How wait steps work
A wait step pauses the workflow for a duration you set, from 1 second up to 1 year. Each wait step has two branches:- Completed: the full duration passed.
- Canceled: a cancel condition was met before the duration ended.
Waits and run order
While a workflow waits, the next workflow in the run order starts. A one-hour wait in the first workflow does not delay the rest by an hour. A start a Sidekick discussion step behaves the same way: the workflow parks while Sidekick works, and the next workflow starts. See Sidekick in workflows. Put the steps that later workflows depend on before the wait, not after it.Cancel conditions
You can add a cancel condition to any wait step. This lets you end the wait early when something changes on the thread.Limits
- Minimum duration: 1 second
- Maximum duration: 1 year (31,536,000 seconds)
When to use wait steps
- Follow-ups: send a message, wait 24 hours, then check if the customer replied.
- Escalation timers: wait 5 minutes after an urgent thread is created.
- Business hours: acknowledge a thread outside business hours, wait until morning, then assign to the team.