Maximizing Productivity: A Complete Guide to No-Code Automation in Trello in 2026
Quiet time of year? Make the most of it to set your team up for success in 2026!
It’s time to take your team’s productivity to the max with automation in Trello! Discover how you can use Trello automation (previously called Butler) to take care of repetitive admin and emails, so that you’re free to focus on what matters most.
Here’s what we cover in this article:
Let’s get started!
What is Trello no-code automation?
Trello automation is a powerful built-in tool for automating tasks on your boards, especially ones that are time-consuming or repetitive (like moving cards, setting due dates, or adding team members).
The best part is that it’s completely no-code, so it’s simple for everyone on your team to use.
💡 TIP You might come across the term ‘Butler’ being used to refer to automation in Trello. This is because Trello automation used to be performed by the Butler add-on. It has since been integrated into Trello’s core functionality as simply ‘Trello automation’.
How does no-code automation work in Trello?
All Trello automations work on the same basic principle – making something happen when a condition is met. This relies on two things:
A trigger, something that happens on your board to activate your automation.
An action, the thing that happens in response to the trigger.
There are different types of Trello automation that you can use to achieve your desired outcome:
Rules trigger a set of actions when certain conditions are met.
Buttons run a set of actions in a single click – either on a Trello card, or across an entire board.
Scheduled commands make things happen automatically on specific days.
Due date commands make things happen in relation to a given Trello card’s due date.
You can also combine built-in automation with Power-Ups on your board to add even more value to your Trello workflow. For example, if your team manages their shared inbox in Trello with the Email for Trello Power-Up, you can use Trello automation to send emails based on custom triggers. More on that later!
Simple Trello automations to get you started
Anything you can do in Trello, automation can do too… faster and more accurately!
Let’s take a closer look at the different types of Trello automation, and the range of tasks that they can handle.
Rule-based automation
Rule-based Trello automations are great for things that you want to happen as you are interacting with your board.
Move cards to the next stage in your workflow. Save your team time by automatically moving cards to another list in Trello. For example, send invoices to the ‘Payment’ list as soon as they’re approved.
Set a due date when you add a Trello card. Never miss a deadline! Automatically set a due date when a card is added to a list in Trello.
Add labels to urgent work items. Use Trello pattern matching rules to automatically add a red label to cards with the word ‘Urgent’ in the name.
💡 TIP Trello rules can also be used to automatically add team members to your new cards. Find out more about how to set up a round-robin and automate card assignment in Trello.
Button-based automation
Card or board buttons are perfect for Trello automations that you want to run on demand.
This is especially useful for ad hoc actions that aren’t directly dependent on workflow processes, or that involve multiple steps and team members. For example:
Prioritize your to-do list. Keep a ‘Prioritize’ board button handy to sort all the cards in your to-list by due date at the click of a button.
Manage handovers between team members. When you’re ready to pass a piece of work to a colleague, a ‘Handover’ card button can help you by automatically setting a due date, adding a pre-set checklist, and assigning your chosen team member to the card.
💡 TIP Clear communication is critical for successful team handovers! Find out more about how to manage handovers and improve collaboration in Trello with the Email for Trello Power-Up.
Scheduled automation
Use scheduled Trello automations for things that you want to happen on a specified schedule, like on certain days of the week.
Keep your Trello board neat. Automatically perform your weekly board maintenance! Run a scheduled automation to archive all old to-dos at the end of the week.
Find and move old cards. Keep your board fresh by automatically finding and archiving outdated cards every month. For example, archive last month’s invoices, close lost leads, or shelve inactive marketing campaigns.
Stay on top of regular tasks. Automatically create Trello cards on a custom schedule, like reminders for annual internal policy or performance reviews. You can also set your schedule for specific days, weeks, or months.
💡 TIP You can also simplify repeating task management with Trello’s recurring due date feature. Find out more about how to combine recurring due dates with email automation in Trello for a more efficient workflow.
Due date automation
Trello due date automations help you perform actions in relation to a card’s due date.
Automate reminders for your team. As soon as a task is due, automatically post a comment mentioning everyone on the Trello card.
Label urgent items. Draw attention to tasks where time is running out to get things done! For example, two days before a card is due, automatically label the card with the red ‘Urgent’ label.
💡 TIP Due date triggers in Trello are not retroactive. Bear this in mind when setting them up, so that nothing slips through the cracks.
Advanced Trello automations for your team’s shared email inbox
Now that you’re familiar with the kind of board maintenance you can achieve with Trello automation, let’s take a look at how to take things further with more advanced automations.
To really boost your team’s workflow, you can layer Trello automations with the Email for Trello Power-Up to do your email admin for you!
These automations rely on understanding a few more concepts:
Variables are placeholder values that are replaced with the relevant information when the automation is run. For example, the variable {username} would be replaced with the Trello user’s name, i.e. Ben Smith. This is the full list of Trello-supported variables, and you can also find out more about how to include variables in your emails with the Email for Trello Power-Up.
Saved Replies are template emails that are used with the Email for Trello Power-Up to respond faster. Because they save you from typing out an email every time, they also form the basis of email automation in Trello. Find out more about how to create and use Saved Reply email templates.
Email for Trello’s @reply and @email keywords make it possible to send an email via the Trello comment API. Posting a comment starting with @reply or @email is the action the Power-Up uses to automate your email send. Learn more about how to send an email with a Trello comment in our help center.
Once you understand these concepts, the basic set up of more advanced Trello email automations remains the same. It’s the same two simple steps:
A trigger, the thing that happens to activate your email automation, like moving a card.
An action, the actual email send, which looks something like ‘Post comment “@reply ##emailtemplate”’. That looks a little complex, but when it’s broken down you can see the action consists of:
Posting a Trello comment starting with @reply – this is what Email for Trello uses to automate sending your email.
The content of the Trello comment – in this case, ##emailtemplate which tells Trello automation to insert the Saved Reply email template.
Let’s take a look at some practical examples to demonstrate how it all works together.
Assign help desk tickets
Make sure your customers get timely updates from your support team by automatically sending a ‘Ticket Assigned’ confirmation email as soon as someone is working on their request.
Trigger: When someone is added to a card in list ‘Scheduled’
Action: Post comment ‘@reply ##TicketAssigned’
Your automation is posted as a comment in Trello, and appears in your customer’s inbox as a regular email.
💡 TIP Streamline your help desk email workflow with these 5 automations every customer support team should set up.
Send sales meeting invites
Automatically send a meeting invitation with a link to your calendar availability when you drag a card into another list. This is great for sales agents looking to streamline their client communication. For example:
Trigger: When a card is moved into list ‘Follow Up’
Action: Post comment ‘@reply ##MeetingInvitation’
Find out more about how to drag a Trello card to automatically send an email. This setup is also useful for project management, or bookings and reservations teams that need to send email updates to clients based on where Trello cards are in their workflow.
Send an email reply by simply dragging a Trello card to another list. In this example, when the Pet Cuts salon team moves a booking card to ‘Done’, their customer automatically receives an email telling them their pet is ready to collect.
Onboard new clients
If your team regularly onboards new clients, set up a Trello card button automation to do some of the heavy-lifting around repetitive email tasks – like sending out a templated welcome email personalized with your client’s details. For example:
Trigger: By setting up a card button, the automation is triggered on demand when the Trello user clicks the button
Action: Post comment ‘@reply ##OnboardingIntroduction’
This kind of automation is also useful for HR teams managing their staff onboarding workflow in Trello.
💡 TIP Discover how to unlock the potential of your onboarding workflow with email in Trello. From new client retainers to short-term projects, keep track of emails, tasks, and documents – all on one Trello board!
Process candidates quickly
A Trello board button automation is a bit different to a card button, in that it can help you apply the same automation to multiple Trello cards.
Let’s say your recruitment team manages their hiring pipeline in Trello and want to send the same template email to all unsuccessful applicants when they are added to the ‘Declined’ list. As before, set up a Trello automation rule:
Trigger: When a card is added to the list ‘Declined’
Action: Post comment ‘@reply ##DeclineCandidate’
But we want to be able to send this email as a batch automation! By setting up a Trello board button you can automatically move multiple cards matching your criteria to the ‘Declined’ list, which in turn triggers your automation rule.
For example, your Trello board button automation could target all cards that don’t have the Custom Field ‘Accepted’ set to ‘Yes’, and move them to the ‘Declined’ list – effectively triggering your email send for multiple candidates at one time.
Read more about how to use Trello button automation to send one email to multiple contacts with our step-by-step guide.
💡 TIP Wondering what else you can automate in Trello? Explore our 27+ top automations for your HR and recruitment processes!
Send marketing follow-ups
Trello due date commands make it possible to automate timed follow-up emails from your Trello board! This is great for marketing or eCommerce follow-ups, like asking for a review after an online sale. By first setting up a Trello automation rule:
Trigger: When a card is added to the list ‘Review’
Action: Set the due date in 3 working days
You can then layer this rule with a Trello due date command:
Trigger: The moment a card in the list ‘Review’ is due
Action: Post comment ‘@reply ##ReviewRequest’
For more details, follow our step-by-step guide to automatically send an email from Trello after a certain amount of time passes.
Trello no-code automation made easy
Harness the magic of Trello automation for your team in 2026! With no-code automation as your personal assistant, you can free up time, and take your team’s email workflow to the next level with the Email for Trello Power-Up.
