Routines Library

Start automating in seconds with pre-built Routines from Hamster. Enable a proven automation for your workspace, or fork one and make it your own.

The job the Library does

Writing a Routine from scratch means learning what triggers are available, drafting instructions, running test iterations, and checking the output before you trust it in production. That is the right investment when you need something specific — but it is a lot to ask of a team that just wants to see whether automating a recurring task is even worth it.

The Routines Library removes that friction. It gives your team pre-built Routines — authored and maintained by Hamster — that you can activate with a single toggle. They fire against real workspace events immediately. Your team sees what the automation does before deciding whether to adopt it as-is or fork it into something tailored to your process.

Browsing the Library

Open Routines from the workspace sidebar and select Library.

Each library card shows:

  • The routine's name and description — what it does and when it fires
  • The trigger events it listens to
  • A preview of the instructions, so you can read exactly what Hamster will do before enabling it

Enabling a library routine

Toggle a library Routine on to make it active for your workspace. Hamster starts listening to its configured triggers immediately — the next time a matching event fires, the routine runs.

Toggle it off to pause it without removing it from the Library. It stays available; you can re-enable it at any time.

Library Routines appear in your Routines list with a from Library label so you can tell them apart from your own automations. Their run history is visible from the same All Runs feed as any other routine.

Forking a library routine

When you want to customise a library Routine, select Fork from the library card.

Forking creates an account-owned copy in your Routines list that you fully control — you can edit the instructions, adjust the triggers, rename it, or remove it. Your fork is independent: changes Hamster makes to the library original do not affect your copy.

After forking, the original library card shows as inactive for your workspace — your fork takes its place. You can re-enable the library version at any time if you want to run both.

To name your fork before saving, the fork dialog lets you set a name. If the suggested name conflicts with something you already have, Hamster proposes an alternative — you see the proposed name in the confirmation so nothing is silently renamed.

When the library updates

Hamster maintains the content of each library Routine. When the instructions or trigger configuration of a library entry improves, enabled Routines update automatically — you get the improvement without doing anything.

If you have forked a library Routine, your copy does not update automatically, because it is your content to control. When the library source changes, a Library update available notice appears on your fork's card in the Routines list.

You have two options:

  • Dismiss — acknowledge the notice without changing anything. Your fork continues running as-is. Select Dismiss update on the card to clear the badge.
  • Reset — discard your fork and return to the library version. Select Reset to library from the routine's menu. Your customisations are removed and the library source becomes active again for your workspace.

Dismissing and resetting are both reversible: you can fork again after a reset, and a dismissed update stays available if you change your mind.

How library routines run

Library Routines run the same way your own Routines do — in the background, in response to the workspace events they listen to, with access to the full context of the triggering event.

Each run is logged in the Routines run history with the trigger that fired, the instructions that ran, and the output. Library-origin runs are labelled in the feed so you can filter them separately if you're comparing library and account-owned automations.

Tips

  • Enable a library Routine first to see it run in your workspace before investing time in a fork. Most teams find the library version covers their needs without modification.
  • If you know you'll want to customise a routine, fork it before enabling the library version — that way your edited copy is what fires from the start.
  • Resetting a fork re-enables the library source and removes your customisations. It does not delete your run history — you can still see what your fork did in All Runs.
  • Library Routines count toward your workspace's active routine limit the same as your own routines.

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