We’re building a new Workflows feature that is designed to support complex tasks that our existing Automations tool can’t handle. This new visual automation builder lets you create multi-step workflows with time delays, conditional branches, calls to external services, and AI actions directly in your admin area.
Workflows is available on the Business and Enterprise plans, for users on Discourse hosting.
An overview of Workflows
Workflows replaces the scripting-heavy approach of the existing Automations plugin with a node-based visual canvas that you connect to create complex, multi-step logic.
Triggers initiate a workflow in response to things like events in Discourse (e.g., topic created, user added to group, etc.), a set schedule, a webhook, or a manual action.
Conditions create branches in the workflow based on yes/no logic for any data in the workflow.
Actions are events triggered by the workflow, such as sending a PM or chat message, posting a reply, calling an HTTP endpoint, running an AI agent, or querying Data Explorer.
Utilities control the flow itself by setting delays, looping over items, and setting variables, and can help document the workflow with sticky notes.
Each node’s parameters support literal values and dynamic expressions, so you can reference the output of any previous node, workflow variables, or execution context from an earlier step in a later step.
Workflows includes a few additional tools for easier creation and management of their output:
Variables are stored key/value pairs (e.g., group IDs, category IDs, etc.) that are readily available across all workflows for easier configuration.
Credentials are where you can store reusable authentication configuration for HTTP request nodes, so you don’t need to paste API keys into your workflows.
Data tables are used for storing and querying runtime data, so you can track executions (e.g., see whether a workflow has already run on a specific topic) and reference the output of a workflow easily.
Every workflow run produces a full log in the Executions tab. You can see which nodes ran, what data they received, what they output, and where a workflow stopped if something went wrong.
To try it out, go to Upcoming changes at /admin/config/upcoming-changes, find the Enable Discourse workflows item, and update the Enabled for… field to opt your site in.
We have been building some integrations and automations using this new plugin in the past 4 weeks and all I can say is that it is absolutely fantastic, and a game changer for Discourse. This is truly the best new feature in years (and there are already quite some amazing features ).
this is a wild concept. i have spent a lot of time making powerful n8n and discourse integrations. incredible initiative this will super charge discourse.
I love the new workflows - it’s a total game change, and can be coupled with services like n8n too.
I have found that the rate limit is hit often- how can this be changed?
Also, not sure why, but I have found that at times it’s just stops running, and the only way to get it to run again is to turn the feature off, and back on via the ‘upcoming changes’.
Imagine being able to make a flow that based on users trust level you can make dynamic behaviors like if a user is a member of these 2 groups simultaneously, add them to this third group that gives them access to a new category.
Dynamic behaviors like that are difficult to do with vanilla discourse
I’d like to know in what situations one should continue using Automations + queries, and when one should actually use Workflows. Taking the following action as an example:
Send private messages to users whose read to post ratio is passing 250:1 (and who would eventually fall into the “delisted” group, also known as ‘lurkers’)
Which tool is more efficient and/or recommended for that particular case? When should I use Automations + queries, and when should I use Workflows?
I understand that Workflows allow for branching decisions and thus enable dynamic diagrams; to start with, I’d like to know what experienced users think about simpler ones.
It would be really great to have a dedicated section for sharing workflows! This would help the community, provide a better understanding of all the mechanics, and most importantly, spark new ideas for future projects. It’s just an idea
For what it’s worth: I think the workflow module is very well done, powerful, and intuitive
I’d like to know if it’s possible for the event name to be automatically updated to include “full” once the event status is marked as complete. This would allow users to see full events directly in the yearly overview, for example, avoiding the need to click on the event to check if any spots are left. To take it a step further, displaying the number of available spots in the event name could also be an option. That’s my take on how to improve the user experience for my users
).
(just joking)
