Learn how to check whether your automations are working, see what each run actually did, and where to look when something goes wrong. This article is for anyone using Automations in InfraNest.
Overview
- Every time a rule runs, InfraNest keeps a record of it so you can confirm it worked as expected.
- You can try out a rule before saving it, run a saved rule on demand, or dig into the full run history to see each step's outcome.
- Rules that fail repeatedly are flagged automatically, so problems don't go unnoticed.
Preview a rule before saving
- While building your rule, look for the Preview button.
- Select it to see what the rule would do, using a real recent example from your account.
- Review the Dry-run result — this is a safe check that doesn't actually perform any actions.
- Adjust your rule's Conditions or Actions if the result isn't what you expected, then preview again.
TipUse Preview every time you change a condition or action — it's the fastest way to catch mistakes before the rule goes live.
Test a saved rule
- Open the saved rule you want to check from All automations.
- Select Test run.
- If you want to try it with different data, choose Test with a custom payload and enter your own Trigger payload.
- Review the outcome. If something goes wrong, you'll see Test run failed along with the reason.
Check run history
- Open the rule you want to check.
- Go to the Runs section (also shown as Runs · 30d) to see its recent activity.
- Select any run to see its Actions listed as steps, in the order they happened.
- Check each step's status — it will show as succeeded, failed, or skipped — along with its Output or error message.
- If a step didn't behave as expected, use this view to pinpoint exactly where things went wrong.
NoteThe All automations list also shows how many times each rule has run, so you can spot inactive or overly busy rules at a glance.
Guardrails
- Cooldown — if your rule has a cooldown set, it won't run again for the same domain, monitor, or item until the wait time passes. This stops a burst of events about one thing from triggering the rule repeatedly. Other domains and monitors aren't affected.
- Rules that keep failing are marked Auto-disabled after repeated failures (shown as Switched off after repeated failures in the list), so you can fix the issue or turn the rule off yourself.
- Every run is also recorded in your Audit Log, giving you a complete history outside of the automation itself.
Troubleshooting
- A run failed — open the run in Runs and check the failed step's error message to see what went wrong.
- A rule isn't running at all — check whether it's marked Paused or Auto-disabled after repeated failures, and confirm its Conditions actually match the event you expect.
- You're not sure what a rule would do — use Preview (for unsaved changes) or Test run (for saved rules) instead of waiting for a real event.
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