Setting up Action Flows in Studio
Action Flows enrich the Celonis Platform platform by providing out-of-the-box integrations and intelligent automations to trigger actions in numerous operational systems like SAP, Oracle, and Salesforce.
Within Celonis Studio, you can build literally any automation - from sending out emails, managing files, updating sales orders in SAP, to simply getting data from various tools. Leverage the drag-and-drop builder to add any application to your automated workflows… and to automate any process of any complexity.
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In simple terms, an Action Flow is a way to define an automated process flow. It consists of multiple events, decision points and alternative routes and it can involve an arbitrary number of different applications.
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To kickstart your Action Flow implementation, we provide frequently used templates. You can find specific use cases as well as snippets that you can use for different scenarios. The templates can be used as an inspiration for how key modules are connected in various use cases. See Action Flow Templates.
Click the + icon next to your package and select "Action Flow".
Give your Action Flow a name.
The key will be automatically created. This key is unique and can be used to refer to a specific Action Flow throughout the Celonis Platform.
(Optional) Add a description.
Select automation type:
Automatic - select this option if you want your Action Flow to run according to a schedule; the scheduling of the Action Flow is set to According to schedule.
Manual - select this option if you want your Action Flow to be started manually; the scheduling of the Action Flow is automatically set to On-demand.
(Optional) Set the number of consecutive errors after which the Action Flow will be disabled.
Click Create.
In general, Action Flows consist of five different module types:
Searches
Actions
Iterators
Aggregators
In addition, you can use a variety of different tools such as:
Filter
Router
Set variable
You can add any number of modules to your Action Flow and recreate any business logic needed.
Draft vs. Published
In the edit mode, you are working on your Action Flow in "draft" mode. As soon as the Action Flow is published, all changes are being pushed to the published version.
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At any time during the creation process, you can run your Action Flow manually to test single modules or the entire Action Flow.
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Publishing is necessary to activate the Action Flow for the first time and after making any changes to the Action Flow.
For information on scheduling Action Flows, see Scheduling.
The Overview shows you your currently published Action Flow and provides:
information about currently running executions,
a preview of the execution history based on UTC+00 time zone,
and high-level statistics on your executions over time.
Log retention time
Logs are stored for 30 days inside the Celonis Platform.
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For more detailed information, you can go to the History to deep-dive into every single execution.
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Related topics
Action Flow inputs allow you to pass structured data into your automation every time it runs. They act as a bridge between Celonis and other systems, ensuring that your Action Flow has all the specific information it needs to execute its logic correctly.
To find Action Flows inputs, go to your automation editor and click inputs icon on the toolbar.
Action Flow inputs function as the primary configuration layer for manual or hybrid automations. Here is a look at each stage of the lifecycle:
Define the structure: During the design phase, you establish the "schema" or blueprint of the data your Action Flow needs to function.
Field Mapping: You define specific keys (e.g., customer_email, total_amount) and assign them data types (text, number, date, or boolean).
Validation Rules: You can designate specific fields as Required, ensuring the automation never runs with missing critical data.
User Interface: These definitions automatically generate the labels and tooltips that the end-user will see when they trigger the flow.
Input data (the trigger event): When a user initiates the Action Flow—either from a button in a Celonis View or directly within the Action Flows module—the system intercepts the request.
Dynamic Form Generation: Celonis renders a real-time input form based on your defined structure.
User Interaction: The user enters the specific values for that unique execution (e.g., typing in a specific "New Hire Name" or selecting a "Reason for Rejection").
Gatekeeping: If any Required fields are missing, the "Run" button remains disabled or returns an error, preventing partial or failed executions.
Automation execution and data distribution: Once the form is submitted, the data enters the Action Flow environment as a set of global variables.
Variable Availability: The input data becomes a selectable "pill" in the mapping panel of every subsequent module (e.g., Jira, Slack, or ServiceNow).
Consistency: Because the data is collected once at the start, the same value (like an Employee ID) is synchronized across all connected platforms, eliminating manual entry errors.
Process Transparency: These inputs are logged in the execution history, allowing you to audit exactly what data was used to trigger a specific run.
If you need to set up accounts for a new hire across Jira, Slack, and Email. Instead of manually logging into each platform, you can use Action Flow inputs:
The inputs: You define fields for First Name, Last Name, Work Email, and Employee ID.
The action: Once you enter this information into the input form, the Action Flow automatically creates the accounts in all systems simultaneously.
The benefit: You don't need to understand the complex logic or API connections happening in the background; you just provide the data, and the automation handles the rest.
Other common use case scenarios include:
Customer Syncing: Updating profile information across multiple CRM platforms.
Lead Management: Adding offline event leads to CRMs and mailing lists.
Document Generation: Creating invoices or orders by providing a specific set of variables.