> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://resend.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Delay
> Pause your Automations with time delays.
A delay step pauses the Automation for a specified duration before continuing to the next step.
Common use cases:
* **Email sequences**: Space out emails in an onboarding series.
* **Cooldowns**: Prevent sending too many emails in a short period.
* **Follow-ups**: Give users time to take action before sending a reminder.
## How it works
You can configure a "Time Delay" duration using natural language.
The delay step accepts a single `duration` field with a human-readable time value.
```ts Node.js {13-17} theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"vesper"}}
import { Resend } from 'resend';
const resend = new Resend('re_xxxxxxxxx');
const { data, error } = await resend.automations.create({
name: 'Welcome Series',
steps: [
{
key: 'start',
type: 'trigger',
config: { eventName: 'user.created' },
},
{
key: 'wait_1_day',
type: 'delay',
config: { duration: '1 day' },
},
],
connections: [{ from: 'start', to: 'wait_1_day', type: 'default' }],
});
```
```php PHP {11-15} theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"vesper"}}
$resend = Resend::client('re_xxxxxxxxx');
$resend->automations->create([
'name' => 'Welcome Series',
'steps' => [
[
'key' => 'start',
'type' => 'trigger',
'config' => ['event_name' => 'user.created'],
],
[
'key' => 'wait_1_day',
'type' => 'delay',
'config' => ['duration' => '1 day'],
],
],
'connections' => [['from' => 'start', 'to' => 'wait_1_day', 'type' => 'default']],
]);
```
```python Python {13-17} theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"vesper"}}
import resend
resend.api_key = "re_xxxxxxxxx"
params: resend.Automations.CreateParams = {
"name": "Welcome Series",
"steps": [
{
"key": "start",
"type": "trigger",
"config": {"event_name": "user.created"},
},
{
"key": "wait_1_day",
"type": "delay",
"config": {"duration": "1 day"},
},
],
"connections": [{"from": "start", "to": "wait_1_day", "type": "default"}],
}
resend.Automations.create(params)
```
```ruby Ruby {13-17} theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"vesper"}}
require "resend"
Resend.api_key = "re_xxxxxxxxx"
params = {
name: "Welcome Series",
steps: [
{
key: "start",
type: "trigger",
config: { event_name: "user.created" },
},
{
key: "wait_1_day",
type: "delay",
config: { duration: "1 day" },
},
],
connections: [{ from: "start", to: "wait_1_day", type: "default" }],
}
Resend::Automations.create(params)
```
```go Go {18-24} theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"vesper"}}
package main
import "github.com/resend/resend-go/v3"
func main() {
client := resend.NewClient("re_xxxxxxxxx")
params := &resend.CreateAutomationRequest{
Name: "Welcome Series",
Steps: []resend.AutomationStep{
{
Key: "start",
Type: resend.AutomationStepTypeTrigger,
Config: map[string]any{
"event_name": "user.created",
},
},
{
Key: "wait_1_day",
Type: resend.AutomationStepTypeDelay,
Config: map[string]any{
"duration": "1 day",
},
},
},
Connections: []resend.AutomationConnection{
{From: "start", To: "wait_1_day", Type: resend.AutomationConnectionTypeDefault},
},
}
client.Automations.Create(params)
}
```
```rust Rust {22-27} theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"vesper"}}
use resend_rs::{
types::{
AutomationStatus, Connection, ConnectionType, CreateAutomationOptions, DelayStepConfig, Step,
TriggerStepConfig,
},
Resend, Result,
};
#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> Result<()> {
let resend = Resend::new("re_xxxxxxxxx");
let opts = CreateAutomationOptions {
name: "Welcome Series".to_owned(),
steps: vec![
Step::Trigger {
key: "start".to_owned(),
config: TriggerStepConfig {
event_name: "user.created".to_owned(),
},
},
Step::Delay {
key: "wait_1_day".to_owned(),
config: DelayStepConfig {
duration: "1 day".to_owned(),
},
},
],
connections: vec![Connection::new("start", "wait_1_day").with_type(ConnectionType::Default)],
status: AutomationStatus::Disabled,
};
let _automation = resend.automations.create(opts).await?;
Ok(())
}
```
```java Java {14-18} theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"vesper"}}
import com.resend.*;
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Resend resend = new Resend("re_xxxxxxxxx");
CreateAutomationOptions options = CreateAutomationOptions.builder()
.name("Welcome Series")
.steps(
AutomationStep.trigger("start")
.eventName("user.created")
.build(),
AutomationStep.delay("wait_1_day")
.seconds(86400)
.build()
)
.connections(
AutomationConnection.builder()
.from("start")
.to("wait_1_day")
.type(ConnectionType.DEFAULT)
.build()
)
.build();
CreateAutomationResponseSuccess data = resend.automations().create(options);
}
}
```
```csharp .NET {7,15} theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"vesper"}}
using Resend;
using System.Text.Json;
IResend resend = ResendClient.Create( "re_xxxxxxxxx" );
var startConfig = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement( new { event_name = "user.created" } );
var delayConfig = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement( new { duration = "1 day" } );
var resp = await resend.AutomationCreateAsync( new AutomationCreateData()
{
Name = "Welcome Series",
Steps = new List
{
new AutomationStepData { Ref = "start", Type = "trigger", Config = startConfig },
new AutomationStepData { Ref = "wait_1_day", Type = "delay", Config = delayConfig },
},
Connections = new List
{
new AutomationEdge { From = "start", To = "wait_1_day", EdgeType = "default" },
},
} );
```
```bash cURL {10-14} theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"vesper"}}
curl -X POST 'https://api.resend.com/automations' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer re_xxxxxxxxx' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{
"name": "Welcome Series",
"steps": [{
"key": "start",
"type": "trigger",
"config": { "event_name": "user.created" }
}, {
"key": "wait_1_day",
"type": "delay",
"config": { "duration": "1 day" }
}],
"connections": [
{ "from": "start", "to": "wait_1_day", "type": "default" }
]
}'
```
```bash CLI theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"vesper"}}
resend automations create --name "Welcome Series" --file ./automation.json
```
Example durations: `"30 minutes"`, `"1 hour"`, `"12 hours"`, `"1 day"`, `"3 days"`, `"1 week"`.
The maximum delay is 30 days.
## Configuration
The delay duration in natural language (e.g. `"1 hour"`, `"3 days"`). Maximum:
30 days.
```json Example theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"vesper"}}
{
"key": "wait_1_hour",
"type": "delay",
"config": {
"duration": "1 hour"
}
}
```