> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.usesift.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Automations

> Recurring workflows that run automatically—briefings, alerts, and custom triggers

Set up recurring workflows that run automatically—morning briefings, assignment reminders, email alerts, and more. Like having a calm, reliable chief of staff working in the background.

<Note>
  Automations are a **Premium** feature. Free users have access to all other Sift features with limited AI usage.
</Note>

## What You Can Ask

```
"Set up a morning briefing every day at 7am"
"Create an automation to remind me about assignments 24 hours before they're due"
"Alert me via iMessage when a professor emails me"
"Send me a weekly study plan every Sunday evening"
"Show my automations"
"Pause my morning briefing"
```

## How Automations Work

Every automation has three parts:

1. **Trigger** — When it runs
2. **Workflow** — What data it gathers and what actions it takes
3. **Output** — Where results are delivered (iMessage, email, push, or in-app)

## Trigger Types

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Scheduled" icon="clock">
    Runs at specific times — daily, weekly, or on custom cron schedules. Great for briefings, reviews, and planning prompts.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Email" icon="envelope">
    Fires when specific emails arrive — by sender, domain, or keywords. Great for professor alerts, shipping notifications, or financial alerts.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Event" icon="bolt">
    Fires when something changes — an assignment is graded, a deadline is approaching, or a new task is created.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Classification" icon="brain">
    Uses AI to detect importance and category — fires on critical emails, academic deadlines, or security alerts without needing exact rules.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Example Automations

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Morning Briefing">
    **Trigger:** Every day at 7am

    Sift gathers your schedule, upcoming tasks, and deadlines, then sends a concise summary via iMessage.

    > "Set up a morning briefing at 7am via iMessage"
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Assignment Due Reminder">
    **Trigger:** 24 hours before any unsubmitted assignment is due

    Automatically fires for every assignment that hasn't been submitted yet.

    > "Remind me about assignments 24 hours before they're due"
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Grade Notification">
    **Trigger:** When any assignment is graded

    Sift detects when Canvas syncs a new grade and sends you an alert with the score.

    > "Notify me when an assignment is graded"
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Professor Email Alert">
    **Trigger:** When an email arrives from a specific sender

    Get alerted via iMessage when your professor or advisor emails you.

    > "Alert me when [professor@university.edu](mailto:professor@university.edu) emails me"
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Weekly Study Planner">
    **Trigger:** Every Sunday at 6pm

    Sift analyzes your upcoming week—assignments, exams, existing calendar—and creates a study plan with timeblocks.

    > "Every Sunday evening, create a study plan for the week"
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Deadline Countdown">
    **Trigger:** At 3 days, 1 day, and 12 hours before each due date

    Staged alerts so nothing sneaks up on you.

    > "Set up a deadline countdown at 3 days, 1 day, and 12 hours before things are due"
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Weekly Inbox Digest">
    **Trigger:** Every Friday at 5pm

    Summarizes flagged emails, threads awaiting reply, and anything you might have missed.

    > "Send me a weekly email digest every Friday"
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Weather-Aware Morning Plan">
    **Trigger:** Every morning at 7am

    Gathers your schedule plus the weather forecast, so you can dress and plan accordingly.

    > "Every morning, send me my schedule with the weather"
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Creating Custom Automations

Describe what you want in natural language and Sift builds it:

<CodeGroup>
  ```text Scheduled automations theme={null}
  "Send me a summary of my day every morning at 7am via iMessage"
  "Every Sunday at 6pm, review my week and suggest a study plan"
  "Every Friday, summarize my inbox and flag anything I missed"
  ```

  ```text Email-triggered automations theme={null}
  "When my advisor emails me, send me an iMessage alert"
  "When I get an email with 'deadline' in the subject, notify me immediately"
  "Alert me when emails from @university.edu domains arrive"
  ```

  ```text Event-triggered automations theme={null}
  "When an assignment is graded, send me the score via iMessage"
  "30 minutes before any calendar event, send me a meeting prep summary"
  "When a new assignment syncs from Canvas, add it to my study plan"
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Managing Automations

| Action      | What to say                                |
| ----------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| List        | "Show my automations"                      |
| Pause       | "Pause my morning briefing"                |
| Resume      | "Resume my morning briefing"               |
| Edit        | "Change my morning briefing to 6:30am"     |
| Delete      | "Delete my evening review"                 |
| Test        | "Test my morning briefing" (dry run)       |
| Suggestions | "What automations would be useful for me?" |

## Delivery Channels

Automation outputs can be delivered via:

* **iMessage** — Most common, see results right in your messages
* **Email** — For longer summaries and digests
* **Push notification** — Quick alerts
* **In-app** — Appears in your Sift chat

## Living Documents (Keeps)

Automations can optionally write to **keeps**—persistent documents that accumulate data over time:

* **Grade tracker** that updates every time an assignment is graded
* **Weekly log** that appends each week's summary
* **Goal check-in** that tracks progress toward a target

## Monitors vs Automations

Want to watch an **external URL** instead of your internal Sift data? Use [Live Monitors](/capabilities/monitors) — they watch webpages, APIs, and RSS feeds for changes and alert you when your condition is met. Monitors are great for price tracking, job boards, blog posts, and anything outside your calendar/email/Canvas.

## Tips

* **Start with a morning briefing** — It's the most impactful single automation
* **Use event triggers for Canvas** — Get graded/assignment alerts without checking manually
* **Email triggers are powerful** — Filter by sender, domain, or keywords
* **Test before activating** — Use dry runs to verify behavior
* **Don't over-automate** — A few key automations beat many ignored ones
* **Sift suggests automations** — Ask "What automations would be useful?" for personalized ideas