How do automations work in Recurly Commerce? – Recurly

Automations in Recurly Commerce let you build time-based or event-driven workflows that run automatically on subscriber contracts—no manual intervention needed.

Who can access it?

This feature is available to merchants on Recurly Commerce Pro and Enterprise plans.

What can you do with Automations?

You can create workflows that trigger specific actions—like product swaps, free trials, or gifting—based on timing or subscription events.

Why use it?

Reduce manual work with automated contract changes
Delight subscribers with gifts, trials, or perks at key moments
Set up scalable workflows that evolve with your business

Types of Automations

Swap Automation

Use for: Free Trials, Product Swaps

Let customers try a product for free and automatically upgrade them after a trial period
Rotate subscribers into different SKUs with each renewal by setting up automated product swaps

Add-on Automation

Use for: Gifting, Loyalty Rewards

Automatically add a gift SKU or bonus item at specific subscription milestones
Example: Send a gift on every 5th renewal

Automations make it easy to deliver personalized, engaging experiences at scale—while freeing up your team from manual tasks.

How renewal timing works

When you set an automation to trigger on a specific renewal, the renewal number refers to the order created after the initial purchase—not the original order.

First renewal = when the second order is created
Second renewal = when the third order is created
And so on (the Nth renewal triggers when order N+1 is created)

How swaps and add-ons display

Until the automation triggers, the subscription shows exactly as it was originally purchased—including upcoming orders, which still display the original product.

The change becomes visible only at the moment the renewal/automation swap occurs
Once the automation kicks in, upcoming orders begin showing the swapped item
If a single automation includes multiple swaps or add-ons, each change will appear at the moment its own event trigger

For more details, visit our Recurly Commerce Product Documentation.