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Ticket Rules & Automation

Setting up helpdesk automation rules with triggers, conditions, and actions for auto-assignment, escalation, and more.

Mitch Wigham
Updated 24 June 2026 · 6 views

What Are Helpdesk Rules?

Helpdesk rules automate repetitive actions based on trigger events. When a ticket meets certain conditions, the platform takes action without requiring manual intervention.

Triggers

Trigger When it fires
TICKET_CREATED Once when a new ticket is created (via any channel).
TICKET_UPDATED On every change to a ticket's fields.
TICKET_COMMENT_ADDED When any comment (public or internal) is posted.
SCHEDULED Evaluated every 5 minutes against all active tickets.

Conditions

Conditions filter which tickets the rule acts on. Multiple conditions are combined with AND logic.

Available fields: status, priority, ticketType, assignee, customer, tag, source, title (contains text), slaResponseDue (hours from now), slaResolveDue, createdAt, updatedAt, isInternal (for comment triggers).

Available operators: equals, not_equals, contains, not_contains, is_empty, is_not_empty, greater_than, less_than.

Actions

Action Description
ASSIGN_TO_AGENT Assign the ticket to a specific agent.
SET_PRIORITY Change the priority.
SET_STATUS Move to a specific status.
ADD_TAG Apply one or more tags.
SEND_EMAIL Send a custom email to the contact, assignee, or a fixed address.
CREATE_NOTE Post an internal note.
STOP_PROCESSING Halt further rules from running for this event.

Creating a Rule

  1. Go to Admin → Helpdesk → Rules.
  2. Click + New Rule.
  3. Choose a Trigger.
  4. Add Conditions — click + Add Condition for each criterion.
  5. Add Actions — click + Add Action for each thing you want to happen.
  6. Set a Sort Order (lower = runs first).
  7. Toggle Enabled on.
  8. Click Save.

Example Rules

Auto-assign email tickets to a queue

  • Trigger: TICKET_CREATED
  • Condition: source equals EMAIL
  • Action: ASSIGN_TO_AGENT → "Email Queue Agent"

Escalate unresponded Urgent tickets

  • Trigger: SCHEDULED
  • Condition: priority equals URGENT AND slaResponseDue less_than 0.5 (30 minutes)
  • Action: ADD_TAG → "escalated", SEND_EMAIL → manager@company.com

Auto-close resolved tickets after 5 days

  • Trigger: SCHEDULED
  • Condition: status equals RESOLVED AND updatedAt less_than -120 (120 hours ago)
  • Action: SET_STATUS → Closed, CREATE_NOTE → "Auto-closed after 5 days without response."

Viewing Rule Run History

Click a rule in the list to see its run history: every event where the rule was evaluated, whether conditions matched (MATCHED), did not match (SKIPPED), or an error occurred (ERROR). The run count and last-run time are shown on the rule list for a quick health check.

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