Kaizen 213 - Workflow APIs - Part 1
If you have ever managed complex business processes, you know that Workflows are the quiet backbone of any well-run business process. They keep things moving; assigning owners, sending alerts, keeping deals on track, and much more. But until now, you could not manage them via APIs. That changes with the release of Workflow APIs.
In this series, we will work through a real-world scenario together, showing you how to transition from manually managing workflows to governing them using APIs. We’ll look at Zylker Cloud Services, an IT solutions provider trying to bring order to its growing CRM automations.
The use case: Scaling the sales process at Zylker Cloud Services
Zylker’s sales process touches multiple teams and modules like Leads, Deals, Calls, Appointments, etc. Over time, different team members created their own workflows. The result is familiar to anyone who has scaled fast:
Multiple versions of what should be the same process
Old, unused workflows still running.
Now, Zylker wants to bring structure and visibility to this automation sprawl. Their system administrators are building a custom admin dashboard to monitor and manage CRM workflows, without needing deep CRM expertise.
They want to:
Display a real-time list of all workflows with their status
Gain insights into workflow distribution across modules
Identify inactive or outdated workflows that may need cleanup.
However, the CRM UI only allows viewing one workflow at a time. There is no consolidated view to see all workflows, their triggers, and their status across modules. That makes auditing and governance tedious and error-prone, especially at scale.
This is exactly what the Workflow APIs solve. With this, they can:
Audit all existing workflows.
Review how and when they trigger.
Identify which modules and actions are supported before creating new rules or updating existing ones.
Update existing rules and create new rules.
Delete the rules that are no longer needed.
You can not build a dynamic admin dashboard or an automated audit system for Workflows through just clicks. But you can do this now, with Workflow APIs.
STEP 1: Discover and audit existing workflows
Before changing anything, we need to understand what we are working with. How many workflows do we have? What do they do? How many more can we create?
To get a complete inventory of Workflow rules, we can use the GET Workflow Rules API. This API returns a list of all the Workflow Rules configured for the CRM account.
Sample Request:
GET {api-domain}/crm/v8/settings/automation/workflow_rules
This initial audit acts like a master list, giving us an overall picture. It helps understand the scope of the automation landscape and identify obvious redundancies, like multiple workflows with similar names or purposes.
Sample Response:
{ "workflow_rules": [ { "created_time": "2024-01-15T14:20:30+05:30", "execute_when": { "details": { "trigger_module": { "api_name": "Deals", "id": "4876876000000002181" }, "repeat": false }, "type": "create_or_edit" }, "editable": true, "module": { "api_name": "Deals", "id": "4876876000000002181" }, "deprecated": false, "deletable": true, "description": "Alert VP of Sales for high-value opportunities", "source": "crm", "created_by": { "name": "Matthew Mayers", "id": "4876876000001360001" }, "last_executed_time": null, "modified_time": "2024-01-23T12:23:12+05:30", "name": "VP Alert - High Value Deal", "modified_by": { "name": "Matthew Mayers", "id": "4876876000001360001" }, "lock": { "locked_by": null, "message": null, "status": false }, "id": "4876876000016390024", "category": "default", "conditions": [ { "sequence_number": 1, "instant_actions": { "actions": [ { "related_details": null, "name": "VP notified", "details": { "module": { "api_name": "Deals", "id": "4876876000000002181" } }, "id": "4876876000016390063", "type": "field_updates" }, { "related_details": { "best_time": true }, "name": "High value deal alert", "id": "4876876000016390015", "type": "email_notifications" } ] }, "scheduled_actions": [ { "execute_after": { "period": "business_days", "unit": 1 }, "id": "4876876000016390074", "actions": [ { "related_details": null, "name": "Confirm VP follow-up", "id": "4876876000016390067", "type": "tasks" } ] } ], "criteria_details": { "relational_criteria": { "module_selection": null, "criteria": null, "module": null }, "criteria": { "group_operator": "AND", "group": [ { "comparator": "equal", "field": { "api_name": "Amount", "id": "4876876000000002557" }, "type": "value", "value": "50000" }, { "comparator": "equal", "field": { "api_name": "Stage", "id": "4876876000000002565" }, "type": "value", "value": "Negotiation/Review" } ] } }, "id": "4876876000016390025" } ], "status": { "active": true } }, { "id": "4876876000012015001", "name": "Lead Assignment - North Region", "module": {"api_name": "Leads"}, "status": {"active": true}, "execute_when": {"type": "create"}, "last_executed_time": "2025-10-14T11:56:20+05:30" // ... other keys omitted for brevity }, { "id": "4876876000012020001", "name": "Lead Assignment - South Region", "module": {"api_name": "Leads"}, "status": {"active": true}, "execute_when": {"type": "create"}, "last_executed_time": "2025-10-14T10:30:15+05:30" // ... other keys omitted for brevity } // ... additional workflows ], "info": { "per_page": 200, "count": 71, "page": 1, "more_records": false } } |
The response gives us a comprehensive overview of all configured workflows. For each rule, we get the metadata including its unique ID, name, description, the module it operates on, its activation status, and details about when it triggers. We also get audit information like creation timestamps and which user made changes.
Working with large results
When you have hundreds of workflows, pagination helps. The response includes an info object with pagination details:
count: The number of workflows on the current page
per_page: The maximum number of records per page (default and max is 200)
page: The current page number
more_records: Indicates if there are additional records to fetch.
If the more_records key is true, we can retrieve the next page by using the page parameter in the request.
While getting all workflows gives you the big picture, we may often want to focus on specific areas. This API offers several parameters to narrow down our search:
Parameter type | Description |
module | Filters workflows by the primary module they operate on. |
trigger_module | Filters by related modules that can trigger workflows. Use this when you want workflows that are triggered by changes in related records. |
execute_on | Filters by the specific action that triggers the workflow. |
status_active | Filters by activation status to see only active or inactive workflows. Useful for audits and cleanup operations. |
filter | Searches workflows by name using a JSON filter. |
page | Specifies which page of results to return. Use this for pagination when you have a large number of workflows. |
per_page | Limits the number of workflows returned per page. The default and maximum value is 200. |
sort_by | Sorts the workflows based on a specific field. The only supported value is modified_time. |
sort_order | Sorts the workflows in ascending (asc) or descending (desc) order. |
include_inner_details | Includes the inner details like conditions and actions of the workflows in the response. |
For example, to find all active lead workflows containing "Assignment" in their name, use:
Here is the API-call-ready version of the same, after URL encoding the filter value:
Now, if you inspect the response closely, you can see that we have two similar workflows: "Lead Assignment - North Region" and "Lead Assignment - South Region." And there is also an older workflow named "VP Alert - High Value Deal."
This workflow was created almost a year ago by a former team member, and it has not been modified for a long time. Is it still relevant? What exactly does it do? What criteria define a "high-value deal," and who exactly gets notified?
To answer these questions and understand the workflow's complete logic, we must examine it closely using the Get a Workflow API. This API returns the full configuration including all conditions, criteria thresholds, and specific actions for an individual workflow.
STEP 2: Inspect a single workflow using Get a Workflow API
Sample Request:
GET {api-domain}/crm/v8/settings/automation/workflow_rules/4876876000016390024
Here, 4876876000016390024 is the unique ID of the Workflow rule whose details we want to fetch, obtained from the response of Get all Workflows API.
Sample Response:
{ "workflow_rules": [ { "created_time": "2024-01-15T14:20:30+05:30", "execute_when": { "details": { "trigger_module": { "api_name": "Deals", "id": "4876876000000002181" }, "repeat": false }, "type": "create_or_edit" }, "editable": true, "module": { "api_name": "Deals", "id": "4876876000000002181" }, "deprecated": false, "deletable": true, "description": "Alert VP of Sales for high-value opportunities", "source": "crm", "created_by": { "name": "Matthew Mayers", "id": "4876876000001360001" }, "last_executed_time": null, "modified_time": "2024-01-23T12:23:12+05:30", "name": "VP Alert - High Value Deal", "modified_by": { "name": "Matthew Mayers", "id": "4876876000001360001" }, "lock": { "locked_by": null, "message": null, "status": false }, "id": "4876876000016390024", "category": "default", "conditions": [ { "sequence_number": 1, "instant_actions": { "actions": [ { "related_details": null, "name": "VP notified", "details": { "module": { "api_name": "Deals", "id": "4876876000000002181" } }, "id": "4876876000016390063", "type": "field_updates" }, { "related_details": { "best_time": true }, "name": "High value deal alert", "id": "4876876000016390015", "type": "email_notifications" } ] }, "scheduled_actions": [ { "execute_after": { "period": "business_days", "unit": 1 }, "id": "4876876000016390074", "actions": [ { "related_details": null, "name": "Confirm VP follow-up", "id": "4876876000016390067", "type": "tasks" } ] } ], "criteria_details": { "relational_criteria": { "module_selection": null, "criteria": null, "module": null }, "criteria": { "group_operator": "AND", "group": [ { "comparator": "equal", "field": { "api_name": "Amount", "id": "4876876000000002557" }, "type": "value", "value": "50000" }, { "comparator": "equal", "field": { "api_name": "Stage", "id": "4876876000000002565" }, "type": "value", "value": "Negotiation/Review" } ] } }, "id": "4876876000016390025" } ], "status": { "active": true } }, { "id": "4876876000012015001", "name": "Lead Assignment - North Region", "module": {"api_name": "Leads"}, "status": {"active": true}, "execute_when": {"type": "create"}, "last_executed_time": "2025-10-14T11:56:20+05:30" // ... other keys omitted for brevity }, { "id": "4876876000012020001", "name": "Lead Assignment - South Region", "module": {"api_name": "Leads"}, "status": {"active": true}, "execute_when": {"type": "create"}, "last_executed_time": "2025-10-14T10:30:15+05:30" // ... other keys omitted for brevity } // ... additional workflows ... ], "info": { "per_page": 200, "count": 71, "page": 1, "more_records": false } } |
The detailed response gives us a complete blueprint of the workflow. We can now see the exact business logic: the workflow triggers when deals are edited and meet two specific conditions; when the amount equals exactly $50,000 AND the stage is Negotiation/Review.
More importantly, we can see all the actions that execute: an immediate field update to mark deals as "VP notified," an email notification sent at the optimal time, and a follow-up task scheduled for one business day later. Here's what is really interesting about this detail; this workflow has never actually executed, despite being active for nearly a year, because the last_executed_time is null in the response.
Now we are left with some important questions. Is that $50,000 threshold too narrow? What if a $49,000 deal is just as important? And is the VP still the right person to alert? Are there additional stakeholders who should be notified beyond just the VP? These are the type of questions you can start answering once you inspect your workflows closely.
STEP 3: Check limits and distribution
Before making any changes, we must understand our automation capacity and how workflows are distributed across the organization. The Workflow APIs provide two key endpoints for this:
1. Get Workflow limits API
This API provides a comprehensive view of your organization's workflow capacity across multiple dimensions.
Sample Request:
GET {api-domain}/crm/v8/settings/automation/workflow_rules/actions/rules_count
Sample Response:
{ "rules_count": { "scheduled_actions_per_rule_limit": 5, "total_rules_limit": 2500, "active_rules_configured": 71, "rules_per_process_limit": 10, "total_actions_per_rule_limit": 50, "total_rules_limit_per_module": 125, "active_rules_limit": 2000, "total_rules_configured": 82, "active_rules_limit_per_module": 75 } } |
This response gives the following information:
Total Capacity: Zylker has a generous limit of 2,500 total workflows, with only 82 currently configured. This means that they are using just 3 percent of their total capacity.
Active Workflows: There are 71 active workflows, well below their 2,000 active workflow limit
Module-level Limits: Each module can support up to 125 total workflows, with 75 of those allowed to be active simultaneously.
Action Limits: Each condition in the Workflow can contain up to 50 total actions, with a maximum of five scheduled actions.
For Zylker, this is excellent news. Only 71 active workflows out of a 2,000 limit. This means we have substantial room for growth and can confidently create new workflows without worrying about capacity constraints.
2. Get module-wise counts API
This API tells you exactly how many workflow rules you have in each module. It shows both the total number of rules and how many are currently active. This helps you see where your automations are concentrated and where you might be missing opportunities.
Sample request:
GET {api-domain}/crm/v8/settings/automation/workflow_rules/actions/module_specific_count
Sample Response:
{ "module_specific_count": [ { "active_rules_configured": 2, "module": { "api_name": "Products", "id": "4876876000000002213" }, "total_rules_configured": 2 }, { "active_rules_configured": 2, "module": { "api_name": "Deals", "id": "4876876000000002181" }, "total_rules_configured": 2 }, { "active_rules_configured": 4, "module": { "api_name": "Contacts", "id": "4876876000000002179" }, "total_rules_configured": 5 }, { "active_rules_configured": 2, "module": { "api_name": "Appointments__s", "id": "4876876000002362026" }, "total_rules_configured": 3 }, { "active_rules_configured": 4, "module": { "api_name": "Calls", "id": "4876876000000033015" }, "total_rules_configured": 5 }, { "active_rules_configured": 43, "module": { "api_name": "Leads", "id": "4876876000000002175" }, "total_rules_configured": 51 }, { "active_rules_configured": 14, "module": { "api_name": "Emails", "id": "4876876000000014163" }, "total_rules_configured": 15 } ] } |
Looking at this response, we can see 43 active workflows in Leads but only two in Deals. This tells us that Zylker is heavily focused on lead management but might be missing opportunities to automate their sales process later in the pipeline.
Together, these two APIs give a complete picture of the automation capacity and distribution.
What's next: From understanding to action
Now that we have our foundation, we are ready to start building and refining.
In the next part of this Kaizen series, we will move from discovery to design. We’ll use the Workflow Configuration, Create, and Update APIs to standardize Zylker’s automation management, create new workflow rules, and update existing ones for consistency and efficiency.
We hope that you find this post on Workflow APIs useful. If you have any feedback, or if there are any pain-points that you would like us to address in our Kaizen series, please let us know in the comments, or reach out to us via support@zohocrm.com. We will be happy to help!
Until we meet again next Friday, Happy coding!
Topic Participants
Anu Abraham
Sticky Posts
Kaizen #217 - Actions APIs : Tasks
Welcome to another week of Kaizen! In last week's post we discussed Email Notifications APIs which act as the link between your Workflow automations and you. We have discussed how Zylker Cloud Services uses Email Notifications API in their custom dashboard.Kaizen #216 - Actions APIs : Email Notifications
Welcome to another week of Kaizen! For the last three weeks, we have been discussing Zylker's workflows. We successfully updated a dormant workflow, built a new one from the ground up and more. But our work is not finished—these automated processes areKaizen #152 - Client Script Support for the new Canvas Record Forms
Hello everyone! Have you ever wanted to trigger actions on click of a canvas button, icon, or text mandatory forms in Create/Edit and Clone Pages? Have you ever wanted to control how elements behave on the new Canvas Record Forms? This can be achievedKaizen #142: How to Navigate to Another Page in Zoho CRM using Client Script
Hello everyone! Welcome back to another exciting Kaizen post. In this post, let us see how you can you navigate to different Pages using Client Script. In this Kaizen post, Need to Navigate to different Pages Client Script ZDKs related to navigation A.Kaizen #210 - Answering your Questions | Event Management System using ZDK CLI
Hello Everyone, Welcome back to yet another post in the Kaizen Series! As you already may know, for the Kaizen #200 milestone, we asked for your feedback and many of you suggested topics for us to discuss. We have been writing on these topics over the
Recent Topics
Timeline Tracking Support for records updates via module import and bulk write api
Note: This update is currently available in Early Access and will soon be rolled out across all data centers (DCs) and for all editions of Zoho CRM. The update will be available to all users within your organization, regardless of their profiles or roles.UI Improvement - Ability to Collapse Flow
The UI for Flow is generally pretty good. However, when multiple decision trees are used, the layout can get pretty convoluted and hard-to-follow (see one of my Flows below): In these cases, even the auto-arrange fails to make this something that a normalTasks Statuses
Hi, The task status "Completed" is a final status which closes the task. We need to have a status "Cancelled". However, when the status is set to "Cancelled", the task prompt still has a blue button to Close Task. When the customer clicks that and closesAdd Lookup Field in Tasks Module
Hello, I have a need to add a Lookup field in addition to the ones that are already there in the Tasks module. I've seen this thread and so understand that the reason lookup fields may not be part of it is that there are already links to the tables (Create New Tasks Layout in CRM
I am able to do this in Leads, Contacts, Meetings, Calls - every other module, but cannot create a new layout in tasks. I have the appropriate access but it's simply not appearing as an option. Only "Standard" option shows. Please help!Whatsapp Connection Status still "Pending" after migration
Hello, I migrated my WhatsApp API to Zoho from another provider a day ago. So far the connection status is still “Pending”. There is a problem? How long does it usually take?Using IMAP configuration for shared email inboxes
Our customer service team utilizes shared email boxes to allow multiple people to view and handle incoming customer requests. For example, the customer sends an email to info@xxxx.com and multiple people can view it and handle the request. How can I configureAuto-sync field of lookup value
This feature has been requested many times in the discussion Field of Lookup Announcement and this post aims to track it separately. At the moment the value of a 'field of lookup' is a snapshot but once the parent lookup field is updated the values diverge.Zoho Recruit Subscription
Hello Zoho Recruit Team, Good day! I would like to inquire about your recruitment subscription plans and would also like to verify the current subscription our company is enrolled in under Zoho Recruit. Thank you, and I look forward to your response.Keyboard shortcut M key
I'm trying to customize my keyboard shortcuts and assign the "m" key. But it says the key is already assigned. I've looked through all my shortcuts and can't see any assigned "m". When I select an email and press the M key, nothing happens. What is theIs it possible to create a meeting in Zoho Crm which automatically creates a Google Meet link?
We are using Google's own "Zoho CRM for Google" integration and also Zoho's "Google Apps Sync" tools, but none of them provide us with the ability to create a meeting in Zoho CRM that then adds a Google Meet link into the meeting. Is this something thatEnsure Consistent Service Delivery with Comprehensive Job Sheets
We are elated to announce that one of the most requested features is now live: Job Sheets. They are customizable, reusable forms that serve as a checklist for the services that technicians need to carry out and as a tool for data collection. While onAutomatic Portal invite
We have numerous customers we move through a blueprint in deals, when they get to a certain point we need to give them portal access, how can this be done through deluge or a workflow? Latest Update (December 2025): The option to automate portal invitationsMarketer's Space: Why mobile optimization deserves a place in your email strategy
Hello Marketers, Welcome back to Marketer's Space! Today, we'll talk about the importance of creating mobile-friendly email designs. While mobile phones were once used only to make phone calls, today they're used for almost everything, including texting,Enhancements in Canvas
Dear All, Greetings! Canvas lets you design the record details page to suit your brand or business preferences. We are glad to introduce the following enhancements to uplift your design experience. Reusable Components Style Presets Let's go! ReusableIntroducing Dark Mode / Light Mode : A New Look For Your CRM
Hello Users, We are excited to announce a highly anticipated feature - the launch of Day, Night and Auto Mode implementation in Zoho CRM's NextGen user interface! This feature is designed to provide a visually appealing and comfortable experience forABN with Legal Entity Name
Hi, How can I execute this? The ABN number is entered in Accounts Module and ideally, it should display or suggest the correct Legal Entity Name based on the ABN lookup. ex. Account Name: JPG Resources ABN Number: 65 067 761 871 Legal Entity Name: (autoZoho Cliq not working on airplanes
Hi, My team and I have been having this constant issue of cliq not working when connected to an airplane's wifi. Is there a reason for this? We have tried on different Airlines and it doesn't work on any of them. We need assistance here since we are constantlyUnify Overlapping Functionalities Across Zoho Products
Hi Zoho One Team, We would like to raise a concern about the current overlap of core functionalities across various Zoho applications. While Zoho offers a rich suite of tools, many applications include similar or identical features—such as shift management,Detailed Account Reports - Add Running Balance
When one clicks into an account from a report (say P/L or Balance Sheet), the default reports have the Debit, Credit, and then the Amount. The Amount column (last one) is duplicate information. It would be far better and fit more peoples' use cases ifIssue: Ticket Export Does Not Include Ticket Threads
Dear Zoho Desk Support Team, I hope you’re doing well. I wanted to bring to your attention that the current ticket export feature in Zoho Desk does not seem to include the ticket threads or conversation history. When exporting tickets, only the summaryPushover Notification Module
Hello, it would be good if there would be a "Pushover" (https://pushover.net/) module besides the standard SMS module. Pushover is now very well known, especially in IT, and is becoming more and more popular. The biggest advantage are the customizableForward - no Ticket Number
Hello, when I send an email to Zoho Desk via Reply or Reply All, the ticket number is in the subject line. But if I use forward then not. Is there an option to change this? We often forward e-mails and a reply to this will of course create a new ticketCheckout: Adding Images
Hello everyone, I’m trying to add a small GoGreen logo in the shipping section of the checkout to promote our sustainable shipping. While I can insert text without any issues, it seems that adding images is not supported in this area. Is there currentlySortie de Zoho TABLE ??
Bonjour, Depuis bientôt 2 ans l'application zoho table est sortie en dehors de l'UE ? Depuis un an elle est annoncée en Europe Mais en vrai, c'est pour quand exactement ??[solved] #original_sender trick not working for us
Hello community ! We really like DESK.. it's working like a charm for us but I have a request. Some users are sending emails personnaly to me (instead of using the support adress).. and I saw there was a possibilty to use : #original_sender {mail@mail.com}SalesIQ Chat Notifications
I am the admin of our salesIQ implementation. About two weeks ago, I started hearing/seeing notification for ALL chats messages from monitored agents/chat participants. I don't need to see these, we have a manager who deals with this. I can't stop theCorrelated subqueries not supported in Zoho Analytics. This creates huge limitations
Running into a major limitation in Zoho Analytics: correlated subqueries simply don’t work, even in completely standard SQL patterns inside a JOIN. Example: LEFT JOIN "Bills" b ON d."Id" = b."Deal ID" AND EXISTS ( SELECT 1 FROM "BillUnknown table or alias 'A1'
I would like to create a subquery but i am getting the following error: Unknown table or alias 'A1' used in select query. This is the sql statement: SELECT A1.active_paying_customers, A1.active_trial_customers, A1.new_paying_signup, date(A1.date_active_customers),Batch Emails in CRM Plus without using a template?
Hi guys. Is it possible to send the same email to multiple people at the same time within CRM Plus without using an email template? At the moment we create a custom view in Contacts to display the people that we need. We then click the boxes on the left, and click 'Send Mail', but always need to select a template. Sometimes its better to write a quick one off message, without needing to set up a template first. Thanks.bank charge
a charge to my account was made that I did not authorize, of $16.46, for something that looks like "computer maintenance or something to that matter". please refund.[Free Webinar] Product Updates: Quick Catch-Up Session - Part II - Creator Tech Connect
Hello Everyone! We welcome you all to the upcoming free webinar on the Creator Tech Connect Series. The Creator Tech Connect series is a free monthly webinar featuring deep-dive technical sessions designed for developers, administrators, and app builders.Introducing Liquid Glass UI on the Zoho Mail iOS app
Hello everyone! We're excited to announce that the Zoho Mail app is now fully optimised for iOS 26's Liquid Glass design on both iPhone and iPad! The updated interface features transparent layers, smooth animations, and refined visual elements that enhancePlan change from Zoho One to Zoho Workplace
Hello Zoho, Following the recent pricing update for Zoho One, we are interested in transitioning to Zoho Workplace products. Please inform us about the necessary steps for this process so we can proceed promptly. Kind regards,Partner with HDFC And Sbi Bank.
Hdfc and sbi both are very popular bank if zoho books become partner with this banks then many of the zoho books users will benefit premium features of partnered banks.Links in Instagram
Hi there, I have been using Later for a while now but keen to come back to Zoho Social as Later doesn't offer tagging of pages on Facebook but they offer something Zoho doesn't. You can add a link to your bio which opens up your profile feed where imagesSpotlight #7 - Automatic Transitions in Blueprint
Previously, records could not be moved from one state to another without user intervention. With automatic transitions, move records from one state to another automatically, when it elapses its pre-defined time. This Spotlight discusses how automaticSub Folders
It would be great if there could be sub-folders in reports. We have a ton of individual reports and folders that would be easier to navigate this wayZoho CRM Community Digest - November 2025 | Part 2
Hello Everyone! Second half of November brought several exciting updates, especially around Zia, making AI assistance smarter, faster, and more context-aware. We also feature engaging community snippets highlighting members who went the extra mile toZoho CRM - Writing Assistant Tone
Hi Zoho CRM Team, Text in my emails often gets underlined in yellow because I tend to use a more informal tone with my client's, like using "I'm" instead of "I am". Is there some way for me to tell the system that this is my preferred writing tone, soNext Page