aid: integrately:rules
name: Integrately Usage Rules
description: >-
  Operational rules and guardrails for adopting Integrately as a one-click,
  no-code workflow automation layer between SaaS applications. These rules
  cover automation selection, connection hygiene, run monitoring, error
  handling, and data protection across the Integrately platform.
modified: '2026-04-28'
rules:
  - id: prefer-prebuilt
    category: Automation Selection
    statement: >-
      Prefer Integrately's pre-built one-click automations over custom flows
      where one exists for the source and target apps; only build custom
      automations when no template fits the use case.
  - id: connection-per-environment
    category: Connections
    statement: >-
      Create separate Integrately app connections for production, staging,
      and personal accounts so that test data does not flow into production
      systems through shared credentials.
  - id: smartconnect-review
    category: Field Mapping
    statement: >-
      Review SmartConnect auto-mappings before activating an automation; do
      not assume that auto-detected fields match your intended source and
      target columns.
  - id: dedupe-and-idempotency
    category: Data Hygiene
    statement: >-
      Use unique IDs (email, external ID, or record key) in trigger payloads
      and rely on app-side dedup logic so that retried or replayed runs do
      not create duplicate records.
  - id: monitor-run-history
    category: Observability
    statement: >-
      Check the automation run history regularly for errors, skipped runs,
      and quota exhaustion; treat any persistent error rate as an incident
      rather than acceptable noise.
  - id: handle-failed-tasks
    category: Error Handling
    statement: >-
      Configure error notifications and a manual review queue for failed
      tasks; do not let silent failures accumulate when a downstream API
      returns 4xx or 5xx errors.
  - id: rate-limit-awareness
    category: Reliability
    statement: >-
      Stay within plan task limits and the rate limits of connected SaaS
      apps; throttle high-volume triggers (e.g., webhook firehoses) before
      they enter Integrately.
  - id: pii-minimization
    category: Data Handling
    statement: >-
      Pass only the fields needed by the target app through an automation;
      avoid forwarding full payloads that include PII, payment data, or
      health information when not required.
  - id: webhook-secret-validation
    category: Security
    statement: >-
      When using Integrately webhooks as triggers, validate any signing
      secret or shared token on the receiving side and rotate it if leaked.
  - id: ownership-and-handoff
    category: Governance
    statement: >-
      Tie each automation to a named owner and document its business
      purpose; pause or migrate automations when the owner leaves rather
      than letting orphaned flows continue running.
  - id: testing-before-activation
    category: Lifecycle
    statement: >-
      Test new automations end-to-end with sample records and a small
      activation window before turning them on across all incoming data.
  - id: pricing-tier-fit
    category: Cost
    statement: >-
      Match the Integrately pricing tier to the expected monthly task
      volume; review usage monthly to avoid over-buying or hitting hard
      stops mid-cycle.