> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://documentation.outpost.pub/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Rules Engine

> Create condition-based automation rules that subscribe or unsubscribe members from newsletters when labels change.

export const PlanStatus = ({tier, status, beta, deprecated}) => {
  const variants = {
    luna: {
      bg: "#8340B9",
      color: "#ffffff",
      border: "1px solid #8340B9"
    },
    voyager: {
      bg: "#6B2FA0",
      color: "#ffffff",
      border: "1px solid #6B2FA0"
    },
    "space-station": {
      bg: "transparent",
      color: "#8340B9",
      border: "1px solid #8340B9"
    },
    "all-plans": {
      bg: "transparent",
      color: "#525252",
      border: "1px solid #a3a3a3"
    },
    labs: {
      bg: "transparent",
      color: "#a16207",
      border: "1px solid #a16207"
    },
    beta: {
      bg: "transparent",
      color: "#a16207",
      border: "1px solid #a16207"
    },
    "invite-only": {
      bg: "transparent",
      color: "#525252",
      border: "1px solid #a3a3a3"
    },
    bespoke: {
      bg: "transparent",
      color: "#525252",
      border: "1px solid #a3a3a3"
    },
    "outpost-hosted": {
      bg: "transparent",
      color: "#525252",
      border: "1px solid #a3a3a3"
    },
    deprecated: {
      bg: "transparent",
      color: "#b91c1c",
      border: "1px solid #b91c1c"
    }
  };
  const chip = (variant, label) => {
    const s = variants[variant] || variants["all-plans"];
    return <span key={variant + ":" + label} style={{
      display: "inline-flex",
      alignItems: "center",
      padding: "0.15rem 0.55rem",
      fontSize: "0.7rem",
      fontWeight: 700,
      letterSpacing: "0.05em",
      textTransform: "uppercase",
      borderRadius: "3px",
      lineHeight: 1.4,
      whiteSpace: "nowrap",
      backgroundColor: s.bg,
      color: s.color,
      border: s.border
    }}>
        {label}
      </span>;
  };
  const tierLabel = {
    "luna": "Luna",
    "voyager+": "Voyager+",
    "voyager-luna": "Voyager + Luna",
    "space-station+": "Space Station+",
    "all-plans": "All plans"
  };
  const tierVariant = {
    "luna": "luna",
    "voyager+": "voyager",
    "voyager-luna": "voyager",
    "space-station+": "space-station",
    "all-plans": "all-plans"
  };
  const statusLabel = {
    "labs": "Labs",
    "invite-only": "Invite-only",
    "bespoke": "Bespoke",
    "deprecated": "Deprecated",
    "outpost-hosted": "Outpost Hosted"
  };
  return <span style={{
    display: "inline-flex",
    gap: "0.4rem",
    flexWrap: "wrap",
    alignItems: "center",
    margin: "0 0 1.25rem 0"
  }}>
      {tier && chip(tierVariant[tier], tierLabel[tier])}
      {status && chip(status, statusLabel[status])}
      {beta && chip("beta", "Beta")}
      {deprecated && chip("deprecated", "Deprecated")}
    </span>;
};

<PlanStatus tier="luna" status="labs" />

The Rules Engine lets you create if-then automation rules that respond to label changes on members. When a label is added or removed, rules can automatically subscribe or unsubscribe the member from specific newsletters.

***

## How rules work

A rule has three parts:

1. **Condition** — What event triggers the rule (label added or removed)
2. **Audience** — Which members the rule applies to (by status, tier, or labels)
3. **Actions** — What happens when the condition is met (subscribe or unsubscribe from a newsletter)

When the trigger fires, Outpost checks whether the member matches the audience criteria. If they do, all actions run.

***

## Creating a rule

Go to **Labs → Rules Engine** in the left navigation and click **Create New Rule**.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/outpost-eb0cfbad/vHbafY0aqRFTGE9-/images/Rules-engine-in-labs.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=vHbafY0aqRFTGE9-&q=85&s=a3f1cadee1d5c8974998a3eb7f902c9e" alt="Rules Engine In Labs" width="362" height="406" data-path="images/Rules-engine-in-labs.png" />
</Frame>

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/outpost-eb0cfbad/vHbafY0aqRFTGE9-/images/Rules-engine-dashboard-search-and-new-rule.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=vHbafY0aqRFTGE9-&q=85&s=78ab57bae77a962ae6f8785a264c9485" alt="Rules Engine Dashboard Search And New Rule" width="1692" height="320" data-path="images/Rules-engine-dashboard-search-and-new-rule.png" />
</Frame>

### Basic settings

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/outpost-eb0cfbad/vHbafY0aqRFTGE9-/images/New-rule-in-rules-engine.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=vHbafY0aqRFTGE9-&q=85&s=74b02caa282a14eb6116543e938424a1" alt="New Rule In Rules Engine" width="1600" height="1362" data-path="images/New-rule-in-rules-engine.png" />
</Frame>

| Field                | Description                                                                            |
| -------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Enabled**          | Toggle the rule on or off. Disabled rules do not fire.                                 |
| **Rule Name**        | A descriptive name for the rule. Required.                                             |
| **Rule Slug**        | Auto-generated from the name. Cannot be changed after creation.                        |
| **Rule Explanation** | Optional text field to document what the rule does and why. Useful for team reference. |

### Condition

| Field              | Description                                                                                                                                     |
| ------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Condition Type** | **Member Label Added** — fires when a specific label is applied to a member. **Member Label Removed** — fires when a specific label is removed. |
| **Label**          | The specific label that triggers the rule.                                                                                                      |

### Audience

| Field                                                          | Description                                                       |
| -------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Apply to members who are**                                   | Check one or more: Free, Paid, Complimentary.                     |
| **Tiers**                                                      | When Paid or Complimentary is selected, narrow to specific tiers. |
| **Only include members that have one or more of these labels** | Additional label filter for targeting.                            |
| **Exclude anyone who has one or more of these labels**         | Exclude members with specific labels.                             |

### Actions

Each rule can have one or more actions, click **Add Action** to add multiple actions to a single rule.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/outpost-eb0cfbad/vHbafY0aqRFTGE9-/images/Add-action-in-rules-engine.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=vHbafY0aqRFTGE9-&q=85&s=cccce90c7b84a285b9ecd5f42a5b0e0e" alt="Add Action In Rules Engine" width="1204" height="270" data-path="images/Add-action-in-rules-engine.png" />
</Frame>

| Field           | Description                                                                                                                                |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Timing**      | When the action executes relative to the trigger (immediately, or after a delay).                                                          |
| **Action Type** | **Subscribe Newsletter** — adds the member to a Ghost newsletter. **Unsubscribe Newsletter** — removes the member from a Ghost newsletter. |
| **Newsletter**  | The specific Ghost newsletter to subscribe to or unsubscribe from.                                                                         |

### Apply timing

| Option                           | Description                                                                   |
| -------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Apply to all subscribers now** | Run the rule immediately against all existing members who match the criteria. |
| **Apply only in future**         | Only trigger for future label changes — don't apply retroactively.            |

<Warning>
  When selecting "Apply to all subscribers now," a confirmation dialog shows the number of members who will be affected. Review this count carefully before confirming.
</Warning>

***

## Example rules

**Newsletter opt-in via label:**

* Condition: Label `premium-newsletter` added
* Audience: Paid members
* Action: Subscribe to "Premium Weekly Digest" newsletter

**Unsubscribe churned members:**

* Condition: Label `cancelled` added
* Audience: All member types
* Action: Unsubscribe from "Paid Members Only" newsletter

**Targeted content by tier:**

* Condition: Label `vip` added
* Audience: Paid members on the "Founder" tier
* Action: Subscribe to "Founders Circle" newsletter

## Disabling rules

Toggle the "Enabled" button and the status will change to "Disabled" in the dashboard.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/outpost-eb0cfbad/vHbafY0aqRFTGE9-/images/Disabled-rule-in-rule-engine.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=vHbafY0aqRFTGE9-&q=85&s=c8f154603236da4931a50bb0f1e57154" alt="Disabled Rule In Rule Engine" width="1604" height="388" data-path="images/Disabled-rule-in-rule-engine.png" />
</Frame>

***

## Related features

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Autoresponder" icon="envelope" href="/features/basic-autoresponder">
    Use autoresponder flows for multi-step email sequences.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Labels" icon="tags" href="/features/labels">
    Labels are the triggers for rules engine conditions.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Auto-Subscribe Rules" icon="user-plus" href="/features/auto-subscribe-rules">
    Grant tier or complimentary access automatically when a new member's email matches a pattern.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

***

## FAQ

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="How is the Rules Engine different from the Autoresponder?">
    The Rules Engine responds to label changes and manages newsletter subscriptions. The [Autoresponder](/features/basic-autoresponder) is for sending email sequences triggered by registration, renewal, or other lifecycle events. They complement each other — use labels to connect the two.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can rules fire for existing members?">
    Yes. When creating a rule, choose "Apply to all subscribers now" to run it against all existing members who match the criteria. Otherwise, it only fires for future label changes.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What happens if multiple rules match the same member?">
    All matching rules run independently. If two rules both subscribe a member to the same newsletter, the duplicate subscription is simply ignored.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I use the Rules Engine to send emails?">
    No. The Rules Engine only manages newsletter subscriptions (subscribe/unsubscribe). To send emails based on conditions, use the [Autoresponder](/features/basic-autoresponder) with a "Member Label Added" start condition.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>