The action pipeline
When the trigger matches, the automation downloads the file, finds or creates the right case, saves the file with its category and provenance, and (if a template is set) runs extraction inline so the case fields are populated immediately.
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When the trigger matches, the automation downloads the file, finds or creates the right case, saves the file with its category and provenance, and (if a template is set) runs extraction inline so the case fields are populated immediately. The shape is fixed; you configure the parameters, not the steps.
What you need
- An automation with both a category and (if Extract is on) a template that resolves at run time. If either is missing, ingestion is skipped on purpose.
What happens, in order
1. Identifier pre-extraction. When extraction is on, the automation looks at the first PDF and pulls the case identifier out of it (the field marked as the identifier on the template). Without an identifier the automation falls through to the no-identifier path below.
2. Case routing. Three paths:
- Identifier matches an existing case → merge into it.
- Identifier extracted but no match → atomically create a new case with that identifier.
- No identifier at all → create a new case with an auto-generated ID.
3. Save the file. The file is written to storage and attached to the case with its category tag plus provenance pointing back at the originating message or Drive file. File storage (Firebase / Google Drive / Both) controls the destination when both integrations are connected.
4. Run extraction. If the Extract node is on, extraction runs against the saved file using the chosen template. The extracted values populate the case's fields.
5. Duplicate handling. If the same source file shows up again (same Gmail attachment ID, same Drive file ID), the rule on the Destination node decides:
- Skip duplicate — log it and do nothing. Most common.
- Re-extract — keep the existing case and file, re-run extraction against it. Useful when the template has evolved.
- Create new — make a separate case, even though the source repeats. Rare.
Sequential, fail-closed
Steps run in order. If one fails — extraction errors, storage refuses the file, the destination category can't be resolved — the rest stops and the failure is logged in the Activity panel under the canvas.
Manual edits made on the case afterwards don't replay through the pipeline; they're independent edits.