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Your first automation

Start a workflow without opening the canvas: add a Hotkey or Schedule trigger, activate the workflow, and check its runs.

Lesson 4 of 5· 5 min · Level 1 Works on-device
You will
  • Add a trigger that fires on its own
  • Activate the workflow
  • Run it without opening the canvas
  • Find the run in the Executions tab
Before you start

So far you started workflows with Test Workflow. An automation starts by itself: when you press a shortcut, at a set time, when a page loads, or from the right-click menu. Triggers like these only listen while the workflow is active.

Add the trigger

Section titled “Add the trigger”

Step 1:Add a Hotkey trigger

Open Summarise this page. Click Add a step (the + in the canvas toolbar), search for Hotkey and add it. Then drag from the dot on the right of Hotkey onto the left edge of Get All Text, so both triggers lead to the same steps.

Step 1, close-up of the app: Hotkey, outlined.Step 1, close-up of the app: Hotkey, outlined.Full screen: the whole screenshot for step 1
Hotkey
The Summarise this page in 3 bullets workflow with the node picker open from Add a step (the + at the left of the canvas toolbar): “Hotkey” is typed in the search box and the result is the Hotkey trigger, “Run the flow from a keyboard shortcut”.The Summarise this page in 3 bullets workflow with the node picker open from Add a step (the + at the left of the canvas toolbar): “Hotkey” is typed in the search box and the result is the Hotkey trigger, “Run the flow from a keyboard shortcut”.

Check: a Hotkey node is on the canvas, linked to Get All Text.

Step 2:Pick a shortcut slot

Double-click Hotkey to open its settings and keep Hotkey Slot on the first slot, run-workflow-1 (Hotkey slot 1). Slot 1 comes with Ctrl + Shift + 1 (⌘ + Shift + 1 on Mac). Browsers don’t let extensions add a shortcut per workflow, so you choose the keys for each slot in the browser:

  • Chrome, Edge, Brave: open chrome://extensions/shortcuts.
  • Firefox: open about:addons, click the gear menu, then Manage Extension Shortcuts.

Find Agentic Workflow. If slot 1 shows no keys (another extension already uses them), type your own combination.

Step 2, close-up of the app: Hotkey Slot, set to the first slot, outlined.Step 2, close-up of the app: Hotkey Slot, set to the first slot, outlined.Full screen: the whole screenshot for step 2
Hotkey Slot, set to the first slot
The settings panel of a Hotkey trigger just added to the workflow (its label is still the generated hotkeyTrigger name): an Instruction card about assigning the key combination at chrome://extensions/shortcuts, and Hotkey Slot set to run-workflow-1.The settings panel of a Hotkey trigger just added to the workflow (its label is still the generated hotkeyTrigger name): an Instruction card about assigning the key combination at chrome://extensions/shortcuts, and Hotkey Slot set to run-workflow-1.

Check: the browser's shortcut page lists “Run workflow bound to Hotkey slot 1” with a key combination.

Activate and run it

Section titled “Activate and run it”

Step 3:Save and activate

Click Save. Then check the switch next to the workflow’s name in the canvas header: it must read active. If it says inactive, turn it on. You can also choose Activate in the workflow’s ⋯ menu in the Workflows list.

Step 3, close-up of the app: The active switch next to the workflow’s name, outlined.Step 3, close-up of the app: The active switch next to the workflow’s name, outlined.Full screen: the whole screenshot for step 3
The active switch next to the workflow’s name
The Summarise this page in 3 bullets workflow with its Hotkey trigger added: Hotkey sits under When Started and both lines lead into Get All Text, then Basic LLM Chain (with Web LLM under it) and Display Markdown. The header shows the Workflow active switch reading active, Saved and the Save button.The Summarise this page in 3 bullets workflow with its Hotkey trigger added: Hotkey sits under When Started and both lines lead into Get All Text, then Basic LLM Chain (with Web LLM under it) and Display Markdown. The header shows the Workflow active switch reading active, Saved and the Save button.

Check: the switch in the canvas header reads active.

Step 4:Fire it

Switch to a tab with an article and press your shortcut. (With a schedule, wait for the next interval.) You can close the canvas first: active workflows run in the background.

Check: the Page summary with three bullets appears, without touching the canvas.

Step 5:Check its runs

Open the workflow and click the Executions tab at the top (it reads Runs in a narrow panel). Every run is listed with its status, start time and duration. Click a run to see what each step produced. See Run history.

Step 5, close-up of the app: Executions tab, outlined.Step 5, close-up of the app: Executions tab, outlined.Full screen: the whole screenshot for step 5
Executions tab
The Executions tab of the Hash Text workflow: a table of saved runs, each with a Success status, when it started, its duration, where it ran (Local) and its metadata, with a filter bar above.The Executions tab of the Hash Text workflow: a table of saved runs, each with a Success status, when it started, its duration, where it ran (Local) and its metadata, with a filter bar above.

Check: the newest row says Success, started a few seconds ago.

Other ways to start a workflow

Section titled “Other ways to start a workflow”
  • Context Menu: right-click a selection, link or page.
  • Page Load: every time a page matching a URL pattern loads.
  • Element Change: when something on a page changes, like a price.
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