# My Automation Isn't Triggering — How to Diagnose from the UI

> A welcome series or drip that won't fire on new subscribers. The Automations dashboard shows you whether the workflow is active, what trigger it's listening for, and which subscribers are eligible — three checks resolve most cases.

- Canonical URL: https://acellesend.com/kb/articles/why-is-my-acellemail-automation-not-triggering
- Author: Ryan Walsh, Audience & Analytics Editor
- Category: Troubleshooting — Common errors, debugging, delivery issues, logs, performance
- Content type: troubleshooting · Difficulty: beginner
- Tags: Acellemail
- Published: 2026-07-04 · Last updated: 2026-08-15
- Reading time: 5 min
- Publisher: AcelleMail Knowledge Base, https://acellesend.com/kb

---

## What to check from the dashboard

Automations that "don't fire" almost always have a UI-visible reason — wrong status, wrong trigger, or the subscriber doesn't match the condition the workflow is waiting for. Walk these three checks before logging into the server.

Open **Automations** in the left sidebar:

![Automations index — status badges visible](https://acellesend.com/plugins/acelle/landing/images/help/kb/automation-debug/01-automations-index.png)

Find your workflow row. Three columns matter:

1. **Status** — `Active` means it will trigger; `Inactive`, `Draft`, or `Paused` will NOT.
2. **Last run** — when did a subscriber last enter this workflow?
3. **Subscribers in flow** — current count of recipients somewhere in the steps.

If status is anything but **Active**, that's your fix. Click the row → **Settings** → toggle Active. Save.

## Check the trigger node

If status is Active but new subscribers still aren't entering, click the workflow name to open the flow canvas:

![Automation flow canvas — trigger + steps](https://acellesend.com/plugins/acelle/landing/images/help/kb/automation-debug/02-automation-flow.png)

The first node is the **trigger**. Common misconfigurations:

| Trigger type | What it listens for | Common pitfall |
|---|---|---|
| **Subscribed to list** | New rows in a specific mailing list | Wrong list selected — workflow fires on List A but subscribers are being added to List B |
| **Tag added** | A specific tag attached to a subscriber | Tag name typo / case mismatch — `vip` vs `VIP` are different |
| **Custom event (API)** | Your application calls `POST /api/automations/{uid}/event` | API call missing or hitting wrong workflow uid |
| **Date relative** | A specific date field (birthday, signup_date) matches today | Field empty for most subscribers — workflow only fires for the few with that field populated |
| **Link clicked** | Subscriber clicks a specific link in a campaign | Link not yet clicked by anyone — wait for engagement |

Hover over the trigger node — the right-hand panel shows the exact configuration. Verify it matches your list, tag, or event name.

## Verify the workflow settings

Click **Settings** in the top-right of the flow canvas:

![Automation settings — eligibility + cooldown](https://acellesend.com/plugins/acelle/landing/images/help/kb/automation-debug/03-automation-settings.png)

Three settings commonly block firing:

- **Allow re-entry?** — If OFF, a subscriber who entered once (even years ago) can't re-enter. Toggle ON if you want every signup to flow through.
- **Cooldown period** — A subscriber who entered N hours/days ago can't re-enter until cooldown expires.
- **Eligibility filter** — Optional segment/tag filter. Subscribers who don't match the filter skip the workflow entirely.

## Common UI causes and the fix from the dashboard

| What you see | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Status: Inactive | Workflow toggled off (common after edits — AcelleMail un-activates on save). | Open Settings → toggle Active → Save. |
| Trigger = Subscribed to list, wrong list | Workflow listens on List A but new signups go to List B. | Edit trigger → pick correct list → Save. |
| Trigger = Tag added, no recent tagging | Tag never added to any subscriber. | Either tag a subscriber to test, or change the trigger to a more reachable condition. |
| Trigger = Date relative, empty fields | Most subscribers don't have the date field populated. | Import the field via CSV update, or change to a different trigger. |
| Status: Active but `Subscribers in flow` = 0 | Trigger fires correctly but the first delay node hasn't elapsed yet. | Wait for the delay duration, then refresh. |
| Status: Active, Subscribers in flow > 0, no emails sent | Send-step is failing (sending server issue). | Check **Settings → Sending servers** → run *Test connection*. See [Campaign stuck in Sending](https://acellesend.com/kb/articles/why-is-my-acellemail-campaign-stuck-in-sending-status). |

## Test the workflow by hand

The fastest way to confirm "is this workflow actually firing?" is to manually trigger it:

1. Create a test subscriber with an address you control (your own email).
2. Add that subscriber to the list / apply the tag / fire the API event — whatever the trigger expects.
3. Wait the configured delay (start with workflows that have <5 min first-step delay for fast iteration).
4. Check your inbox.

If the test subscriber receives the email → workflow is fine, your original signups aren't matching the trigger (back to dashboard checks).

If the test subscriber does NOT receive → either the workflow isn't firing, or the send is failing. See operator section.

<details>
<summary><strong>Advanced: server-side checks for the operator</strong></summary>

AcelleMail automations run on the same queue worker that processes campaigns. If campaigns are sending but automations aren't, the worker is processing the wrong queue mix.

**Queue priorities** — automation jobs go onto the `automation` queue by default. Verify the worker is listening to it:

```bash
ps aux | grep "queue:work" | grep -v grep
# Expected: includes --queue=high,default,low,automation
```

If `automation` is missing from the worker's `--queue` flag, restart Supervisor with the correct config:

```bash
sudo supervisorctl reread
sudo supervisorctl update
sudo supervisorctl restart acelle-queue-worker:*
```

**Cron and the master scheduler** — `acelle:run` ticks every minute and picks up time-based automation triggers (date-relative, delayed step transitions). If cron is broken, time-driven steps stall while immediate triggers (subscribe / tag / API event) still work.

```bash
crontab -l | grep acelle:run
# Expected: * * * * * php /path/to/artisan acelle:run >/dev/null 2>&1
```

**Inspect a specific automation's history** via the database — every entry/exit is logged:

```bash
# Recent automation runs
php artisan tinker --execute='
  \App\Model\AutomationCustomerInteraction::orderByDesc("id")
    ->limit(20)->get()
    ->each(fn($r) => print("uid={$r->automation_uid} sub={$r->subscriber_uid} step={$r->step_uid} at={$r->created_at}\n"));
'
```

**Failed-job inspection** — if a step throws an exception, the job goes to `failed_jobs`. Look for entries with `Automation` in the payload:

```bash
php artisan queue:failed
php artisan queue:retry all  # retry every failed job
```

**Workflow-uid → log mapping** — to find why a SPECIFIC subscriber didn't enter:

```bash
grep "subscriber_uid=<uid>" storage/logs/laravel.log | tail -20
```

</details>

## Related articles

- [Campaign stuck in Sending status](https://acellesend.com/kb/articles/why-is-my-acellemail-campaign-stuck-in-sending-status)
- [Advanced automation triggers and conditions](https://acellesend.com/kb/articles/advanced-automation-triggers-and-conditions)
- [Setting up queue workers and cron jobs](https://acellesend.com/kb/articles/setting-up-queue-workers-and-cron-jobs)
- [Using API triggers for custom automation workflows](https://acellesend.com/kb/articles/using-api-triggers-for-custom-automation-workflows)

---

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