Create an automation rule - Learn how to create an automation rule for an issue. - Administrator Guide - Cortex XDR - Cortex - Security Operations

Cortex XDR 5.x Documentation

Product
Cortex XDR
License
XDR + Cloud
Creation date
2025-07-13
Last date published
2026-06-04
Category
Administrator Guide
Abstract

Learn how to create an automation rule for an issue.

Automation rules allow users to automatically respond to events by defining trigger conditions and desired actions to perform once the condition is met. Automation rules can trigger playbooks and Quick Actions.

While per-object access determines who can see, edit, or manually trigger a playbook, any automated execution (including those triggered by automation rules, jobs, or feed-triggered actions) is performed by the system. These actions are not restricted by the organizational scope or object-level access of the user who may have triggered the case. Instead, automated workflows remain governed by the defined scope and permissions of the involved integrations.

Note

In addition to the Automation Rules feature, the XDR Automation menu item is available if you migrated from Cortex XDR 3.x to Cortex XDR 5.x and had rules configured in your previous environment.

  • Location: These legacy rules are located under Investigation & ResponseAutomationXDR Automation.

  • Operational but read-only: Existing rules from your Cortex XDR 3.x environment continue to function as originally configured, but they are now read-only. You cannot edit existing legacy rules or create new rules within this section.

  • Migration: We recommend transitioning your legacy automation logic to the new Automation Rules, found under Investigation & ResponseAutomationAutomation Rules.

  • Functional difference: Legacy XDR Automation rules allowed for multiple independent actions to be assigned to a single trigger. In contrast, the new Automation Rules trigger a single Playbook or Quick Action per issue.

In the Automation Rules page, you can create or edit an automation rule, use recommended automation rules, edit a playbook, and change the order of priority. You can also delete or disable/enable an automation rule. When you disable an automation rule, the automation does not run for the selected condition.

Note

You can also define the conditions that trigger a specific playbook in the playbook editor. For more information, see Task 2. Configure playbook settings

After you create an automation rule, the rule is added to the Automation Rules table. In the Automation Rules table, you can do the following:

  • Set the priority of the automation rules, so when an issue is created, the first rule takes priority, then the second, third, etc. Only the first matching rule is executed.

    New rules created manually are added to the bottom of the table.

  • View details of the automation rules that have been created.

    By default, you can see the condition, automation, and the creation dates and source. You can add columns and filters as required. To edit, disable, or delete an automation rule, right-click on the rule.