---
title: "Automation basics: flows, triggers and steps"
description: What a flow is, how triggers, steps and runs fit together, the three flow states, and where the automation screens are.
url: "https://hiveplugins.com/docs/hive-mail-automation-basics/"
updated: "2026-10-28"
category: Hive Mail
---

# Automation basics: flows, triggers and steps

A flow is an automatic path. Something happens to a person (the trigger), and Hive Mail takes them through the steps you drew. Example: a contact subscribes, you send a welcome email, wait 3 days, then send a follow-up.

![A small flow on the canvas: a trigger card, an email step, a wait step and an If step with Yes and No lines](https://hiveplugins.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/hivemail-automation-basics-overview-01.webp)

## The words you will see

| Word | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| **Flow** | One trigger and the steps after it. |
| **Trigger** | The first card. It says what must happen for a person to enter. See [Triggers](/docs/hive-mail-triggers/). |
| **Step** | One card: an **action** (send an email, add a tag, change a list, set a field, change status, call a webhook, notify someone) or **logic** (wait, wait until, if, goal, A/B split, merge, end). See [Steps](/docs/hive-mail-steps/). |
| **Port** | The dot under a card where the path leaves it. Most steps have one ("Then"). **If** leads to Yes or No. **Wait until** and **Goal** lead to Met or Not met. **A/B split** leads to Side A or Side B. |
| **Run** | One person's journey through one flow. 100 people in means 100 runs. |

## Flow states

- **Draft**: nothing happens. New, recipe and duplicated flows start here.
- **On**: people who trigger the flow enter it and move along.
- **Paused**: nobody new enters and nobody moves. Switch it on again and everyone carries on.
- **Stop** (in the flow's menu) ends every run where it is and turns the flow back into a Draft.

## How it works

- Hive Mail checks for work every minute and moves people who are due, up to 50 steps at a time. Expect "within a few minutes", not to the second. If your site has no real server cron the check can run late: see [Scheduled sending and cron](/docs/hive-mail-scheduled-sending-and-cron/).
- Each person is checked before each email. Someone unsubscribed, bounced or suppressed is skipped for that email and the run carries on.
- Unsubscribing does not end a run. Use an **If** step or a **Goal** if the flow should react.
- Triggers react to new events only. To include people who already exist, see [Re-entry, existing contacts, and editing a live flow](/docs/hive-mail-re-entry-existing-contacts-and-editing-live-flows/).

Limits: 200 steps per flow, one trigger, one next step per port. A loop must contain a wait, or the flow will not switch on.

## Where the screens are

All are in the **Automation** group of the Hive Mail menu. Administrators see all of them; other roles need the "Manage automations" permission.

| Screen | Use it to |
| --- | --- |
| **Flows** | List, switch on and open flows. |
| **Automation recipes** | Start from a ready-made flow: [Automation recipes](/docs/hive-mail-automation-recipes/). |
| **Runs & Logs** | See each person's journey: [Runs & Logs and flow reports](/docs/hive-mail-runs-and-logs-and-flow-reports/). |
| **Flow Studio** | A second editor for the same flows: [Flow Studio](/docs/hive-mail-flow-studio/). |
| **Integrations** | Shop and form plugins found on your site: [Automation integrations](/docs/hive-mail-automation-integrations/). |

> **Warning:** Marketing emails in a flow reach subscribed people only. A **Change status** step cannot subscribe someone unless you confirm they gave consent elsewhere.

Next: [Build your first flow on the canvas](/docs/hive-mail-build-your-first-flow/).