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An automation is a saved run configuration — a repository, ref, and workflow — plus the triggers that may start it. Every trigger fire creates and starts a normal Fabro run through the same pipeline as POST /api/v1/runs, so automation runs get the same lifecycle, events, and observability as manually created runs. Each run records the automation and trigger that created it.

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Defining automations

The server keeps one TOML file per automation in an automations/ directory next to its settings.toml. Manage them in the web UI at /automations, through the /api/v1/automations REST API, or by editing the files directly:
automations/nightly-release.toml
name = "Nightly release"
description = "Cut a nightly build from main"

[target]
repository = "fabro-sh/fabro"
ref = "main"
workflow = "release"

[[triggers]]
type = "api"
id = "manual"
enabled = true

[[triggers]]
type = "schedule"
id = "nightly"
enabled = true
expression = "0 0 * * *"
The target names a GitHub repository as an owner/repo slug, the ref to run against, and a project workflow defined in that repository. When a trigger fires, Fabro clones the repository at the ref, resolves the workflow, and creates and starts the run. Repositories are cached server-side as bare clones, so repeat fires fetch only what changed.

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Triggers

Each trigger has an id and its own enabled flag. Trigger-level enabled is the sole activation control — there is no automation-level master switch.

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API triggers

POST /api/v1/automations/{id}/runs creates and starts a run through the automation’s API trigger. The request is rejected with a conflict when the automation has no enabled API trigger. The Run button on automation cards and detail pages in the web UI uses the same endpoint.

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Schedule triggers

expression is a five-field cron expression evaluated in UTC: 
[[triggers]]
type = "schedule"
id = "weekday-mornings"
enabled = true
expression = "0 9 * * 1-5"
The server fires each enabled schedule trigger at its next occurrence and creates and starts a run. Creating, editing, or deleting an automation takes effect immediately — no restart needed. If a fire fails (for example, the clone or workflow resolution errors), Fabro logs a warning and waits for the next occurrence rather than retrying.

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Web UI

The /automations area lists automations with create, edit, delete, and Run actions. Saves are revision-checked, so concurrent edits fail loudly instead of silently overwriting each other. The detail page shows the automation’s configuration and its run history with status, time, and repo filters. To bootstrap an automation from work you have already run, open a run’s actions menu and choose Create automation from run — the new-automation form is pre-filled from that run’s repository and workflow. Runs that were created by an automation show View automation instead.

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API

/api/v1/automations provides full CRUD: list, create, fetch, replace, and delete. Responses carry an ETag revision; PUT and DELETE require a matching If-Match header. GET /api/v1/automations/{id}/runs lists the automation’s runs newest-first with standard pagination.