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Launch Processes Without Templates

Launch Processes Without Templates

Create processes in Tallyfy without requiring a predefined template. This powerful feature enables AI assistants, automation tools, and integrations to create ad-hoc collections of tasks that are tracked together as a single process.

Overview

Tallyfy’s API supports creating processes without templates through a special parameter in the task creation endpoint. When you set separate_task_for_each_assignee: true, the system automatically:

  1. Creates an empty process (using the internal MISC system checklist)
  2. Creates individual tasks for each assignee
  3. Links all tasks to the same process for unified tracking

This eliminates the need to create templates for one-time or dynamic processes, making it ideal for automation and AI assistant integrations.

API Endpoint

POST /api/organizations/{orgId}/tasks

Required Headers

Authorization: Bearer {access_token}
Content-Type: application/json

Key Parameter

The magic happens with this single parameter:

{
  "separate_task_for_each_assignee": true
}

When set to true, this parameter triggers the creation of an empty process container that holds all the tasks.

Request Schema

Complete Request Body

{
  "title": "Task title",
  "summary": "Optional task description",
  "owners": {
    "users": ["userId1", "userId2", "userId3"],
    "guests": ["guestId1"],
    "groups": ["groupId1"]
  },
  "separate_task_for_each_assignee": true,
  "status": "not-started",
  "task_type": "task",
  "deadline": "2024-12-31 17:00:00",
  "everyone_must_complete": false,
  "is_soft_start_date": true
}

Parameter Details

ParameterTypeRequiredDescription
titlestringYesTitle for the process and all tasks
summarystringNoDescription or instructions for the tasks
ownersobjectYesContains arrays of users, guests, and/or groups
separate_task_for_each_assigneebooleanYesMust be true to create process without template
statusstringNoInitial status (default: “not-started”)
task_typestringNoType of task (default: “task”)
deadlinestringNoDeadline in “YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS” format
everyone_must_completebooleanNoSet to false for independent task completion
is_soft_start_datebooleanNoWhether the start date is flexible

Implementation Examples

async function createProcessWithoutTemplate(orgId, accessToken, taskData) {
  const response = await fetch(
    `https://api.tallyfy.com/api/organizations/${orgId}/tasks`,
    {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: {
        'Authorization': `Bearer ${accessToken}`,
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
      },
      body: JSON.stringify({
        title: taskData.title,
        summary: taskData.description || '',
        owners: {
          users: taskData.userIds || []
        },
        separate_task_for_each_assignee: true, // Critical parameter
        status: 'not-started',
        task_type: 'task',
        deadline: taskData.deadline || getDefaultDeadline(),
        everyone_must_complete: false,
        is_soft_start_date: true
      })
    }
  );


  if (!response.ok) {
    throw new Error(`Failed to create process: ${response.status}`);
  }


  const result = await response.json();


  // Extract process information
  const processId = result.data?.run?.id;
  const processUrl = result.data?.run?.permalink;


  console.log(`Created process ${processId}: ${processUrl}`);
  return result;
}


// Example: Create a process for multiple timesheet submissions
async function createTimesheetProcess() {
  const taskData = {
    title: 'Submit Weekly Timesheet',
    description: 'Please submit your timesheet for this week by Friday 5pm',
    userIds: ['user_123', 'user_456', 'user_789'],
    deadline: '2024-12-13 17:00:00'
  };


  await createProcessWithoutTemplate('your-org-id', 'your-token', taskData);
}


function getDefaultDeadline() {
  const date = new Date();
  date.setDate(date.getDate() + 7);
  return date.toISOString().slice(0, 19).replace('T', ' ');
}

Advanced Usage

Creating Multi-Stage Processes

For processes that require different tasks with unique titles and descriptions, use a two-stage approach:

  1. Stage 1: Create the first task with separate_task_for_each_assignee: true to establish the process
  2. Stage 2: Add additional tasks to the same process using the run_id from Stage 1
async function createMultiStageProcess(orgId, accessToken, tasks) {
  // Stage 1: Create process with first task
  const firstTask = tasks[0];
  const processResponse = await fetch(
    `https://api.tallyfy.com/api/organizations/${orgId}/tasks`,
    {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: {
        'Authorization': `Bearer ${accessToken}`,
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
      },
      body: JSON.stringify({
        title: firstTask.title,
        summary: firstTask.description,
        owners: { users: firstTask.userIds },
        separate_task_for_each_assignee: true,
        status: 'not-started',
        task_type: 'task',
        deadline: firstTask.deadline
      })
    }
  );


  const processResult = await processResponse.json();
  const processId = processResult.data?.run?.id;


  if (!processId) {
    throw new Error('Failed to create process');
  }


  // Stage 2: Add remaining tasks to the process
  for (let i = 1; i < tasks.length; i++) {
    const task = tasks[i];
    await fetch(
      `https://api.tallyfy.com/api/organizations/${orgId}/tasks`,
      {
        method: 'POST',
        headers: {
          'Authorization': `Bearer ${accessToken}`,
          'Content-Type': 'application/json'
        },
        body: JSON.stringify({
          title: task.title,
          summary: task.description,
          owners: { users: task.userIds },
          run_id: processId,  // Attach to existing process
          status: 'not-started',
          task_type: 'task',
          deadline: task.deadline,
          position: i + 1
        })
      }
    );
  }


  return processId;
}


// Example: Create a multi-stage approval process
const approvalTasks = [
  {
    title: 'Prepare Budget Proposal',
    description: 'Draft the Q1 budget proposal document',
    userIds: ['user_123'],
    deadline: '2024-12-10 17:00:00'
  },
  {
    title: 'Review Budget Proposal',
    description: 'Review and provide feedback on the proposal',
    userIds: ['user_456'],
    deadline: '2024-12-12 17:00:00'
  },
  {
    title: 'Approve Budget Proposal',
    description: 'Final approval of the Q1 budget',
    userIds: ['user_789'],
    deadline: '2024-12-15 17:00:00'
  }
];


const processId = await createMultiStageProcess('org-id', 'token', approvalTasks);

Use Cases

1. AI Assistant Bulk Operations

Perfect for AI assistants that need to create tasks for multiple users:

// AI Assistant: "Ask 6 people to submit timesheets by Friday 5pm"
const timesheetRequest = {
  title: "Submit Weekly Timesheet",
  userIds: ["user1", "user2", "user3", "user4", "user5", "user6"],
  description: "Please submit your timesheet for this week",
  deadline: "2024-12-13 17:00:00"
};


await createProcessWithoutTemplate(orgId, token, timesheetRequest);
// Creates 1 process with 6 individual tasks, each trackable separately

2. Dynamic Approval Workflows

Create approval chains without predefined templates:

# Dynamic approval chain based on document type
approval_chain = determine_approval_chain(document_type)  # Returns user IDs


creator.create_process_without_template(
    title=f"Approve {document_type}",
    user_ids=approval_chain,
    description=f"Please review and approve the {document_type}",
    deadline=datetime.now() + timedelta(days=3)
)

3. Event-Driven Task Creation

Respond to external events by creating processes:

// Webhook receives new customer signup
async function onNewCustomer(customerData) {
  const onboardingTasks = {
    title: `Onboard ${customerData.company}`,
    userIds: [
      salesRepId,      // Welcome call
      supportRepId,    // Setup assistance
      successManagerId // Success planning
    ],
    description: `Complete onboarding for new customer: ${customerData.company}`,
    deadline: getDeadline(7)  // 7 days from now
  };


  await createProcessWithoutTemplate(orgId, token, onboardingTasks);
}

4. Batch Processing from Spreadsheets

Import tasks from external sources:

import pandas as pd


# Read tasks from CSV
df = pd.read_csv('monthly_tasks.csv')


for _, row in df.iterrows():
    creator.create_process_without_template(
        title=row['task_title'],
        user_ids=row['assignees'].split(','),
        description=row['description'],
        deadline=datetime.strptime(row['due_date'], '%Y-%m-%d')
    )

Important Considerations

Process Ownership

The user creating the process becomes the process owner automatically but is not assigned to the individual tasks unless explicitly included in the assignee list.

Task Independence

When everyone_must_complete is set to false (recommended), each assignee can complete their task independently, allowing for better progress tracking.

MISC System Checklist

Behind the scenes, Tallyfy uses a special “MISC” system checklist that exists in every organization. This is transparent to API users and requires no configuration.

Rate Limiting

When creating processes in bulk, implement appropriate rate limiting to avoid hitting API limits. Consider adding delays between requests for large batches.

Error Handling

Always implement proper error handling for production use:

try {
  const result = await createProcessWithoutTemplate(orgId, token, taskData);


  // Log success
  console.log(`Process created: ${result.data.run.id}`);


  // Store process ID for tracking
  await storeProcessId(result.data.run.id);


} catch (error) {
  // Handle specific error types
  if (error.status === 401) {
    // Token expired, refresh and retry
    await refreshToken();
    return retry();
  } else if (error.status === 422) {
    // Validation error
    console.error('Invalid task data:', error.response.errors);
  } else if (error.status === 429) {
    // Rate limited, wait and retry
    await sleep(60000);
    return retry();
  } else {
    // Log unexpected errors
    console.error('Unexpected error:', error);
    throw error;
  }
}

Testing Your Implementation

Use our test script to verify your implementation:

Terminal window
# Download test script
curl -O https://docs.tallyfy.com/examples/test_process_without_template.py


# Set environment variables
export TALLYFY_ORG_ID="your-org-id"
export TALLYFY_CLIENT_ID="your-client-id"
export TALLYFY_CLIENT_SECRET="your-client-secret"


# Run tests
python3 test_process_without_template.py

Best Practices

  1. Use Descriptive Titles: Since these processes don’t have templates, make titles clear and actionable
  2. Include Context in Descriptions: Provide sufficient context in the summary field
  3. Set Realistic Deadlines: Consider timezone differences and working hours
  4. Track Process IDs: Store returned process IDs for monitoring and reporting
  5. Implement Retry Logic: Handle transient failures gracefully
  6. Log All Operations: Maintain audit trails for compliance and debugging

Launching > Launch manually

Manual process launching in Tallyfy allows you to initiate workflow instances from templates with complete control over timing and customization by selecting a template naming the instance and clicking launch to create an active trackable process.

Processes > Launch process

The Launch Process API endpoint enables creation of new process instances by sending a POST request with template details task assignments and kick-off field data while supporting various programming languages for integration.

Postman > Working with templates and processes

This content explains how to use Postman to launch and manage Tallyfy workflow processes through API endpoints with template IDs kick-off form data and various automation patterns for efficient process creation and monitoring.

Pro > Launching

Process launching in Tallyfy transforms reusable templates into active trackable workflow instances with specific assignments deadlines and progress monitoring through various methods including manual API webhook email form and cascade triggers while maintaining template independence and allowing customization during launch.
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