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

# Automations Overview

> Build no-code workflows that process data, connect services, and automate tasks across your organization

## What are Automations?

Automations is Royaltyport's no-code workflow builder. It lets you design, test, and deploy multi-step data processing pipelines that run at the organization level. Workflows can call APIs, transform data with AI, run custom code, query databases, send notifications, and more — all without writing a full application.

## Key Terminology

| Term           | Description                                                                             |
| -------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Composer**   | An orchestrator that chains multiple automations and hooks into an ordered sequence     |
| **Automation** | A visual workflow built on the canvas with connected steps                              |
| **Step**       | A single unit of work in a workflow (e.g. HTTP request, code execution, database query) |
| **Connector**  | A connection between two steps that defines the execution flow                          |
| **Trigger**    | What starts a workflow — manual, event-based, or scheduled                              |
| **Hook**       | A lightweight action attached to a composer step (e.g. sleep, review, passthrough)      |

## How It All Fits Together

1. **Create a Composer** — the top-level orchestrator for your workflow
2. **Add Composer Steps** — each step references an automation or a hook (sleep, review, passthrough)
3. **Build Automations on the Canvas** — connect steps visually to define the data flow
4. **Test in Test Mode** — run your workflow with test data and inspect logs
5. **Deploy to Live** — promote your tested workflow to production

## Test vs Live Mode

Automations have two modes:

| Mode     | Purpose                | Editing              | Execution             |
| -------- | ---------------------- | -------------------- | --------------------- |
| **Test** | Building and debugging | Full editing enabled | Test executions only  |
| **Live** | Production             | Read-only            | Production executions |

Build and iterate in test mode, then deploy to promote your configuration to live. Each mode has its own secrets and databases.

## Accessing Automations

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open your Organization">
    From the [Dashboard](/dashboard), click into your organization.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Navigate to Automations">
    Select **Automations** from the organization sidebar.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Explore the Sidebar">
    The sidebar lets you switch between composers, libraries, variables, secrets, and databases.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Feature Guide

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Composers" icon="layers" href="/automations/composers">
    Orchestrate multiple automations and hooks in sequence.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Workflow Canvas" icon="workflow" href="/automations/canvas">
    Build visual workflows by connecting steps on the canvas.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Steps" icon="puzzle" href="/automations/steps/overview">
    All step types, presets, branches, output schemas, and template variables.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Triggers" icon="play" href="/automations/triggers">
    Manual, event-based, and scheduled triggers.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Test & Deploy" icon="rocket" href="/automations/test-and-deploy">
    Test mode, live mode, and the deployment flow.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Runs & Logs" icon="list" href="/automations/runs">
    Execution history and step-by-step logs.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Secrets" icon="lock" href="/automations/secrets">
    Encrypted credentials for step authentication.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Databases" icon="database" href="/automations/databases">
    Internal data stores for your automations.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Variables" icon="variable" href="/automations/variables">
    Reusable JSON values injected as template strings.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Libraries" icon="book-open" href="/automations/libraries">
    Reusable prompts and scripts with test runners.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Example Workflows" icon="lightbulb" href="/automations/examples/overview">
    Real-world scenarios: catalog sync, contract renewals, statement chasing.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>