Template Variables

Automation actions, email templates, and SMS templates support handlebars-style placeholders. The available variables depend on the trigger type that fires the automation.

Discovering variables for a trigger

Each trigger type publishes a list of available placeholders:

• MCP: get_trigger_schema(trigger_type) returns sample trigger_data + every available {{variable}} token.
• REST: GET /v1/triggers/schemas/{trigger_type}

Common variable shapes

Most CRM triggers expose these variable groups:

• {{contact.first_name}}, {{contact.last_name}}, {{contact.email}}, etc. — for contact-bound triggers
• {{contact.display_name}} — renders cleanly when last_name is null
• {{contact.greeting}} — "Hi {{first_name}}" with sensible fallback
• {{deal.name}}, {{deal.amount}}, {{deal.stage_name}}, etc.
• {{customer.name}} for the company linked to the deal
• {{company.name}} for YOUR workspace's company profile (your CRM's brand)
• {{assigned_user.first_name}}, {{assigned_user.email}}

Conditional rendering

Templates support {{#if variable}}...{{/if}} and {{#unless variable}}...{{/unless}} blocks. Use these when a field may be null.

Text safety rules

• Use plain ASCII in templates. Em dashes, smart quotes, and Unicode special characters get corrupted to "?" in some email/SMS pipelines.
• Use -- instead of em dashes. Regular quotes instead of smart quotes.
• Email html_body supports full HTML; SMS message_body is plain text.

Per-action variable docs

Each automation action type has its own variable list:

• MCP: list_action_types() → describe_action_type(action_type)
• REST: GET /v1/automations/action-types/{action_type}