---
title: Automation group (sidebar)
---

# Automation group (sidebar)

## What it is

The **Automation** group is a collapsible row near the top of the Omniscio projects sidebar that nests the "runs on a schedule or on a trigger" features into one place, so the sidebar stays tidy. It ships **collapsed by default** — click its chevron to expand.

### What's inside

- **Automation Helper** — an in-app assistant that interviews you, then builds, schedules, and registers a real automation for you. On by default.
- **Cron Jobs** — scheduled automation jobs.
- **Recipes** — reusable multi-step agent recipes.
- **Automations** — auto-response and trigger rules.
- **Quick Replies** — saved snippet templates for replies.
- **Scheduled Messages** — compose-to-self messages that fire into your inbox. On by default (a fired note lands in your inbox), but its sidebar row is hidden by default — reveal it at Settings → Features → "Show Scheduled Messages in sidebar".

Everything inside keeps running whether the group is expanded or collapsed — collapsing only hides the rows, it never disables the underlying features.

## Where to find it

### How to use it

- Click the **chevron** on the left of the row to expand/collapse. The choice persists across launches.
- Click the **group row itself** (not the chevron) to open a small roll-up panel that lists the members; each one is a shortcut to open it directly.
- To move a member out of the group for solo sidebar use, **drag it** to a new position or right-click and choose **Remove from Category**. Right-click the solo item and choose **Return to [group name]** to put it back.

## How it behaves

Collapsing the group only hides the rows — it never disables the underlying features, and everything inside keeps running either way. The expanded/collapsed choice persists across launches, and moving a member out (by drag, or by **Remove from Category**) only changes where its sidebar row sits: the feature itself is untouched, and the item can be returned to the group at any time. The group is render-only — nesting a member under it never re-parents anything in the database.

## For agents

`automation-group` entry in `src/shared/integration-registry.ts`; members carry `parentGroupId: 'automation-group'`. Render nesting is driven by `SIDEBAR_PARENT_GROUPS` + `consolidateChildrenUnderParent` in `src/renderer/src/features/dashboard/ProjectsSidebar.tsx` — render-only, no DB re-parent. Collapse state: `automationGroupCollapsed` (default `true`). See [projects-sidebar.md](projects-sidebar.md) and the `agent-tools contract`.

## Related

The sidebar row this group lives in is described in [Projects sidebar](projects-sidebar.md), which covers the rest of the sidebar layout, categories and the roll-up panels. Of the features inside the group, [Automation Rules](automations-and-auto-replies.md) covers the auto-response engine, [Quick Replies](quick-replies.md) the saved snippet library the group's row opens, and [Scheduled Messages](scheduled-messages.md) the compose-to-self messages whose row is hidden by default.