Skip to content
Cheffed

Building Automations

Automations let you set up hands-off workflows that respond to events like GitHub issues or webhooks. This guide walks through creating your first automation.

Creating an Automation

Section titled “Creating an Automation”
  1. Navigate to Automations in the sidebar
  2. Click Create Automation
  3. Follow the automation builder wizard

Automation Builder

Section titled “Automation Builder”

Step 1: Name Your Automation

Section titled “Step 1: Name Your Automation”

Give your automation a clear, descriptive name:

“Auto-triage bug reports”

“PR code review on feature branches”

“Generate docs on merge”

Step 2: Configure the Trigger

Section titled “Step 2: Configure the Trigger”

Choose what event starts your automation.

GitHub Issue Trigger

Section titled “GitHub Issue Trigger”

Triggers when issues are created or updated:

  1. Select GitHub Issue as trigger type
  2. Choose the repository to monitor
  3. Optionally filter by labels (e.g., only bug or automate)

GitHub Pull Request Trigger

Section titled “GitHub Pull Request Trigger”

Triggers on PR events:

  1. Select GitHub Pull Request as trigger type
  2. Choose the repository
  3. Configure which events trigger (opened, updated, merged)

See Event Triggers for detailed configuration options.

Step 3: Configure the Action

Section titled “Step 3: Configure the Action”

Define what happens when the trigger fires.

Start Session Action

Section titled “Start Session Action”

Creates a new AI session:

  1. Select Start Session as action type
  2. Choose an agent/prompt template
  3. Select the AI model
  4. Configure context passing (issue body, PR diff, etc.)

See Actions for detailed configuration options.

Step 4: Review and Save

Section titled “Step 4: Review and Save”

Review your automation configuration:

  • Trigger conditions
  • Action settings
  • Test with a dry run if available

Click Create Automation to save and activate.

Example: Bug Triage Automation

Section titled “Example: Bug Triage Automation”

Let’s build an automation that triages new bug reports:

Configuration

Section titled “Configuration”
SettingValue
NameAuto-triage bug reports
TriggerGitHub Issue
Repositorymy-org/my-app
Label Filterbug
ActionStart Session
AgentBug Analyzer
ModelClaude 3.5 Sonnet

Behavior

Section titled “Behavior”

When someone opens an issue with the bug label:

  1. Cheffed detects the new issue via GitHub webhook
  2. Automation trigger conditions match
  3. A new session starts with the Bug Analyzer agent
  4. The agent receives the issue title, body, and metadata
  5. The agent analyzes the bug and posts findings as a comment

Testing Automations

Section titled “Testing Automations”

Before relying on an automation:

  1. Create a test issue with your trigger conditions
  2. Monitor the automation on the Automations page
  3. Check the session that gets created
  4. Review the output to ensure it meets expectations
  5. Iterate on the agent prompt if needed

Enabling and Disabling

Section titled “Enabling and Disabling”

Toggle automations on/off without deleting them:

  1. Go to the Automations page
  2. Find your automation
  3. Use the toggle switch to enable/disable

Disabled automations won’t respond to events but keep their configuration.

Best Practices

Section titled “Best Practices”

Start Simple

Section titled “Start Simple”

Begin with a basic automation and add complexity over time:

  1. Single trigger condition
  2. One action
  3. Clear, focused agent prompt

Use Specific Triggers

Section titled “Use Specific Triggers”

Narrow triggers prevent unwanted executions:

  • Filter by specific labels
  • Target specific repositories
  • Limit to certain branches

Monitor and Iterate

Section titled “Monitor and Iterate”

Check automation results regularly:

  • Review execution history
  • Examine session outputs
  • Refine agent prompts based on results

Document Your Automations

Section titled “Document Your Automations”

Use clear names and descriptions so team members understand what each automation does.

Next Steps

Section titled “Next Steps”