Automations glossary

Fields 

Source field

A source field tells the automation where to get data from within an entry or object. It’s often used in AI actions to identify which field should be processed or transformed.

Examples:

  • Translation use case: Selecting “Name (English)” as the source field for an AI translation.

  • SEO use case: Selecting the “Body” field to generate an SEO summary or meta description.

Output field

An output field defines where the result should be written after an action runs. This is the destination for the data produced by the automation. This is commonly from an AI Action, but it is not limited to this automation.

Examples:

  • Translation use case: Writing the translated “Name (German)” back into the localized field of the same entry.

  • SEO use case: Saving the generated “SEO Description” into a specific metadata field.

GIF of adding a source field and output field. 

Dynamic references

Each node has inputs and outputs. Outputs from one node can be reused as inputs in another. These are called dynamic references.

  • Inputs: can either be static values (e.g. text you type in) or dynamic values.

  • Outputs: only become meaningful when used by another node. For example, the result of an AI action must be passed into an Edit entry action to save the content back into Contentful.

    • Dynamic values: references to the outputs of previous steps. For example, the output of a Get entry node can be reused in later nodes.

    • This makes it possible to pass along not just field values (like title or body) but also system properties (such as createdBy, updatedAt, or tags).

Values

A value is any piece of information used by a node in an automation—such as text, a number, or an object. Values can be static (manually entered) or dynamic (referenced from previous nodes).

Examples:

  • Translation use case: The text “Product name” (English) that the AI action translates into German.

  • SEO use case: A manually added “Target keyword” used to generate an SEO description.

GIF: selecting a static value vs. choosing a dynamic reference from a previous node.

Secondary value

A secondary value is an additional input used in conditions or constraints to compare against another value. It helps define when a trigger or condition should activate.

Examples:

  • Translation use case: A condition that runs the automation only if the “Locale equals English.”

  • SEO use case: A condition that runs only if the “Content type equals Blog post.”

Locales 

Source locale 

The source locale is the language version from which the automation pulls content to process or transform. It defines the starting point for language-based actions such as translation or content enrichment.

Examples:

  • Translation use case: The automation uses English as the source locale to translate the “Product name” field into other languages.

  • SEO use case: An AI action analyzes the English version of a product description to generate keywords or summaries.

GIF idea: dropdown selection of “Source locale → English,” then highlight the field being used as the input for translation or AI analysis.

Target locale 

The target locale is the language version where the automation writes or applies the result. It defines the destination language for translation or localization actions.

Examples:

  • Translation use case: The translated text is saved into the German version of the entry’s “Product name” field.

  • SEO use case: After generating localized SEO metadata, the automation saves the “Meta description” into the French locale version of the page.

GIF idea: selecting “Target locale → German,” followed by the translated content appearing in the corresponding localized field in the entry editor.