How to set up a backend workflow in Bubble.io: Step-by-Step Guide

Go to Settings in the left sidebar, then click the API tab. Check the box labeled 'Enable Workflow API'. This activates the backend workflow endpoint for your app. Now go to the Workflow tab and click the Pages dropdown at the top-left. At the bottom of the dropdown, you will see a link labeled 'Backend workflows'. Click it to open the backend workflow editor. This editor looks similar to the regular Workflow tab but shows server-side events instead of page events.

In the backend workflow editor, click to add a new event. Select 'New API Workflow'. Name it descriptively with lowercase and hyphens (like 'process-order' or 'send-reminder'). Add parameters that the workflow needs: for example, order_id (text) or user (User). Add actions just like frontend workflows: Make changes to a thing, Send Email, Create a new thing, etc. Check 'This workflow can be run without authentication' only if it needs to be called by external services without a Bubble token. Check 'Ignore privacy rules' if the workflow needs to access data beyond the calling user's permissions.

In a frontend workflow (like a button click), add the action 'Schedule API Workflow' (found under API Workflow in the action menu). Select your backend workflow from the dropdown. Set the parameter values from dynamic expressions. Set the Scheduled date to Current Date/Time to run immediately, or a future date to run later. The workflow runs server-side independently of the user's browser. Use 'Schedule API Workflow on a list' to run the workflow once for each item in a list — useful for batch processing.

To run a workflow on a schedule (daily, weekly), create a backend workflow that re-schedules itself. Add your main logic (cleanup, reports, etc.) as actions. As the final action, add 'Schedule API Workflow' pointing to itself with a Scheduled date of Current Date/Time + days:1 (for daily) or + days:7 (for weekly). Add a termination condition: store a 'should_run' flag in a Settings Data Type and check it before proceeding. To start the recurring workflow, create a one-time frontend trigger (admin button) that schedules the first execution.

Use backend workflows when: the process must complete even if the user closes their browser (order processing, email sends), the process needs to run at a future time (reminders, expirations), external services need to trigger it (webhooks), bulk operations need to process many records, or the workflow needs to ignore privacy rules for administrative operations. Use frontend workflows when: the result must be shown to the user immediately, the workflow interacts with page elements (show/hide, set states), or the operation is simple and user-initiated (creating a single record, navigating to a page).