke another. It is how a step shared by five automations becomes one automation the other five call, instead of five copies that drift apart.

Two operators: call invokes a target, return sends a result back.

Calling a Sub-Workflow

automation/call invokes an automation that declares an automation-call trigger.

- name: enrich
  type: automation
  operator: call
  props:
    name: enrich-lead
    inputData: { email: '{{trigger.data.record.email}}' }
    mode: sync
    maxDepth: 10

Prop	Description
name	Required. Target automation name, kebab-case.
inputData	Key-value input handed to the callee. It reads this at {{trigger.input.*}}.
mode	sync (wait for the callee, the default) or async (fire and continue).
maxDepth	Recursion guard, 1–100. Defaults to 10.

maxDepth stops a chain that calls itself, directly or through intermediaries. The callee can see how deep it currently is at {{trigger.depth}}, and which automation invoked it at {{trigger.caller}}.

Returning a Result

automation/return hands output back to the caller. It is only meaningful in an automation whose trigger is automation-call.

- name: done
  type: automation
  operator: return
  props:
    data:
      score: '{{computeScore.result}}'
      tier: '{{classify.result}}'

Prop	Description
data	Required. Key-value output returned to the calling automation.

data is the only property, and it is required — a return action without it fails config decode. In the parent, the result arrives as steps.{name}.result.*, so the call above is read back as {{enrich.result.score}}.

Composition vs. Failure Handling

automation/call invokes a target that declares an automation-call trigger, and (in sync mode) waits for its result. To react to a workflow that failed, use the automation-failure trigger instead — it fires after the fact, on a run you did not start, and cannot influence it.

You want	Use
Reuse a step across several automations	automation/call with mode: sync.
Kick off long work without blocking this run	automation/call with mode: async.
Be notified when some other automation breaks	An automation-failure trigger.
Recover from a failing step inside this run	Per-action retry.

Related Pages

• Flow Control — branching, iteration, and flow/stop.
• Manual, Sub-Automation & Failure Triggers — the automation-call trigger this targets.
• Retry & Failure — in-run recovery before a run is declared failed.
• Actions Overview — base props and the family map.
• Automation Runs — following a parent run and its children.