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Custom RoutinesCustom Routines

Custom Routines

Stock routines cover common patterns. Create your own to unlock what’s possible — complex tasks done in minutes, or turned into routines that run automatically.

Three ways to create

Ask your assistant

The easiest way to create a routine is to email your assistant.

“Create a routine that labels emails from my team and keeps them in inbox”

“I want a weekly summary of all newsletters I received”

“Make a routine that alerts me when I get emails with ‘urgent’ in the subject”

Your assistant understands what you want, generates the routine, tests it, and enables it for you.

Start by asking your assistant. If you need more control, you can also configure routines manually.

Build it in the web app

You can also build routines in the web app by chatting with your assistant there. Describe what you want, iterate together until it looks right, test it, and set it live.

Building RoutinesManual Configuration

Configure manually

For full control over every setting, you can use the manual configuration form. Choose triggers, select tools, set the mode, and write your own instructions.

What you can automate

Routines have access to all the tools your assistant can use:

CategoryWhat you can do
EmailRead, search, label, archive, send, create drafts
CalendarView events, create meetings, check availability
ResearchSearch the web, analyze results, run calculations
DocumentsCreate, edit, and organize documents and content
IntegrationsWork with GitHub, Slack, Linear, Notion, HubSpot, Dropbox, Asana
Other routinesQuery what other routines have done, or trigger them

Routine types

Instruction-based routines

The default type. You describe what you want in plain language, and your assistant follows your instructions at runtime.

Example: “When I receive a newsletter, archive it and add the ‘newsletters’ label”

Best for flexible reasoning, open-ended tasks, and quick iteration.

Code routines

For routines that need to follow exact steps every time. Your assistant can generate these for you from a plain language description — you don’t need to write any code yourself.

Example: “Every morning at 8 AM, gather all unread emails, group them by sender, and send me a summary with counts per sender”

Best for complex multi-step processes, precise formatting, and aggregating data from multiple sources.

Learn more in Advanced Topics.

Safety controls

Custom routines follow the same safety rules as stock routines:

  • Modes — Autonomous, approval-required, or read-only
  • Per-tool controls — Different approval levels for different actions
  • Built-in protections — Certain risky combinations are blocked automatically

Learn more in Safety.

Getting started

  1. Try asking your assistant — Email yourname@town.com with what you want
  2. Build it in the web app — For more control, chat with your assistant in the routine builder
  3. Go manual — For full control, configure every setting yourself
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