In this guide
Actions with several steps
Run a sequence of requests as one saved action. Later steps can use values from earlier ones, including steps from a different integration.
How the sequence works #
Steps run from top to bottom. A step completes before the next one starts. Each step has its own integration, task, and inputs. Your shortcut sees one Execute Action block for the whole sequence.
A later step can read an earlier step’s answer, but it cannot read a future step. You can mix integrations in the same action when you have connected each service the sequence uses.
Add another step #
- Open a saved action and tap Add Step.
- Choose the integration and operation for the new step.
- Open an input on the later step, select Earlier Step, and choose the earlier response field you want to use.
- Review the step order, choose which step’s result comes back in Output → From, and save the action.
Use Edit to rearrange steps. Recheck their input bindings after a move: the step providing a value must still come before the step that uses it.
Example: find a record, then change it #
In Airtable, first create a step that finds records in a table. Next, add a step that changes a record. The record identifier returned by the first step tells the second step which record to change. Choose the match you intend to use, then set the fields to update.
The app’s Notion and Airtable forms can link a newly added change step to an earlier search. Review the selected record and field values before saving. Searching and updating are different operations; a search on its own does not change anything.
An update step changes a real record. Each step that completed before a later failure may already have affected the service; a failed sequence does not undo earlier requests.
Return the result you need #
The result does not have to come from the final step. Use Output → From to choose a result step, then Returned Value to select its fields. This lets a sequence do additional work while returning an earlier value.
A list may take several requests #
Some list actions return one page of results at a time. Open the step’s Fetch setting to choose how many pages to request. Fetching more pages takes more time and service requests.
Pagination means retrieving extra pages for one step. Adding another step means doing another task. They serve different purposes.
Inspect a failed sequence #
Open Logs, select the run, and inspect its steps. Check what the failed step received and the service’s response. A record may be missing, an input may have the wrong type, or the connection may need attention.
Before rerunning an action that creates or changes data, look at which earlier steps already completed so you understand what the next run will repeat.