How to Set Up ClickUp Automations: Complete Step-by-Step Guide (2026)

If you’re managing work in ClickUp but still manually changing task statuses, sending update emails, or reassigning tasks one by one — you’re leaving significant time on the table. ClickUp’s automation engine is one of the most powerful in the project management space, and when configured correctly, it can save your team anywhere from two to five hours per person per week.

This guide walks you through everything: how automations work, how to build them step by step, the best templates to start with, and real-world examples for different team types.

What Are ClickUp Automations?

ClickUp Automations are rule-based workflows that trigger automatic actions in response to events in your workspace. The basic structure is always the same:

When [Trigger] + If [Condition] → Then [Action]

For example:
– When a task’s status changes to “Ready for Review” → Then assign it to your QA lead and post a message in Slack
– When a due date passes → Then change priority to Urgent and notify the task owner
– When a new task is created in a List → Then set the default assignee and apply a template

ClickUp’s automation engine supports over 50 triggers, dozens of conditions, and a wide range of actions — including cross-app actions like sending Slack messages, creating Hubspot contacts, or posting in Microsoft Teams.

Where to Find Automations in ClickUp

Automations can be set up at three levels in ClickUp:

• Space level: Applies to all Folders and Lists within a Space
• Folder level: Applies to all Lists within that Folder
• List level: Applies only to tasks in that specific List

To access automations:
1. Navigate to the Space, Folder, or List where you want the automation
2. Click the Automate button (lightning bolt ⚡ icon) in the top toolbar
3. You’ll see the Automations panel with existing automations and the option to create new ones

Step-by-Step: How to Create a ClickUp Automation

Step 1: Open the Automation Builder

From any Space, Folder, or List, click the ⚡ Automate button in the top toolbar, then click + Create Automation or New Automation.

Step 2: Set Your Trigger

The trigger is the event that starts the automation. Click + Add Trigger and choose from categories:

• Task events: Status changes, assignee added, priority changed, task created, task completed
• Date/time events: Due date approaches, scheduled time, recurring interval
• Custom field events: A dropdown changes, a checkbox is ticked, a number reaches a threshold
• Form events: A form submission is received
• Integration events: An email is received, a Slack message is sent

Example trigger: “When task status changes to ‘In Review'”

Step 3: Add Conditions (Optional but Powerful)

Conditions narrow down when the automation fires. Without conditions, the automation runs for every task that matches the trigger. With conditions, you can target specific scenarios.

Click + Add Condition and choose from:

• Task is in a specific List or Folder
• Assignee is (or is not) a specific person
• Priority is above a threshold
• Custom field equals a value
• Tag includes/excludes a specific label

Example condition: “Only if the task has the tag ‘Client-Facing'”

You can stack multiple conditions using AND / OR logic for highly targeted rules.

Step 4: Define Your Actions

Actions are what ClickUp does when the trigger fires (and conditions are met). Click + Add Action to choose:

Task Actions:
– Change status
– Assign / unassign a person
– Set or clear due date
– Change priority
– Add a comment or post an update
– Apply a task template
– Move or copy the task to another List
– Create a subtask

Notification Actions:
– Send an email (to anyone, not just ClickUp users)
– Post a message in Slack
– Send a Microsoft Teams message
– Post a webhook to an external system

Cross-App Actions:
– Create a record in HubSpot, Salesforce, or other CRMs
– Create a Jira issue
– Add a row to Google Sheets

Pro tip: You can chain multiple actions in sequence. For example: change status → assign to QA lead → post Slack notification → set due date to +2 business days.

Step 5: Name and Enable Your Automation

Give the automation a descriptive name (e.g., “Status: In Review → Notify QA Lead”). Add an optional description for your team. Toggle the automation to Active and click Create Automation.

Using Automation Templates

ClickUp provides pre-built automation templates so you don’t have to start from scratch. To access them:

1. Click ⚡ Automate → New Automation
2. Click Browse Templates instead of starting custom
3. Filter by category: Onboarding, Project Management, Marketing, Engineering, Sales

Most popular automation templates in 2026:
– Auto-assign tasks when created in a specific List
– Notify team when a task is overdue by 1 day
– Move completed tasks to an “Archive” List automatically
– Create subtasks automatically when a parent task reaches a certain status
– Send a weekly summary email of all open tasks to the project manager

10 High-Impact ClickUp Automation Examples

1. Status Change → Notify the Next Team Member

Use case: A developer finishes a task and marks it “Ready for QA.” The QA lead is automatically notified and the task is assigned to them.

Setup: Trigger: Status changes to “Ready for QA” → Action: Assign to [QA Lead] + Comment “Handed off to QA” + Send Slack message

2. Overdue Task Alert

Use case: Automatically escalate tasks that miss their due dates.

Setup: Trigger: Due date passes + Condition: Status is not “Complete” → Action: Change priority to Urgent + Notify task assignee + Notify team lead

3. Auto-Assign New Tasks

Use case: Every new task in the “Support Tickets” List is automatically assigned to the on-call support agent.

Setup: Trigger: Task created in [Support Tickets List] → Action: Assign to [On-Call Agent]

4. Recurring Weekly Review Task

Use case: Every Monday, create a “Weekly Review” task for each project manager.

Setup: Trigger: Scheduled (Every Monday 9am) → Action: Create task “Weekly Review” in [Project Reviews List] + Assign to [PM]

5. Client Approval Workflow

Use case: When a deliverable is marked “Ready for Client” it’s automatically emailed to the client with a link.

Setup: Trigger: Status changes to “Ready for Client” → Action: Send email to [client@email.com] with task link

6. Move Completed Tasks to Archive

Use case: Keep your active boards clean by auto-archiving completed tasks.

Setup: Trigger: Task status changes to “Complete” → Action: Move task to [Archive List]

7. Automatically Set Due Dates

Use case: When a task is created in your “Blog Posts” List, automatically set the due date to 3 days from creation.

Setup: Trigger: Task created → Action: Set due date to creation date + 3 days

8. Onboarding Subtask Creation

Use case: When a new employee is added as a task in the HR List, automatically create onboarding subtasks.

Setup: Trigger: Task created in [New Hires List] → Action: Create subtasks from template (“Set up equipment”, “Send welcome email”, “Schedule Day 1 orientation”)

9. High-Priority Alert to Leadership

Use case: Alert your leadership team when any task’s priority is escalated to Critical.

Setup: Trigger: Priority changes to Critical → Action: Send Slack message to [Leadership Channel] with task link

10. Form Submission → Auto-Create Project

Use case: When a new project request form is submitted, auto-create a project task with all the form data.

Setup: Trigger: Form submitted → Action: Create task in [Active Projects List] with form fields mapped to task fields

How Many Automations Do You Get?

ClickUp’s automation limits by plan (2026):

Plan	Automations per Month
Free	100
Unlimited	1,000
Business	10,000
Business Plus	25,000
Enterprise	Unlimited

For most small to mid-size teams on the Business plan, 10,000 automations per month is more than sufficient — that’s roughly 330 automations per day.

Troubleshooting Common Automation Issues

Automation isn’t firing:
– Check that the automation is toggled ON (easy to miss)
– Verify the trigger event matches exactly what you’re doing
– Check conditions — they may be too restrictive
– Look at the Automation History log (click the clock icon on any automation) to see if it’s running

Automation running too many times:
– Add conditions to narrow the scope
– Check for circular triggers (Automation A triggers Automation B which triggers Automation A)
– Use the “Run once per task” option if available

Action not completing:
– If posting to Slack or Teams, verify the integration is still connected in Settings > Integrations
– For cross-app actions, check that API keys and OAuth tokens haven’t expired

Best Practices for ClickUp Automations

Name automations clearly: Use a format like “[Trigger] → [Action]” so your team knows what each automation does at a glance.

Document your automations: Keep a record (even a simple ClickUp Doc) of all active automations, what they do, and why. This is critical for onboarding new team members.

Test before going live: Create a test task and run through the trigger manually before activating the automation for the whole team.

Review monthly: Automations become outdated as processes change. Schedule a monthly review to audit which automations are still relevant.

Don’t over-automate: Not every process needs an automation. Focus on repetitive, high-frequency tasks first.

The Bottom Line

ClickUp automations are one of the highest-ROI features in the platform — but only if you invest the time to set them up properly. Start with two or three high-impact automations (overdue alerts, status-change notifications, auto-assignment) and expand from there.

The teams that master automations don’t just save time — they build more consistent, reliable workflows where important things never fall through the cracks.

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