---
title: Waits, conditions, goals and splits
description: Use Wait, Wait until, If, Goal, A/B split, Merge and End steps to pause people, make decisions and join paths back together.
url: "https://hiveplugins.com/docs/hive-mail-waits-conditions-goals-splits/"
updated: "2026-10-28"
category: Hive Mail
---

# Waits, conditions, goals and splits

Logic steps control the path; they do not change the contact. They are in the palette group **Logic**.

| Step | Ports | Use it to |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Wait** | Then | Pause for a fixed time. |
| **Wait until** | If met, If not met | Pause until a date or an event, with a time limit. |
| **If** | If yes, If no | Branch on what is true about the person now. |
| **Goal** | If met, If not met | Pull people forward when they do what you wanted. |
| **A/B split** | Side A, Side B | Send people down two paths at random. |
| **Merge** | Then | Join paths back into one. |
| **End** | None | Finish the run. |

## Wait

**Wait for** (1 to 365, default 1) and **Unit** (minutes, hours, days or weeks; default days). You can edit both on the selected card. A wait is a due time, not a sleep: if the scheduler is late, the person moves on when it next runs. The shortest practical wait is about a minute.

![A selected Wait step with the amount and unit controls on the card](https://hiveplugins.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/hivemail-automation-step-wait-01.webp)

## Wait until

Connect both ports; people on an unconnected port end. Choose **Until**:

| Choice | Settings | Leaves |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Something happens (or a timeout passes)** | **What**, **Which (optional)**, **Give up after** (1 to 365, default 3) and **Unit** | If met when it happens; If not met when the limit passes first. |
| **A date and time** | **Date and time** (site timezone, `YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM`, required) | If met at that time, or at once if it has passed. |
| **A date in a contact field** | **Date field** (date-type fields only), **Days after (negative = before)** (-365 to 365, 0), **At** (09:00) | If met at that time. An empty field leaves through If not met. |

**What** is one of: "They open an email", "They click a link in an email" (default), "They get a tag", "They join a list", "A field of theirs changes", "They unsubscribe". **Which (optional)** narrows it to a campaign (open, click), a tag or a list; blank means any, including your flows' own emails. People waiting for an event show as **Waiting** in Runs & Logs. A test run takes the "Not met" way for event waits.

![A Wait until step set to Something happens, with the two ports If met and If not met](https://hiveplugins.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/hivemail-automation-step-wait-until-02.webp)

## If

**Go the "yes" way when** uses the same rule editor as [Segments](/docs/hive-mail-segments/): **Match all** or **Match any** and **Add a rule** (up to 30). A live line shows how many contacts match right now; **Larger** opens a bigger editor. Rule families: Status; List; Tag; contact details; dates; Custom field; Email activity; and the shop rules when a shop is active. Rules are checked once, when the person arrives. Without a rule the flow cannot be switched on. Example: "Tag has VIP". Yes sends the VIP email, No sends the standard one.

## Goal

**The goal is reached when** takes the same rules. As soon as they come true, anyone in the flow jumps to the goal, wherever they were waiting. So a goal needs no incoming line: place it off to the side and connect **If met** to what happens next (or an **End**). If nothing is connected the run ends as Finished.

A goal is checked whenever something happens to the person and just before they would wait; a person only waiting for time is checked the next time they move. It does not undo earlier steps. Use it to skip the rest of a sequence, for example abandoned-cart reminders after an order (the Abandoned cart recovery recipe does this with "Cart recovered").

![The Cart recovered goal off to the side with no incoming line](https://hiveplugins.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/hivemail-automation-step-goal-03.webp)

## A/B split

**Percent going the "A" way** (1 to 99, default 50); B gets the rest. Each person is put on a side at random once per split and the choice is remembered for the run. There is no automatic winner; for campaign subject lines see [A/B subject line tests](/docs/hive-mail-ab-subject-tests/).

## Merge and End

**Merge** ("Paths join here") has no settings: connect any number of paths to its top and its **Then** port to the next step. **End** ("The run finishes") has no settings and no ports. A path with no next step also ends the run; End only makes that visible.

> **Warning:** A loop must contain a **Wait**, or Hive Mail will not switch the flow on.

Next: [Automation recipes](/docs/hive-mail-automation-recipes/), [Runs & Logs and flow reports](/docs/hive-mail-runs-and-logs-and-flow-reports/).