#How do I run an automation for a contact, list, tag or segment?

With the automation published, click Run manually at the top of the editor and choose who goes in: Single contacts (one or more), List, Tag or Segment. The window shows how many contacts will enter, the cooldown rule and the Dispatch pace, and you send Now or use Schedule for a date and time. Each click on Run manually creates a run, with its own status and counts — the automation stays live and can be run as many times as you need.

This works for any published automation: the ones that start with Manual start (no event; who enters is chosen only when you run) and also the ones that already start from an event, such as Tag applied or Purchase approved.

Role: any member with edit access to the workspace.

#Before you start

• The automation must be published (Live). In draft, the available button is Test — see the comparison in Test vs. Run.
• For an automation that should only run when you say so, pick the Manual start trigger (category Manual start) when creating the flow. It has no settings: publishing only puts the automation live, and nothing is sent until you click Run manually.
• To send messages, connect the channel under Messaging.

#Steps

1. Open the automation in the editor and click Publish (or Activate). On a Manual start automation, this sends to nobody.

2. Click Run manually at the top of the editor. On a Manual start automation, the same button sits on the trigger card.

3. Pick the source of the contacts:

   • Single contacts — search and tick one or more contacts, up to 500 per run. Each result and each ticked contact shows the name and phone number, so you can tell apart contacts with the same name.
   • List — every contact in the chosen list.
   • Tag — every contact carrying the tag.
   • Segment — the segment is recalculated at that moment: whoever matches the criteria when you run gets in, not whoever matched when the segment was created.

   For List, Tag and Segment, the picker opens with a Search… field at the top: type part of the name to find the source without scrolling the whole list. Each option shows how many contacts it has.

4. Check how many contacts will enter. If the number is not what you expected, change the source before going on.

5. Read the cooldown rule, shown as Contacts that already went through in the last 24 hours will be skipped. (the window — 24 hours in the example — is the Lead cooldown set on the automation's trigger). To force in those who already went through, tick Include contacts that went through in the last 24 hours (cooldown) — the window warns: Whoever received it recently will receive it again.

6. Adjust the Dispatch pace: Contacts per cycle and Interval between cycles. With a list, tag or segment it is already open; with single contacts, click Dispatch pace to open it. What each control does is in How do I control the pace of a mass send?.

7. Choose Now and click Run now, or Schedule for, set a date and time and click Schedule.

From there the run shows up in the editor with the status Scheduled (if you scheduled it) or Running.

#What the run shows

The card and the history refresh on their own while the run is in progress, with no page reload; with the history open (or the Executions tab filtered by the run), they refresh more often.

In the Executions tab, every execution created by a run carries the Run badge, and you can filter the list by run to see only what that mass execution did. Executions started by an event have no badge.

#Cancelling a run

While the run is Scheduled or Running, it can be cancelled from its card. The rule is simple: what has not gone out yet does not go out — contacts who had not entered yet do not enter. Those who already entered follow the flow normally; to stop one of those executions, use Stop in the Executions tab.

Pausing or archiving the automation also cancels whichever run is scheduled or running.

#Limits

• One run at a time. While a run is Scheduled or Running, the automation does not accept another. Wait for it to complete, or cancel it, to run again.
• Up to 500 single contacts. For a bigger audience, put the contacts in a list, apply a tag or build a segment and use that source.

#Automations that cannot be run

Some steps only work with the data the trigger event brings — for instance, replying to an Instagram comment or story, or sending WhatsApp from the number that received the conversation. A run has no source conversation or comment, so the Run window explains that the automation depends on the trigger context and does not let you continue.

To make the automation runnable, swap those steps for versions that do not depend on the event — for WhatsApp, pin the sending number, as in Which number does the automation send WhatsApp from?.

#Running from Contacts

In Contacts, select the contacts (or open a list or a segment) and, in the bulk actions, click Send message and pick the Full automation card. In the Automation window, choose Run existing automation, pick a published automation and click Run: the run starts right away for that audience, with the source already filled in. It is the shortest path when you start from the audience, not from the automation.

#Test vs. Run

Both execute for real: they send messages, apply tags and call integrations.

#FAQ

Did my old "Bulk send to list/tag/segment" automation disappear? No. It was converted into a Manual start automation, and the list, tag or segment that was on the trigger shows up pre-selected when you click Run manually. If it was scheduled, the schedule became a Scheduled run on the same date.

I scheduled a run and, at the scheduled time, it showed up as Failed. If something prevents the send at the scheduled moment, the run fails and you get a notification. The automation is not paused — fix what was missing and run again.

I paused the automation with a run in progress. What happens? The run is cancelled. Whoever had not entered yet does not enter; when you publish again, start another run.

I changed the Dispatch pace with a run in progress. The run in progress keeps the pace it started with. The new value applies from the next run.

Can I run an automation that starts from an event? Yes. Run is an entry door, not a trigger type: the automation keeps reacting to the event as usual and, on top of that, receives the contacts from the run.

#Related

• How do I control the pace of a mass send?
• How do I run a bulk send without burning my channel?
• Automation triggers