Automation templates
List automation templates and create an automation from one.
Templates are ready-made automations: a trigger, a set of steps and the emails between them. You can turn one into an automation of your own in one call.
Browse the catalogue, then post the template's ID to the select-template endpoint. The new automation is named after the template and always starts out inactive.
Building the workflow happens in the background. The response comes back immediately with
building_in_progress: true, so poll the automation until that flag clears before configuring it.
From there, set each trigger's configuration, give each email step its HTML content, and enable the
automation.
Templates that use more than one trigger are only available on plans that support multiple triggers.
filter[type] | Templates for |
|---|---|
welcome | Welcoming new subscribers |
date | Dates such as birthdays and anniversaries |
event | Something a subscriber did |
feedback | Asking for reviews and feedback |
promotion | Offers and product promotion |
reminder | Nudges and follow-ups |
List automation templates
Returns a paginated list of the ready-made templates you can build an automation from, most useful first. Each template describes the workflow it creates.
If you want to get all automation templates use this GET request
GET https://connect.mailerlite.com/api/automation-templatesRequest parameters
| Parameter | Type | Required | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|
| filter[type] | string | no | Return only templates of this kind: welcome, date, event, feedback, promotion or reminder |
| filter[category] | integer | no | Return only templates in this category, by category ID |
| limit | integer | no | Number of templates per page. Defaults to 20 |
| page | integer | no | Page number to return. Counting starts from 1 |
Response
Response code: 200 OK{
"data": [
{
"id": "1",
"name": "Simple welcome email",
"type": "welcome",
"workflow": {
"trigger_data": {
"valid": true
},
"triggers": [
{
"id": "1",
"type": "subscriber_joins_group"
}
],
"steps": [
{
"id": "1",
"type": "email",
"parent_id": null,
"email": {
"id": "1"
},
"data": {
"name": "Welcome email",
"subject": "Welcome email",
"track_opens": true
},
"description": "Send \"Welcome email\" email"
}
]
},
"description": "Use this easy workflow to welcome your new subscribers. It is simple to set up and super effective! Once a new subscriber signs up to your form and is added to a group, the workflow sends them a welcome email.",
"excerpt": "Use this easy workflow to welcome your new subscribers.",
"workflow_steps_description": [
"Send a welcome email to your new subscribers when they join your group"
],
"url": "https://www.mailerlite.com/automation-templates/simple-welcome-email"
},
{
"id": "2",
"name": "Win back inactive subscribers",
"type": "promotion",
"workflow": {
"trigger_data": {
"valid": true
},
"triggers": [
{
"id": "1",
"type": "field_updated",
"value": "1"
}
],
"steps": [
{
"id": "1",
"type": "email",
"parent_id": null,
"email": {
"id": "1"
},
"data": {
"name": "Discount offer",
"subject": "Discount offer",
"track_opens": true
},
"description": "Send \"Discount offer\" email"
},
{
"id": "2",
"type": "delay",
"parent_id": "1",
"data": {
"unit": "days",
"value": "3"
},
"description": "Wait for 3 days"
},
{
"id": "3",
"type": "condition",
"parent_id": "2",
"data": {
"yes_step_id": "4",
"no_step_id": "5",
"matching_type": "any",
"conditions": [
{
"type": "workflow_activity",
"email_id": "1",
"action": "clicked",
"link_id": null,
"email": {
"id": "1",
"name": "Discount offer"
}
}
]
},
"description": "Check some condition"
}
]
},
"description": "Win back unengaged subscribers and unsubscribe inactive ones. You can send a campaign and update a custom field if they interact, or move them to the unsubscribed folder if they don’t. It’s a great way to clean your list and keep your most active subscribers for optimal email deliverability!",
"excerpt": "Win back unengaged subscribers and unsubscribe inactive ones.",
"workflow_steps_description": [
"Send a campaign to all your inactive subscribers",
"Update a custom field (e.g. active) for subscribers who clicked a link",
"Send another campaign for the subscribers who did not interact with the first campaign",
"Update the custom field for those who interacted and unsubscribe the others"
],
"url": "https://www.mailerlite.com/automation-templates/win-back-inactive-subscribers"
}
],
"links": {
"first": "https://connect.mailerlite.com/api/automation-templates?page=1",
"last": "https://connect.mailerlite.com/api/automation-templates?page=1",
"prev": null,
"next": null
},
"meta": {
"current_page": 1,
"from": 1,
"last_page": 1,
"links": [
{
"url": null,
"label": "« Previous",
"page": null,
"active": false
},
{
"url": "https://connect.mailerlite.com/api/automation-templates?page=1",
"label": "1",
"page": 1,
"active": true
},
{
"url": null,
"label": "Next »",
"page": null,
"active": false
}
],
"path": "https://connect.mailerlite.com/api/automation-templates",
"per_page": 20,
"to": 18,
"total": 18
}
}Create an automation from a template
Creates a new, inactive automation from a template, named after the template, with its triggers, steps and emails in place. The workflow is built in the background, so the response comes back with building_in_progress: true. Poll the automation until that flag clears, then configure its triggers and email content and enable it. Templates that need more than one trigger are rejected with a 422 on plans that do not support multiple triggers.
If you want to create an automation from a template use this POST request
POST https://connect.mailerlite.com/api/automations/select-template/{template_id}Response
Response code: 201 Created{
"data": {
"id": "203114422067004645",
"name": "Simple welcome email",
"enabled": false,
"trigger_data": {
"building_in_progress": true
},
"complete": false,
"broken": false,
"warnings": [],
"emails_count": 0,
"stats": {
"completed_subscribers_count": 0,
"subscribers_in_queue_count": 0,
"bounce_rate": {
"float": 0,
"string": "0%"
},
"click_to_open_rate": {
"float": 0,
"string": "0%"
},
"sent": null,
"opens_count": null,
"unique_opens_count": null,
"open_rate": {
"float": 0,
"string": "0%"
},
"clicks_count": null,
"unique_clicks_count": null,
"click_rate": {
"float": 0,
"string": "0%"
},
"unsubscribes_count": null,
"unsubscribe_rate": {
"float": 0,
"string": "0%"
},
"spam_count": null,
"spam_rate": {
"float": 0,
"string": "0%"
},
"hard_bounces_count": null,
"hard_bounce_rate": {
"float": 0,
"string": "0%"
},
"soft_bounces_count": null,
"soft_bounce_rate": {
"float": 0,
"string": "0%"
},
"forward_rate": {
"float": 0,
"string": "0%"
},
"social_interactions_count": null,
"social_interaction_rate": {
"float": 0,
"string": "0%"
}
},
"created_at": "2026-11-03 11:23:27",
"has_banned_content": false,
"automation_template_id": null,
"automation_template_name": null,
"building_in_progress": true,
"steps": []
}
}