Automations

Automations are sequences of actions that MyOctopus executes in order. Each action has a type and configuration.

Available Actions

Action	Description	Example
Open App	Open or activate a macOS app	Open Safari
Close App	Quit a macOS app	Close Slack
Notification	Send a macOS notification	Alert with sound
Open URL	Open a URL in default browser	Open google.com
Shell Command	Run a terminal command	Say "hello"
Set Volume	Set system volume (0–100)	Mute (0)
Toggle Dark Mode	Toggle system dark mode	Switch theme
Arrange Windows	Split windows left/right	Split layout
Type Text	Type text via keystroke	Type a message
AppleScript	Run custom AppleScript	Complex automation
Gmail Fetch	Fetch emails from inbox	Search emails
Gmail Send	Send an email	Reply to sender
AI Generate	Generate text with Claude	Summarize emails
Calendar List	List calendar events	Today's events
Calendar Create	Create a calendar event	Add meeting
Calendar Find Slots	Find free time slots	Available times
Browser Action	Automate Chromium browser	Fill a web form
Wait	Pause between actions	Wait 5 seconds

Template Variables

Actions can reference results from previous steps using double-curly-brace syntax:

Variable	Description
{{actions.stepId.emails}}	Emails from a Gmail Fetch step
{{actions.stepId.text}}	AI-generated text from an AI Generate step
{{actions.stepId.pageText}}	Browser page text
{{actions.stepId.stdout}}	Output from a shell command
{{trigger.email.subject}}	Subject from an email trigger
{{trigger.email.from.address}}	Sender from an email trigger
{{now}}	Current ISO timestamp
{{localDate}}	Human-readable date
{{localTime}}	Current local time

Creating Automations

Via Chat

Type a natural language command in AI Chat:

"open Safari, go to news.ycombinator.com, and read the page"

MyOctopus generates the automation automatically.

Via Automation Builder

Use the visual builder to add actions step by step:

1. Click New Automation from the Automations view
2. Add actions from the action type dropdown
3. Configure each step
4. Click Save to store, or Run to execute immediately

Composable Patterns

Chain actions to build powerful workflows:

• Email summary: Gmail Fetch → AI Generate ("Summarize these emails") → Notification
• Web scraping: Browser Action (navigate + read page) → AI Generate ("Extract key info")
• Smart reply: Gmail Fetch → AI Generate ("Draft a reply") → Gmail Send
• Meeting prep: Calendar List → AI Generate ("Summarize today's meetings") → Notification

See Preset Templates for ready-to-use examples of these patterns.