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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.the-meridian.ai/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Automations let you respond to merchant behavior automatically — without writing custom backend logic or managing cron jobs. You define a workflow once: choose what triggers it, add the actions you want to run, and Meridian handles execution whenever the trigger fires. Use automations to onboard new merchants, re-engage churning ones, send transactional emails, or fire webhooks to external systems.

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How automations work

An automation is a directed graph of nodes connected by edges. Every automation has exactly one trigger node — the event that starts the workflow — and one or more action nodes that run in sequence when the trigger fires. Meridian stores the graph as a serialized structure: 
interface AutomationGraph {
  nodes: SerializedNode[]
  edges: SerializedEdge[]
}

interface SerializedNode {
  id: string
  type: "trigger" | "action"
  position: { x: number; y: number }
  data: {
    label: string
    description?: string
    webhookUrl?: string   // for webhook action nodes
    emailUuid?: string    // for email action nodes
  }
}

interface SerializedEdge {
  id: string
  source: string  // node id
  target: string  // node id
  type?: string
}
Each node carries a label and optional description visible in the editor canvas. Action nodes that send emails reference an email template via emailUuid. Action nodes that call external services carry a webhookUrl.

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The visual editor

Open any automation to enter the drag-and-drop graph editor. The canvas shows your nodes and the edges connecting them. You can:
  • Add a trigger — pick from the available TriggerDefinition list, each with an id, label, and description
  • Add actions — pick from the available ActionDefinition list in the same format
  • Connect nodes — drag from a node’s output handle to another node’s input handle to create an edge
  • Configure nodes — click a node to set its webhookUrl or choose an emailUuid from your saved email templates
  • Reposition — drag any node to reposition it; the position is saved with the graph
Use the Templates tab to start from a pre-built graph instead of building from scratch. Templates come with nodes and edges already wired up for common use cases.

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Automation status

Every automation has a status of either "active" or "inactive". Only active automations execute when their trigger fires. Set an automation to inactive to pause it without deleting it. 
type AutomationStatus = "active" | "inactive"
Toggle the status from the automations list or from within the editor.

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Trigger and action definitions

Triggers and actions are defined by their id, label, and description. Meridian groups them by category for easier browsing in the editor’s node picker. 
interface TriggerDefinition {
  id: string
  label: string
  description: string
}

interface ActionDefinition {
  id: string
  label: string
  description: string
}
Triggers are organized into TriggerCategory groups, and actions into ActionCategory groups. Browse these categories in the editor’s Add node panel.

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Automation templates

Templates give you a ready-made graph for common merchant lifecycle scenarios. Every template belongs to one of five categories defined by AutomationTemplateCategoryId:

Onboarding

Welcome new merchants, trigger setup guides, or send a welcome email when a merchant installs your app for the first time.

Retention

Detect churn signals and trigger re-engagement actions before a merchant uninstalls.

Engagement

Nudge merchants toward features they haven’t used or milestones they’re close to reaching.

Lifecycle

Respond to plan upgrades, downgrades, or subscription status changes.

Operations

Fire webhooks to internal tools, update external CRMs, or trigger Slack notifications.
Each template includes a pre-built AutomationGraph with nodes and edges already configured. You can use a template as-is or customize it in the editor after applying it.

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Creating an automation from a template

1

Open the automations page

Navigate to Automations in the sidebar. You see a list of all existing automations for your app.
2

Browse templates

Click New automation and then select Start from a template. Templates are grouped by category: onboarding, retention, engagement, lifecycle, and operations.
3

Apply a template

Click a template card to preview its graph, then click Use template. Meridian creates a new automation with the template’s graph pre-loaded and sets its status to "inactive".
4

Customize in the editor

The editor opens automatically. Review the pre-built nodes and edges. Configure any action nodes that require a webhookUrl or emailUuid. Rename the automation to something descriptive.
5

Activate the automation

When you’re satisfied with the graph, toggle the status to Active. Meridian begins listening for the trigger event and will execute the workflow automatically.

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Connecting automations to emails

Action nodes that send emails reference a saved email template via emailUuid. To connect an email:
  1. In the editor, click an email action node.
  2. In the configuration panel, select an email from your saved templates. The node stores the selected template’s uuid as emailUuid.
  3. When the automation runs and reaches that node, Meridian sends the referenced email to the merchant who triggered the workflow.
The email template must have a status of "active" for the automation to send it. Inactive email templates are skipped and the automation logs a failure for that run.

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Run history

Every time an automation executes, Meridian records an AutomationRun: 
interface AutomationRun {
  uuid: string
  automation_uuid: string
  started_at: string          // ISO 8601
  ended_at: string            // ISO 8601
  status: AutomationRunStatus // "success" | "failed"
  retries: number             // number of retry attempts made
  trigger_event: string       // the event that triggered this run
}
View run history by opening an automation and clicking the Runs tab. Each entry shows the trigger event, start and end time, outcome status, and how many retries were attempted before the final result.
Failed runs are not automatically retried indefinitely. Check the retries count and the trigger_event to diagnose why a run failed, then fix the underlying issue (e.g. an unreachable webhookUrl or a deleted email template).

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Platform plan limits

Your Meridian platform plan includes an automations limit that caps how many automations you can create for your app. 
platform_plan: {
  limits: {
    automations: number | null  // null means unlimited
  }
  usage: {
    automations: number         // current automation count
  }
}
You can check your current usage and limit in Settings → Plan. Upgrade your plan to increase the limit if you need more automations.
Last modified on May 5, 2026