Kaizen 214 - Workflow APIs - Part 2

Kaizen 214 - Workflow APIs - Part 2


Welcome back to another week of Kaizen!

Last week, we discussed how Zylker Cloud Services used the Workflow APIs to discover and audit all the automations in their CRM, listing every workflow, checking triggers, and understanding their automation limits. This week, we take the next step: understanding what configurations are valid before creating or updating workflows via APIs.

 Step 4: Workflow Rule Configurations API 

When you work in the CRM UI, creating workflows feels straightforward. The interface shows only valid triggers and actions. Try adding an unsupported action, and it simply will not appear. This is because the UI enforces hundreds of rules behind the scenes.

With APIs, these validations must be handled manually. That is where the Workflow Rule Configurations API comes in. It gives all the valid triggers and actions for a given module, preventing errors before they happen.

 Why this API matters 

Consider two examples:

  • You want to create a workflow for the Products module based on a Scoring Rule update. The UI hides this option because scoring rules are not supported for Products.

  • You try to add a Field Update action for a Record Delete trigger. This is invalid, as the record no longer exists. The UI prevents it, but via API, you would get an error if you try to create or update the workflow with this configuration.

The Configuration API removes this guesswork, allowing you to fetch and respect valid triggers and actions.

Sample Request:

GET {api-domain}/crm/v8/workflow_configurations?module=Deals

Sample Response:

{

    "workflow_configurations": {

        "related_triggers_details": [

            {

                "api_name": "Notes",  // The API name of the related module that can trigger workflows

                "module": {  // Details about the related module

                    "singular_label": "Note",  

                    "plural_label": "Notes",  

                    "api_name": "Notes",     

                    "name": "Notes",          

                    "id": "4876876000000002197"

                },

                "name": "Notes",  // Module name

                "triggers": [  // Available triggers for this related module

                    {

                        "api_name": "create",

                        "deprecated": false,

                        "name": "Create",     

                        "scheduled_actions_supported": true,  

                        "actions": [  // List of supported actions for this trigger

                            "add_tags",

                            "remove_tags",

                            "email_notifications",

                            "tasks",

                            "create_record",

                            "create_connected_record",

                            "add_meeting",

                            "webhooks",

                            "functions",

                            "flow"

                        ]

                    },

                    // ... other triggers (create_or_edit, edit, delete) omitted for brevity

                ]

            }

        ],

        "triggers": [  // Primary triggers for the Deals module itself

            {

                "api_name": "score_increase",  

                "deprecated": false,     

                "name": "ScoreIncrease",   

                "scheduled_actions_supported": false,  // Indicates whether scheduled actions are allowed for this trigger

                "actions": [  // Only these instant actions are supported

                    "field_updates",

                    "assign_owner",

                    "add_tags",

                    "remove_tags",

                    "email_notifications",

                    "tasks",

                    "webhooks",

                    "functions",

                    "circuits",

                    "flow"

                ]

            },

            // ... other triggers omitted for brevity ...

        ],

        "actions": [  // Details about available workflow actions

            {

                "is_clickable": true,                   

                "associate_action": false,       

                "limit_per_action": null,           

                "api_name": "schedule_call",       

                "supported_in_scheduled_action": true,   

                "name": "ScheduleCall",                 

                "limit": 1                               // Maximum instances per workflow

            },

            {

                "is_clickable": true,

                "associate_action": true,

                "limit_per_action": null,

                "api_name": "tasks",               

                "supported_in_scheduled_action": true,  

                "name": "Task",

                "limit": 5                            

            },

            // ... other actions omitted for brevity ...

        ]

    }

}

 

 Interpreting and using the Workflow Configuration API 

The configuration response might look complex, but it gives us all the information we need about configuring Workflow Rules in Zoho CRM, for the specific module.

 4.1 "What can trigger my Workflow?" 

The triggers array shows all the supported triggers for that specific module.

"triggers": [

    {

        "api_name": "create",

        "deprecated": false,

        "name": "Create",

        "scheduled_actions_supported": true,

        "actions": [

            "field_updates",

            "assign_owner",

            "add_tags",

            "remove_tags",

            "email_notifications",

            "tasks",

            "create_record",

            "create_connected_record",

            "add_meeting",

            "webhooks",

            "functions",

            "circuits",

            "flow"

        ]

    },

.

.

    // ... other triggers omitted for brevity ...

    {

        "api_name": "score_increase",  

        "deprecated": false,     

        "name": "ScoreIncrease",   

        "scheduled_actions_supported": false,

        "actions": [

            "field_updates",

            "assign_owner",

            "add_tags",

            "remove_tags",

            "email_notifications",

            "tasks",

            "webhooks",

            "functions",

            "circuits",

            "flow"

        ]

    }

]

 

The response lists all available triggers for the module. For each trigger type, you get:

  • Trigger conditions: When the workflow will be triggered (on create, edit, score change, etc.)

  • Action compatibility: Which actions can be used with each trigger type

  • Scheduled actions support: Whether scheduled actions are supported for that trigger or not.

For instance, the score_increase trigger triggers the workflow when the score of a record is increased. The scheduled_actions_supported key is false for this trigger, which means that this specific trigger type doesn't support scheduled actions. This directly translates to API behaviour: attempting to configure a Workflow Rule via API with a scheduled action for the score_increase trigger will result in an error.

This API constraint is visibly enforced in the CRM interface. When configuring a score-based trigger in the UI:


The UI proactively prevents invalid configurations by hiding unsupported options. This is the pain point that Workflow Rules Configuration API solves when you work on your workflows via APIs.

4. 2. "What can my Workflow actually do?" - Understanding Actions 

The actions array defines the execution capabilities of your workflows. For each action type, you get important information like:

  • Limits per action instance: Maximum number of items that can be processed within a single action instance

  • Instance limits: How many times this specific action can be added to a condition in the Workflow rule.

  • Scheduled action support: Whether the action can be added as a scheduled action.

 

For example, in the add_tags action:

{

    "is_clickable": true,

    "associate_action": false,

    "limit_per_action": 10,        // Maximum 10 tags per Add Tags action

    "api_name": "add_tags",

    "supported_in_scheduled_action": true,

    "name": "AddTags",

    "limit": 1                      // Maximum one Add Tags action per workflow

}

 

From this data, it is clear that within a single Add Tags action, you can select up to 10 specific tags to add. Similarly, you can only include one Add Tags action instance in the entire workflow rule. Also, this action cannot be used as a scheduled action.

This has direct implications for API users:

  • Attempting to configure a workflow that adds more than 10 tags in one action will result in an error

  • Trying to add two separate Add Tags actions to the same workflow will fail

  • Adding a Add Tags action under scheduled actions section will also result in an error.

 

In the UI, these constraints are proactively taken care of.  As seen in the GIF, if you add fewer than 10 tags, clicking Add Tags again only lets you edit the existing action. Also it lets you add only up to 10 tags in an action. And if you have already added an action with 10 tags, the Add Tags option will no longer be available. Either way, the system prevents any possibility of adding a second Add Tags action, regardless of tag count.

This UI experience is what the Workflow Rules Configuration API replicates for developers. By checking these limits before making API calls, you can build workflows using APIs with the same confidence and error-free experience that UI users have.

 4.3. “What can trigger my Workflow from a related module?” – Understanding related triggers 

The related_triggers_details array shows how changes in related records can trigger workflows in your primary module. For example, in the Deals module, for the Notes related trigger:

"related_triggers_details": [

    {

        "api_name": "Notes",  // The API name of the related module

        "module": {  // Detailed information about the related module

            "singular_label": "Note",     

            "plural_label": "Notes",    

            "api_name": "Notes",        

            "name": "Notes",           

            "id": "4876876000000002197"  

        },

        "name": "Notes", // Module name

        "triggers": [  // Available triggers for this related module

            {

                "api_name": "create", // Trigger when related records are created

                "deprecated": false,  

                "name": "Create",  

                "scheduled_actions_supported": true,  

                "actions": [ // Supported workflow actions for this trigger

                    "add_tags",

                    "remove_tags",

                    "email_notifications",

                    "tasks",

                    "create_record",

                    "create_connected_record",

                    "add_meeting",

                    "webhooks",

                    "functions",

                    "flow"

                ]

            },

            // ... other triggers (create_or_edit, edit, delete) omitted for brevity

        ]

    }

]

 

For each related module, you get:

  • Module information: Details about the related module that can trigger workflows.

  • Available triggers: The actions on the related record (create, edit, delete, etc) that can trigger the workflow.

  • Supported actions: For each trigger, the actions that are supported for that specific trigger.

For instance, the Notes related trigger allows you to create workflows that execute when notes are added to deals. The configuration shows that when a note is created, your workflow can perform actions like sending email notifications, creating tasks, triggering webhooks, and more.

If you try to include an unsupported trigger or unsupported action, the API call will fail. For example, adding a field_updates action for a Notes create trigger . The configuration API response clearly shows that field_updates is not among the supported actions for Notes-related triggers.

The API also gives us important differences between trigger-action configurations. For example, while field_updates action is supported for the create trigger for the main module (Deals), the same action is not supported for the related module (Notes) create trigger. These distinctions would otherwise only be discovered through API errors.


In the UI, this limitation is enforced. When setting up a workflow triggered by Notes, the "Field Updates" action does not appear in the available actions list.

By checking the related_triggers_details section before making API calls, you can discover exactly which actions are supported for each related module trigger, thus avoiding configuration errors while creating or updating Workflow rules.

 Conclusion 

The Workflow Configuration API transforms how we approach automation development through APIs. Instead of discovering constraints through failed API calls, we can now design workflows with the right configuration, without any trial-and-error methods. It gives us complete visibility into all valid trigger-action combinations before a single line of code is written, enough information to build automations triggered by related records, and limit awareness to respect action constraints before they become API errors.

For Zylker, this means we can now confidently proceed with updating the old Workflow rules and creating new ones. In our next post, we will put this knowledge into action.

We hope that you found this post useful. If you have any questions or feedback, let us know in the comments below, or write to us at support@zohocrm.com. We would love to hear from you!



      Zoho Campaigns Resources


        • Desk Community Learning Series


        • Digest


        • Functions


        • Meetups


        • Kbase


        • Resources


        • Glossary


        • Desk Marketplace


        • MVP Corner


        • Word of the Day


        • Ask the Experts


          • Sticky Posts

          • Kaizen #198: Using Client Script for Custom Validation in Blueprint

            Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – 1 More to the Big Two-Oh-Oh! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.

          • Kaizen #226: Using ZRC in Client Script

            Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. In today's post, lets see what is ZRC (Zoho Request Client) and how we can use ZRC methods in Client Script to get inputs from a Salesperson and update the Lead status with a single button click. In this

          • Kaizen #222 - Client Script Support for Notes Related List

            Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. The final Kaizen post of the year 2025 is here! With the new Client Script support for the Notes Related List, you can validate, enrich, and manage notes across modules. In this post, we’ll explore how

          • 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 are

          Zoho CRM Plus Resources

            Zoho Books Resources


              Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                Zoho Projects Resources


                  Zoho Sprints Resources


                    Zoho Orchestly Resources


                      Zoho Creator Resources


                        Zoho WorkDrive Resources



                          Zoho CRM Resources

                          • CRM Community Learning Series

                            CRM Community Learning Series


                          • Tips

                            Tips

                          • Functions

                            Functions

                          • Meetups

                            Meetups

                          • Kbase

                            Kbase

                          • Resources

                            Resources

                          • Digest

                            Digest

                          • CRM Marketplace

                            CRM Marketplace

                          • MVP Corner

                            MVP Corner




                            Zoho Writer Writer

                            Get Started. Write Away!

                            Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                              Zoho CRM コンテンツ



                                ご検討中の方

                                  • Recent Topics

                                  • Separate Items & Services

                                    Hi, please separate items and services into different categories. Thank you

                                  • Scheduled sending of a poll and its results

                                    Is there a way to schedule sending a poll to all my users and have the results sent separately to the team?

                                  • How to list services on quote instead of products

                                    I need to create a customer facing estimate that displays our services. The default quote layout only allows products to be listed. Is there a way to correct this?

                                  • Customize Calendar view in Teamspaces Settings

                                    Right now every customization that happens inside of the calendar view inside of CRM is only visible for the specific user. We want to be able to set up calendar views as an admin for specific roles. I would suggest to do that inside of the settings of

                                  • CRM->INVENTORY, sync products as composite items

                                    We have a product team working in the CRM, as it’s more convenient than using Books or Inventory—especially with features like Blueprints being available. Once a product reaches a certain stage, it needs to become visible in Inventory. To achieve this,

                                  • Add an option to disable ZIA suggestions

                                    Currently, ZIA in Zoho Inventory automatically provides suggestions, such as sending order confirmation emails. However, there is no way to disable this feature. In our case, orders are automatically created by customers, and we’ve built a custom workflow

                                  • What's new in Zoho Sheet: Simplify data entry and collaboration

                                    Hello, Zoho Sheet community! Last year, our team was focused on research and development so we could deliver updates that enhance your spreadsheet experience. This year, we’re excited to deliver those enhancements—but we'll be rolling them out incrementally

                                  • Zoho Desk API - Send Reply to CUSTOMERPORTAL

                                    Hello! I'll try to send a reply to Customer Portal, But the response is 500 (INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR in service response). {"Error":"{\"errorCode\":\"INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR\",\"message\":\"An internal server error occurred while performing this operation.\"}"}

                                  • validation rules doesn't work in Blueprint when it is validated using function?

                                    I have tried to create a validation rule in the deal module. it works if I try to create a deal manually or if I try to update the empty field inside a deal. but when I try to update the field via the blueprint mandatory field, it seems the validation

                                  • Zoho Creator Developer Console | Improved Distribution and Lifecycle Management for apps

                                    Hello everyone, We're excited to introduce new enhancements now in the Zoho Creator Developer Console. These updates strengthen private app distribution through licensing controls and extend environment support across all installed apps, helping teams

                                  • CRM gets location smart with the all new Map View: visualize records, locate records within any radius, and more

                                    Hello all, We've introduced a new way to work with location data in Zoho CRM: the Map View. Instead of scrolling through endless lists, your records now appear as pins on a map. Built on top of the all-new address field and powered by Mappls (MapMyIndia),

                                  • WhatsApp IM in Zoho Desk always routes to Admin instead of assigned agent

                                    Hello Zoho Experts, I connected WhatsApp IM to my Zoho Desk account. I only assigned my Customer Service (CS) agent to the WhatsApp channel, and I did NOT include Admin in this channel. However, every new WhatsApp conversation automatically gets assigned

                                  • Zoho CRM for Everyone's NextGen UI Gets an Upgrade

                                    Hello Everyone We've made improvements to Zoho CRM for Everyone's Nextgen UI. These changes are the result of valuable feedback from you where we’ve focused on improving usability, providing wider screen space, and making navigation smoother so everything

                                  • [Webinar] Solving business challenges- Handling the challenge of transitioning to Zoho Writer from legacy tools

                                    Moving to Zoho Writer is a great way to consolidate your business tools and become more agile. With multiple accessibility modes, no-code automation, and extensive integration with business apps and content platforms, Zoho Writer helps solve your organization's

                                  • hide resolution from help centre

                                    to my surprise, i just found out that the resolution text is public in the helpcenter, even if 'notify customer' is off. is there a workaround to that? how do others deal with this? How zoho support does this and I don't think its used by Zoho in the first place. the resolution is meant to be private, not public

                                  • Feature Request - Gift Cards or Gift Voucher Capability in Zoho Commerce

                                    Hi Zoho Commerce team, I'm comming accross more and more retail businesses who sell gift cards. As there is currently no way to manage this in Zoho Commerce, it is a blocker to addoption. This is particularly popular in Europe and North America. I recently

                                  • Highlight a candidate who is "off limits"

                                    Hello: Is there a way to highlight a candidate who is "off limits"?  I would like to have the ability to make certain candidate and / or Client records highlighted in RED or something like that.   This would be used for example when we may have placed a candidate somewhere and we want everyone in our company to quickly and easily see that they are off limits.  The same would apply when we want to put a client or former client off limits so no one recruits out of there. How can this be done? Cheers,

                                  • Closing off tasks automatically based on project status

                                    Is there a way to close off all open tasks when a project is set as Cancelled?

                                  • CRM x WorkDrive: File storage for new CRM signups is now powered by WorkDrive

                                    Availability Editions: All DCs: All Release plan: Released for new signups in all DCs. It will be enabled for existing users in a phased manner in the upcoming months. Help documentation: Documents in Zoho CRM Manage folders in Documents tab Manage files

                                  • [Free webinar] Understanding connections and datasources in Zoho Creator - Creator Tech Connect

                                    Hello everyone, We’re excited to invite you to another edition of the Creator Tech Connect webinar. About Creator Tech Connect The Creator Tech Connect series is a free monthly webinar featuring in-depth technical sessions designed for developers, administrators,

                                  • Bridge the Gap Between your Service and Finance Teams

                                    In field service, the most expensive distance isn’t the drive to a customer’s home—it’s the gap between a finished job and a paid invoice. Zoho FSM leverages the power of Zoho Invoice to handle and manage billing operations. It enables you to: Instantly

                                  • Direct URL to "View Record"

                                    I would like to create a button (Deluge Script) to jump to the "view record" without passing by the record menu, but I can not aford to find the right url. I don't want the "view record" as a single page. I want the "view record" in the application like the picture below: Thanks in advance for your help

                                  • Live Chat for user

                                    Hi everyone, I’m new to Zoho Creator and wanted to ask if it’s possible to add a live chat option for all logged-in portal users so they can chat internally. I’m trying to create a customer portal similar to a service desk, but for vehicle breakdowns,

                                  • SalesIQ Chat Owner to CRM Lead Owner Mapping

                                    There is no proper mapping between the SalesIQ chat owner and the CRM lead owner. When a chat is assigned to an agent, the lead created in CRM is often assigned to a different user, forcing admins to manually change ownership every time. This creates

                                  • Does zoho inventory need Enterprise or Premium subsrciption to make Widgets.

                                    We have Zoho One Enterprise and yet we can't create widgets on inventory.

                                  • Product line search in quotes

                                    Is there a way to change the search setting when you add a product line to a quote. We have created a field in products called 'Part Number' and I would like when I'm adding a product line to the quote that I can search on that field. At the moment it only searches on product description. In products I can search on the 'Part Number' field Any help welcome.

                                  • Invoice status on write-off is "Paid" - how do I change this to "Written off"

                                    HI guys, I want to write off a couple of outstanding invoices, but when I do this, the status of the invoices shows as "Paid". Clearly this is not the case and I need to be able to see that they are written off in the customer's history. Is there a way

                                  • 🚀 WorkDrive 6.0 (Phase 1): Empowering Teams with Content Intelligence, Automation, Accessibility, and Control

                                    Hello, everyone! WorkDrive continues to evolve from a robust file management solution into an intelligent, secure, and connected content collaboration platform for modern businesses. Our goal remains unchanged: to simplify teamwork, strengthen data security,

                                  • Storage Limits

                                    Hello, What is the storage limitations for each user on professional edition?  Thanks, Mekki

                                  • Optimum CRM setup for new B2B business

                                    Can some advise the most common way to setup Zoho CRM to handle sales for a B2B company? Specifically in how to handle inbound/outbound emails. I have spent hours researching online and can't seem to find an accepted approach, or even a tutorial. I have

                                  • Dheeraj Sudan and Meenu Hinduja-How do I customize Zoho apps to suit my needs?

                                    Hi Everyone, I'm Meenu Hinduja and my husband Dheeraj Sudan, run a business. I’m looking to tweak a few things to fit my needs, and I’d love to hear what customizations others have done. Any tips or examples would be super helpful! Regards Dheeraj Sudan

                                  • Important Update: Google Ads & YouTube Ads API Migration

                                    To maintain platform performance and align with Google's newest requirements, we are updating the Google Ads and YouTube Ads integrations by migrating from API v19 to the newer v22, before the official deprecation of v19 on February 11, 2026. Reference:

                                  • Zoho Recruit Community Meetup - London 🇬🇧

                                    Hello Recruiters! We’re excited to announce that the Zoho Recruit team is coming to the UK for an in-person Zoho User Group (ZUG) Meetup in London! This is your chance to connect with fellow Zoho users, learn from experts, and walk away with actionable

                                  • Power Pivot and Data Modeling functionality in Zoho Sheet

                                    When will MS Excel functionalities like Power Pivot and Data Modeling functionalities be available in Zoho Sheet?

                                  • Sender Email Configuration Error.

                                    Hello Team, Hope you are all doing well. We are in the process of creating the Zoho FSM environment in the UAE. When we try to add the sender email address “techsupportuae@stryker.com”, we receive the error message: “Error occurred while sending mail

                                  • Canvas View bug

                                    I would like to report a bug. When clone a canvas view from an existing canvas view, if the original canvas view have canvas button with client script. Then the new create canvas view will have canvas button, it is make sense. But when I try to delete

                                  • Global Search placement in the new UI

                                    Having a hard time with the global search placement in the UI redesign. Surely I can't be the only one. Previously global search placement was perfect. A bar at the top/center of the page. Exactly where you would expect it to be. Since the new UI has

                                  • What's New - January 2026 | Zoho Backstage

                                    Welcome to 2026! If you thought last year was big, buckle up. We’re stepping into this year with a singular focus: unimaginable growth, elite scalability, and performance benchmarks that leave the old ways of event management in the rearview mirror. As

                                  • Cliq on your mobile phone

                                    Some of the employees in my company get their cliq on their mobile phones but it will not let them answer the call. The employee has to go to their laptop to access it. 

                                  • Bulk Delete Messages in Cliq

                                    Isn't it possible to bulk delete messages in Cliq? I have them delivered to me as notifications from another service but most of them need to be deleted as not of value. I get dozens of them per day, and deleting them is already difficult is the "Delete"

                                  • Next Page