Help Centre › Building Processes
The Automize bot is a desktop app that does the work on a machine: it clicks, types and reads screens the way a person would. You record a process with it once, refine it on the website, and then the bot plays it whenever you ask, or by itself when a trigger fires. The bot runs on Windows, macOS and Linux.
1. Install and connect the bot
- On the dashboard, choose Download bot. The download picks the right build for your computer. The pop-up also links to the system requirements and to older versions.
- Install it and start it.
- Connect it to your workspace with Connect this bot. You approve a short code in your browser, and no password is kept on the machine.
The full steps are in Connect a bot to your workspace. Bots that still sign in with an email and password stop working on 26 October 2026, so move them over before then.
If your browser, Windows or your antivirus blocks the download, see Troubleshooting the bot.
2. Find your way around
The menu on the left of the bot has six pages:
| Page | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Processes | Your processes. Play, record and add them here. |
| Inspection | Point at a control on screen to see how the bot will find it, and copy its selector. |
| History | Recent runs on this machine. Stored on the machine only. |
| Checks | Run a process against saved test cases to see whether it still does the right thing. Cases stay on the machine. |
| Account | Who the bot is signed in as, and updates. |
| Settings | How the bot behaves. See section 5. |
The menu bar has two menus:
- Automize: check for updates, your account, run history on the website, the Action Center (runs waiting for someone), Pause all triggers, theme, language, settings, reload plugins, sign out and exit.
- Help: show the log file, Submit log file, show the settings file, Report a problem, what's new, the website and About.
3. Record a process
- Open Processes.
- To start a new process, make sure nothing is selected and click Record. Give it a name and click OK. You can also create it first with the Process (add) button.
- To add steps to an existing process, select it and click Record. The bot asks you to confirm that you want to change it.
- Do the work as you normally would. While you record, the Actions panel lets you add steps without clicking your way there: launch an app, open a file, folder or website, open another process, call an API, ask for a variable, insert a decision, loop or notification, or show a pop-up.
- Use Pause to do something that should not be recorded, then Record / Resume to carry on.
- Click Stop when you are done.
The small arrow next to Record also offers Record from a prompt…, where you describe the task in words instead.
Recordings work best on a tidy desktop. See Good habits when recording.
4. Play a process
- Run one process: select it in Processes and click Play. If the process needs inputs, such as a file, the bot asks for them first.
- Wait for work: click Play with nothing selected. The bot stays ready and runs your processes when their triggers fire, for example on a schedule or when an email arrives. See Triggers and webhooks.
- Stop: click Stop, or press Esc for an emergency stop.
Before a run, the bot checks the process for problems, such as a missing value or a browser whose driver does not match. It refuses to start if it finds an error, and tells you which step is wrong.
The small arrow next to Play has options for runs you start yourself:
- Slow-mo: play more slowly, so you can watch each step. It applies to the next run only.
- Pause on error: when a step fails, ask whether to retry it, skip it or stop, instead of stopping straight away.
- Notify on completion, Open log on error, Verbose (DEBUG) logs and Confirm before play.
While it plays, the bot keeps the machine awake.
5. Settings
Open Settings from the left menu. Click Save when you have made your changes.
| Section | What you can set |
|---|---|
| General | Theme. |
| Inspector | The hotkey that grabs a control on the Inspection page. |
| Recording | Recognise desktop apps (App adapter), which records controls by name so a step still works when a window moves; Screenshots and their size. |
| Privacy | Allow screenshots on request, Show variable values in the debugger, Hide personal details from Automize AI and Keep documents on this machine. The company's settings on the website can make these stricter. See Privacy and data. |
| During playback | Allow cached processes, Confirm before play, Run MCP servers on this machine, Keep apps open on error, Notify on completion, Open log on error, Pause on error, Prevent circular processes running, Run pre-flight checks before playback, Show run-progress window and Verbose (DEBUG) logs. |
| Enable | Auto updates (leave this on) and Beta versions. |
| On startup | Add to Startup Apps, Auto-play after restart, Stay ready for triggers (start ready to run triggers rather than stopped) and Start again if it stops. |
A machine that runs work on its own usually wants Add to Startup Apps, Stay ready for triggers and Start again if it stops switched on.
The bot has no proxy setting. It uses the machine's own network settings.
6. Change a process
Every recorded process opens as a process map on the website. Go to Library → Processes and open it. There you can move, edit, disable, copy and connect steps, and add variables, loops and decisions. See Working with process maps.
Disabling a step is safer than deleting it: the bot skips it, and you can turn it back on.