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# Choose the right automation type for your task

> Compare Mammoth's five automation types (Dataset Refresh, File Collection, Data Consolidation, Scheduled Export, Messaging) and what your plan includes.
>
> Applies to: Dataset Refresh, File Collection, Data Consolidation and Messaging are plan features. Roles: A project role with the Create/manage orchestration flows permission. Where: Data Library › Automations › New automation

Mammoth has five automation types, grouped in the **New automation** window under **Bring data in** and **Send data out**. Open it from **Automations** > **New automation** in the Data Library. To create and manage automations, your project role needs the **Create/manage orchestration flows** permission; without **Monitor orchestration status**, the Automations list is not shown to you. Four of the five types are plan features.

## Compare the five automation types

The window also notes: **Reading a spreadsheet or PDF? Start from Add data, and the automation comes with it.**

|  | **Dataset Refresh** | **File Collection** | **Data Consolidation** | **Scheduled Export** | **Messaging** |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Group** | **Bring data in** | **Bring data in** | **Bring data in** | **Send data out** | **Send data out** |
| **What the window says** | "Fetch the latest data for connected and linked datasets" | "Collect files from cloud folders into Mammoth" | "Combine or replace a dataset's data when new files arrive" | "Send exports on a clock, whether or not the data changed" | "Email people a view on a schedule" |
| **Source** | Datasets from an API or database connector, or From URL datasets that follow their link | Folders in a cloud platform | Folder in your Data Library | Export steps on Views in the project | Dataset Views |
| **Destination** | Updates the same dataset | Folder in Mammoth | Appends to or replaces a target dataset | Each export's own destination | Email recipients, as a CSV attachment |
| **Trigger** | Schedule (Day, Week, Month, Year) or **Manual only** | Schedule or **Manual only** | New file in the folder, no schedule | Schedule (Day, Week, Month, Year) | Schedule (Day, Week, Month, Year) |
| **Plan** | Plan feature | Plan feature | Plan feature | No plan feature of its own | Plan sets how many you can have |

Datasets saved from a file connector (Dropbox, Google Drive, Google Cloud Storage, SFTP, SharePoint, OneDrive, Email (IMAP)) can't be refreshed by Dataset Refresh. Use File Collection to bring in new files from those sources, then Data Consolidation to add them to a dataset.

## Pick the right automation for your task

| Scenario | Use |
| --- | --- |
| My dataset connects to Salesforce, a database or Google Sheets and needs daily updates | **Dataset Refresh** |
| My team uploads CSV exports to a folder each morning and I want one master dataset | **Data Consolidation** |
| Partners drop files into cloud storage and I want them in a Mammoth folder | **File Collection** |
| A database, SFTP or Google Sheets export must run at 6:00 every day, even if the data didn't change | **Scheduled Export** |
| Finance needs a Monday morning report emailed to them | **Messaging** |
| I want to pull data and also email a report | Create one of each. They're independent |

## What each plan decides

| Type | What your plan decides |
| --- | --- |
| **Dataset Refresh** | Whether you can create one (it needs the File Collection plan feature), and how often it runs |
| **File Collection** | Whether you can create one, and how often it runs |
| **Data Consolidation** | Whether you can create one |
| **Messaging** | How many Messaging automations the workspace can have |
| **Scheduled Export** | Nothing: it has no plan feature. Each export it runs needs its destination to be on your plan |

Your plan can also limit which schedule units the scheduler offers. See [Plan limits on how often an automation runs](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/automate/schedule-options/#plan-limits-on-how-often-an-automation-runs). If saving a Dataset Refresh fails with "This feature is not included in your current plan." even though the card shows no plan pill, contact Mammoth support.

## What you see when your plan doesn't include a type

A type your plan doesn't include shows a pill with the name of a plan that includes it. Hover over it to see "Included in" and the plans that have it. During a trial, a type the trial includes but the cheapest plan doesn't shows a **Trial** pill instead.

When you click such a type:

- If you can change the workspace's plan, Mammoth opens the window to upgrade the plan (or to contact sales, if your plan is not a self-serve plan).
- If you can't, you see "Contact Owner to Upgrade" with "Contact the Workspace owner to explore plan upgrade options, granting you access to File Collection." (with the type's name). On a plan that isn't self-serve, it reads "File Collection isn't part of your current plan. Please request a workspace owner to enable it."

Automations of a type your plan no longer includes show the same pill in the Automations list. A plan change can suspend them, and a suspended automation doesn't run until you resume it.

For Messaging, the card shows how many you have against the cap, for example **3/3 used**. Once the cap is reached, clicking the card opens the upgrade path instead of the wizard.

## Related

- [Create an automation](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/automate/create/): the steps every type shares.
- [Automations, Auto-sync and pipeline governance](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/automate/auto-sync-and-governance/): the other ways Mammoth runs work for you.
- [Schedule options](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/automate/schedule-options/): plan limits on how often an automation runs.
- [Manage automations](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/automate/manage/): resume a suspended automation.

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Source: https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/automate/choose-a-type.md · Updated: 2026-11-08