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 #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
          • Kaizen #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 achieved
          • Kaizen #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.

          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

                                  • Stage-probability mapping feature in custom module

                                    Hi, I'm building a custom module for manage projects. I would like to implement the stage-probability feature that Potentials has. Is this possible?
                                  • Temporary Outage in Zoho Cliq Affecting US Users – July 23, 2025

                                    We experienced a service disruption in Zoho Cliq that impacted core functionality for users in the US region. The issue occurred between Jul 23, 2025, 06:54:00 PM IST and 07:13:13 PM IST, lasting approximately 19 minutes. To restore service stability,
                                  • Why Sharing Rules do Not support relative date comparison???

                                    I am creating a Sharing Rule and simply want to share where "Last Day of Coverage" (Date field) is Greater than TODAY (Starting Tomorrow). However, sharing rules don't have the option to compare a date field to a relative date (like today), only to Static
                                  • Zoho 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 constantly
                                  • Problem with Workdrive folders

                                    I'm having a problem a problem accessing files in a Zoho work drive folder when using the Zoho writer app. The problem folder appears grayed out in the Zoho work drive window in both the online and writer application. However I can open the folder in
                                  • Send Supervisor Rule Emails Within Ticket Context in Zoho Desk

                                    Dear Zoho Desk Team, I hope this message finds you well. Currently, emails sent via Supervisor Rules in Zoho Desk are sent outside of the ticket context. As a result, if a client replies to such emails, their response creates a new ticket instead of appending
                                  • Multi-currency and Products

                                    One of the main reasons I have gone down the Zoho route is because I need multi-currency support.  However, I find that products can only be priced in the home currency, We sell to the US and UK.  However, we maintain different price lists for each. 
                                  • Emails sent through Bigin are not posting in IMAP Sent folder

                                    I have set up my email to work from within Bigin using IMAP.  I am using IMAP so I can sync my email across multiple devices - phone / laptop / desktop / iPad / etc.  I want all my emails to populate my email client (outlook & iphone email) whether or
                                  • Create an Eye-Catching Announcement Widget for Your Help Center

                                    Hello Everyone! In this week’s edition, let’s explore how to keep your customers updated with exciting news in the Help Center. See how ZylkerMobile wowed their customers by bringing updates right to their portal. ZylkerMobile, the renowned brand for
                                  • Send Whatsapp with API including custom placeholders

                                    Is is possible to initiate a session on whatsapp IM channel with a template that includes params (placeholders) that are passed on the API call? This is very usefull to send a Utility message for a transactional notification including an order number
                                  • Customer Management: #6 Common Mistakes in Customer Handling

                                    Managing customers doesn't usually fall apart overnight. More often, slight gaps in the process slowly become bigger problems. Incidents like missed follow-ups, billing confusion, and unhappy customers will lead to revenue loss. Many businesses don't
                                  • Zoho Desk iOS app update: UI enhancement of picklist and multi picklist fields

                                    Hello everyone! We have enhanced the UI of the picklist and multiselect picklist fields on the Zoho Desk iOS app to provide a more refined, efficient, and user-friendly experience. We have now supported an option to Search within the picklist and multiselect
                                  • Zoho Desk iOS app update: Revamped scribbles with Apple pencil kit

                                    Hello everyone! We’re excited to introduce a revamped Scribble experience, rebuilt from the ground up using Apple PencilKit for smooth strokes, proper scaling, and seamless image uploads. Please update the app to the latest version directly from the App
                                  • Zoho Desk Android app update: Norwegian language support

                                    Hello everyone! In the most recent Android version of the Zoho Desk app update, we have brought in support to access the app in Norwegian language. We have introduced the Norwegian language on the IM module of the Zoho Desk app as well. Please update
                                  • Is it possible to roll up all Contact emails to the Account view?

                                    Is there a way to track all emails associated with an Account in one single view? Currently, email history is visible when opening an individual Contact record. However, since multiple Contacts are often associated with a single Account, it would be beneficial
                                  • Function #53: Transaction Level Profitability for Invoices

                                    Hello everyone, and welcome back to our series! We have previously provided custom functions for calculating the profitability of a quote and a sales order. There may be instances where the invoice may differ from its corresponding quote or sales order.
                                  • Payment Vouchers

                                    Is there any Payment Vouchers in Zoho? How can we create payment for non-trade vendors, i.e. professional fees, rent, and payment to commissioner income tax?
                                  • API in E-Invoice/GST portal

                                    Hi, Do I have to change the api in gst/e-invoice portal as I use zoho e books for my e-invoicing. If yes, please confirm the process.
                                  • When I click on PDF/PRINT it makes the invoice half size

                                    When I click PDF / Print for my invoice in Zoho Books, the generated PDF appears at half size — everything is scaled down, including the logo, text, and layout. The content does not fill the page as it should. Could someone advise what causes Zoho Books
                                  • Search by contain letter in a column

                                    Hello, everyone I need a filter function that searches by letter in a cell, and it should be a macro. To clarify further, if I have a column with several names and I chose a search cell and what I want is search by a single letter, for example, "a" then
                                  • Archiving Contacts

                                    How do I archive a list of contacts, or individual contacts?
                                  • Enrich your contact and company details automatically using the Data Enrichment topping

                                    Greetings, I hope you're all doing well. We're happy to announce the latest topping we've added to Bigin: The Data Enrichment topping, powered by WebAmigo. This topping helps you automatically enhance your contact and company records in Bigin. By leveraging
                                  • Easier onboarding for new users with stage descriptions

                                    Greetings, I hope all of you are doing well. We're happy to announce a recent enhancement we've made to Bigin. You can now add descriptions to the stages in your pipeline. Previously, when creating a pipeline, you could only add stages. With this update,
                                  • Zoho Books Invoices Templates

                                    It would be really helpful to have more advanced features to customise the invoice templates in Zoho Books. Especially I´m thinking of the spacing of the different parts of the invoice (Address line etc.). If you have a sender and receiver address in
                                  • Can add a colum to the left of the item in Zoho Books?

                                    I would need to add a column to the left of the item column in Books. When i create custom fields, i can only display them to the right of the item.
                                  • Verifying Zoho Mail Functionality After Switching DNS from Cloudflare to Hosting Provider

                                    I initially configured my domain's (https://roblaxmod.com/) email with Zoho Mail while using Cloudflare to manage my DNS records (MX, SPF, etc.). All services were working correctly. Recently, I have removed my site from Cloudflare and switched my domain's
                                  • AI Bot and Advanced Automation for WhatsApp

                                    Most small businesses "live" on WhatsApp, and while Bigin’s current integration is helpful, users need more automation to keep up with volume. We are requesting features based on our customer Feedbacks AI Bot: For auto-replying to FAQs. Keyword Triggers:
                                  • Improved Contact Sync flow in Google Integration with Zoho CRM

                                    Hello Everyone, Your contact sync in Google integration just got revamped! We have redesigned the sync process to give users more control over what data flows into Google and ensure that this data flows effortlessly between Zoho CRM and Google. With this
                                  • 2025 Ask the Experts sessions wrap-up : Key highlights from the experts

                                    Here is a rewind journey of our Ask the Experts (ATE) Sessions, where we brought you expert insights and practical best practices together in one place. This recap highlights the key takeaways, learnings, and best practices from all these sessions so
                                  • New Enhancements to Zoho CRM and Zoho Creator Integration

                                    Hello Everyone, We’ve rolled out enhancements to the Zoho Creator and Zoho CRM integration to align with recent updates made to the Zoho Creator platform. With enhancements to both the UI and functionality, This update also tightens access control by
                                  • How to disable the edit option in subform

                                    How to disable the edit option in subform
                                  • Power up your Kiosk Studio with Real-Time Data Capture, Client Scripts & More!

                                    Hello Everyone, We’re thrilled to announce a powerful set of enhancements to Kiosk Studio in Zoho CRM. These new updates give you more flexibility, faster record handling, and real-time data capture, making your Kiosk flows smarter and more efficient
                                  • Adding non-Indian billing address for my Zoho subscription

                                    Hey Need help with adding a non-Indian billing address for my Zoho subscription, trying to edit the address to my Singapore registered company. Won't let me change the country. Would appreciate the help. Regards, Rishabh
                                  • Is it possible to enforce a single default task for all users in a Zoho Projects ?

                                    In Zoho Projects, the Tasks module provides multiple views, including List, Gantt, and Kanban. Additionally, users can create and switch to their own custom views. During project review meetings, this flexibility creates confusion because different users
                                  • Move record from one custom module to another custom module

                                    Is it possible to create a button or custom field that will transfer a record from one custom module to another? I already have the 'Leads' module used for the Sr. Sales department, once the deal is closed they convert it to the 'Accounts' module. I would like to create a 'Convert' button for a custom module ('Locations') for the department that finds locations for each account. Once the location is secured, I want to move the record to another custom module called 'Secured Locations'. It's basically
                                  • Convert Lead Automation Trigger

                                    Currently, there is only a convert lead action available in workflow rules and blueprints. Also, there is a Convert Lead button available but it doesn't trigger any automations. Once the lead is converted to a Contact/Account the dataset that can be fetched
                                  • Notes Not Saving

                                    Hello,  My notes are continuously not saving.  I make sure to save them, I know the process to save them.  It is not operator error.  I go back into a Leads profile a while later and do not see the previous notes that I have made.  I then have to go back and do unnecessary research that would have been in the notes in the first place.  Not a good experience and it is frustrating.  Slows me down and makes me do unnecessary work.  Please resolve.   As a quick heads up, deleting cookies is not a fix
                                  • Integration between "Zoho Sprints Stories" and "Zoho Projects Tasks/Subtasks"

                                    We have two separate teams in our organization using Zoho for project management: The Development team uses Zoho Sprints and follows Agile/Scrum methodology. The Infrastructure team uses Zoho Projects for traditional task-based project management. In
                                  • Prefill form with CRM/Campaigns

                                    I created a form in zForms and created prefill fields. I added this to the CRM and selected the fields so when sending from the CRM, the form works great. However, I want to use the same form in Campaigns and I want it to pull the data from CRM (which
                                  • Notes badge as a quick action in the list view

                                    Hello all, We are introducing the Notes badge in the list view of all modules as a quick action you can perform for each record, in addition to the existing Activity badge. With this enhancement, users will have quick visibility into the notes associated
                                  • Next Page