How to automatically prevent having duplicate items in your board

How to automatically prevent having duplicate items in your board



If you’re working with data like emails, names, or unique IDs, it’s important to make sure you don’t create duplicate items in your board.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to automatically detect duplicates and remove them using a combination of:
  • The  Connected Boards Automations  app
  • A native  monday.com  automation
Once set up, any duplicate item will be automatically deleted as soon as it is created.


What this setup does

This setup checks if a newly created item already exists in your board based on a specific value (such as an email or text field).
If a match is found:
  • The new item will be connected to the existing item
  • The system will recognize it as a duplicate
  • The new item will be automatically deleted
If no match is found, the item will remain in your board as usual.


When this is useful

This setup is especially helpful when you want to avoid duplicate records.
Common examples include:
  • CRM systems – Prevent duplicate contacts with the same email address
  • Lead management – Avoid adding the same lead multiple times
  • Order tracking – Prevent duplicate orders with the same order ID
  • Client databases – Ensure each client only appears once


How this works (simple explanation)

    A new item is created
    The system checks if another item already exists with the same value (email, name, etc.)
    If a match is found, the items are connected
    The connection triggers another automation
    The new (duplicate) item is deleted
This happens automatically in the background.


Step 1: Set up the Connected Boards Automation

Use the following automation from the Connected Boards Automations app:
“When item/subitem created, connect it to items/subitems from another board using this connect column when this column matches another column and sync ALL future changes where column name and type match”

What to configure

  • Before creating this automation, add a new Connect Boards column.
  • In the Connect Boards column settings, connect this board to itself.
  • Go to the Connected Boards Automations app and find the automation.
  • Choose the same board as the target board in the automation.
  • Select that newly created Connect Boards column in the automation.
  • In the “when this column matches another column” section, select the column that should be used to detect duplicates
For example:
  • Email column → match with Email column
  • Text column → match with Text column (best for items with unique ID's)
If a new item has the same value (for example, the same email), it will automatically connect to the existing item.


Step 2: Set up the native  monday.com  automation

Now create a second automation using  monday.com ’s built-in automation builder:
“When column changes, Then delete Item”

What to configure

  • In “When column changes”, select your Connect Boards column
This means:
  • When the connect column gets populated (meaning a match was found)
  • The item will be automatically deleted


What happens after setup

Here’s what your workflow will look like:
  • If a new item is unique → it stays in the board
  • If a duplicate is created → it gets connected and then deleted
This ensures your board stays clean and free of duplicate entries.


Important notes

  • Make sure the column you use for matching (like Email) contains consistent and accurate data
  • This setup works best with unique identifiers (email, ID, etc.)
  • The deletion happens automatically, so test with a few items first


Final tip

Start by testing this setup with a few sample items before using it on live data. This helps ensure everything is working exactly as expected.


Need help?

If you need help setting this up or if it’s not working as expected, please reach out to us at  hello@fantasymedia.io . Our team will be happy to help.

This article was created on March 23, 2026.