🧭Which automation: legacy Automate vs Workflow Foundation

First page in the Automation section. Read this before you open a wizard or a catalog.

What this is / when to use it

NotionApps has two automation systems plus form submit actions. They are not interchangeable.

System	Where it lives	What it is for	When not to use it
Workflow Foundation	Automation → Workflows	Multi-step routes: triggers, conditions, Notion writes, queues, messages, waits	A single “after save, go to screen”
Messaging Foundation	Automation → Messaging	Channels, contracts, notifications, conversations, announcements, app links	Replacing a Work Queue
Approval Management	Automation → Approvals	Human decisions with outcomes beyond a toggle	A normal status dropdown with no inbox
Legacy Automate	Databases → Automate	One-shot email / SMS / webhook when a row changes	New apps. Prefer Foundation.
Form on_submit	Form screen	change_data / go_to_screen / redirect_url	Starting a multi-step route

Submit actions finish the form.
Legacy Automate pings email/SMS/webhook.
Foundation runs a route with a run id, a queue, and screens.

Legacy Automate

Legacy Automate is Databases → Automate: one-shot email, SMS, or webhook when a row changes. Leave a working rule in place if you already rely on it. Do not start new apps here — use Foundation.

Before you start

Know the job in one sentence: “When X happens, a person must do Y, and Z should be notified.” If there is no person and no route, you may only need submit actions.

Build it (choose)

1. If the job is “save, then thank-you screen” → Form submit only.

2. If the job is “email me when a row is created” and you already have a legacy Automate rule that works → you may leave it. Do not add a second Foundation route for the same ping without a reason.

3. If the job is an approval, a queue, a conversation, or a webhook intake → Foundation. Start at Start From a Wizard.

4. Add the native screen the job needs (Decision, Work Queue, Conversation, …). Those guides live under Types of Screens. This section’s index is a TOC only.

Every control (decision table)

You need	Open
First live notify or approval in ~5 minutes	Start From a Wizard
Every trigger	Trigger catalog
Every step	Step catalog
Channels, named topics that create work or wake a Wait, publishers, announcements	Messaging — topics that perform work
Outcomes beyond approve/reject	Approval workflows
HTTP in/out	Webhook technical reference
Deep books	Workflow Foundation User Guide, Application Messaging Foundation Guide

Current-state and extra how-to books redirect to those two deep books plus the wizard.

What users see

They see screens (Notification Center, Decision, Work Queue), not “Foundation.” Legacy Automate users only see the email/SMS they receive.

Limits and plans

Three entitlement families, resolved independently: Workflow, Messaging, Approvals. Messaging uses levels: draft / intra-app / inter-app / external API. See Plans. Request access from Automation Home when a family is locked.

Example

A purchase request: form submit stamps Status = Submitted (change_data), Workflow form_submitted creates a Decision item, Messaging notifies the approver, the approver uses the Decision screen. Legacy Automate is not in this path.

Fix problems

Symptom	What to do
Submit works, nobody notified	You only set submit actions. Add a wizard notify or a send_notification step.
Two emails	Legacy Automate + Foundation both firing. Turn one off.
Locked builder	Request access. Not a docs gap.

Related

Next: Start From a Wizard. Screens: native guides under Types of Screens.