Set up your first automation
TL;DR: On any board, click Automate → Create, search "Subitem", pick either Top Automations (17 most-used recipes) or All Automations (full 100+ library), click Use Template, configure the fields, and click Create automation. Then trigger it once to confirm it works.
Before you start
- You need to be a monday.com admin or have permission to create automations on the board ( Understanding Permissions )
- Subitem Automations must be installed in your account ( Install & set up )
- Have a board ready with the columns the automation will use
Step 1: Open the Automations Center
If you just installed Subitem Automations, monday.com automatically redirected you to the Automation Center — skip ahead to Step 2.
If you're coming back to your board later, here's how to open the Automation Center:
Click Automate at the top right.
Click Create (or click Integrate → Create).
Step 2: Find a Subitem Automations recipe
Make sure you're on the Create tab — this is where all apps and recipes appear.
In the search bar, type Subitem.
Under the Apps section, you'll see two Fantasy Media features: Subitem Automations – Top Automations and Subitem Automations – All Automations.
Click whichever you want to open.
These are two separate features that open different views, not an app + sub-page. Pick one based on whether you want a curated short list (Top) or the full library (All).
All Automations — every recipe (recommended)
This is the default view and where most users start. The full library has 100+ Subitem Automations recipes — covering every scenario from simple parent-subitem syncs to advanced cross-board workflows, conditional logic, dependencies, and rollups. Browse, search, and pick the recipe that matches what you're trying to do.
Prefer a shorter list? Pick Subitem Automations – Top Automations instead. It shows the 17 most-used recipes (proven by 22,000+ monday.com teams) — a focused starting point if you'd rather not browse the full library.
Step 3: Configure your automation
Click Use Template on the recipe you picked.
Fill in the underlined fields. Each field is a column or value the automation needs to do its work.
Click Create automation.
Example: the recipe When subitem is created, set the value of its column to match the value of column in its parent item asks for two fields:
- Subitem column — the destination (which subitem column receives the value)
- Parent item column — the source (which parent column the value is copied from)
Step 4: Test that it works
Trigger the automation manually — e.g. create a new subitem, or change the column the automation watches.
Check the related parent or subitem to confirm the expected change happened.
If the automation doesn't fire: check that both the parent and subitem columns exist and are the same column type (e.g. both Status, both Date). Then edit the automation and double-check your selections.
Step 5: Explore more automations
Once your first automation works:
- Try another from Top Automations for quick wins
- Browse All Automations to find recipes for your specific workflow
- Combine several automations to build connected logic between items and subitems
Common gotchas
- Column types must match. You can't sync a Status column to a Date column. Same type on both sides.
- Read-only columns can't be the destination. Mirror, Formula, and Last-updated columns receive nothing.
- Conditions are case-sensitive. "Done" ≠ "done" when used as a status condition.
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