Create Autotask Ticket (by Configuration Item)
The Create Autotask Ticket (by Configuration Item) action creates a new Autotask ticket associated with a Configuration Item (CI). It identifies the CI by extracting a device identifier from the alert email (such as a MAC address, serial number, or hostname reported by your RMM or monitoring tool) and looks up the matching CI in Autotask to determine the correct account and contact.
This is a workflow action. It accepts a device identifier and uses MSPintegrations business logic to look up the matching Configuration Item, account, and contact before creating the ticket. If you already know all the required IDs, use API: Create an Object with the Ticket entity instead. Learn more about the difference between workflow actions and single API call actions.
When to Use This Action
Use this action when:
- You are processing RMM alerts or monitoring system emails that contain device identifiers
- The email contains a CI identifier (serial number, hostname, asset tag, etc.) that should determine ticket assignment
- Tickets should be associated with specific hardware or software assets
- The account and contact should be derived from the Configuration Item, not from the email sender
Don't use this action for:
- Human-generated emails: Use Create Autotask Ticket instead.
- Updating existing tickets: Use Update Existing Autotask Ticket instead.
- Emails without CI identifiers: If the email doesn't contain a device identifier, use other ticket creation actions.
Tutorials
For a step-by-step walkthrough using this action, see:
- PRTG Alerts with CI Association
- Monitoring Alerts Tutorial (uses raw API calls for comparison)
How It Works
This action operates in three steps:
Step 1: Extract Configuration Item Identifier
Extract a device identifier from the inbound email. This is a value that your RMM or monitoring tool includes in alert emails to identify the device, and which you have also stored in a field on the matching Autotask Configuration Item.
This is not the Autotask CI's internal numeric ID. It is a real-world device attribute, typically something like:
| Identifier type | Example value | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| MAC address | 00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E | Network interface, reported by RMM |
| Serial number | C02XL0JYJGH5 | Hardware label, reported by RMM or MDM |
| IP address | 192.168.1.42 | Network assignment, reported by monitoring tool |
| Hostname / device name | ACME-LAPTOP-07 | Computer name as seen by the remote system |
| RMM device name | John's MacBook Pro | Display name from Datto RMM, NinjaRMM, etc. |
The value must appear somewhere in the alert email (subject, body, or a field parsed by a previous action), and the same value must be stored in a field on the Autotask Configuration Item.
Step 2: Search Autotask for Configuration Item
Search Autotask Configuration Items using the extracted identifier. The action searches a specific field you configure (e.g., SerialNumber, ReferenceTitle) for a matching value.
If a matching CI is found, the action retrieves:
- The Configuration Item details
- The associated Account
- The associated Contact (if available)
- The associated Contract (if available)
Step 3: Create Autotask Ticket
Create a new ticket with:
- The Configuration Item linked to the ticket
- Account set from the CI
- Contact set from the CI (if available)
- Contract set from the CI (if available)
- Other fields populated from your template
Configuration
Step 1: Extract Configuration Item Identifier
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Where to extract from | The value to use as the device identifier. Typically a text expression referencing a parsed email field, such as {{custom.parsedSerialNumber}} or {{custom.parsedHostname}}. This must be a real-world device attribute (serial number, MAC address, hostname, etc.), not an Autotask internal ID. |
| What to do if no identifier is extracted? | Action to take if the extracted identifier string is blank. Default: Exception. |
Step 2: Search Autotask for Configuration Item
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Autotask Configuration Item Field to search | Select which Configuration Item field in Autotask to search for the extracted identifier value (e.g., SerialNumber, ReferenceTitle, user-defined fields). |
| What to do if no configuration item is located? | Action to take if no matching Configuration Item is found. Default: Exception. |
Step 3: Create Autotask Ticket
| Field | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Ticket Fields | Configure ticket properties including Title, Description, Status, Priority, Queue, and more. | Email subject/body |
| Title | Limited to 255 characters. | {{email.subject}} |
| Description | Limited to 8000 characters. | Email headers and body |
Attachments
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Files | Add ordered sources from email properties, form input fields, previous custom results, or All Files. New actions select no files by default. |
| Attachment Settings for .eml file | Configures the title and visibility used when Files includes the original email or rendered email image. |
The action processes rows in order and keeps the first occurrence of each file. Apply optional Filename, MIME type, and Maximum bytes filters to each source row. All Files includes every available file and creates the original EML and original email image when available in an email workflow. Select email.attachments when you want only regular files attached to the incoming email.
Selected Files use content-based duplicate detection and attach to the created ticket. Autotask attachment size limits and API permissions still apply.
Advanced
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Suppress Autotask API exceptions | If enabled, the workflow continues even if the Autotask API returns an error. Use sparingly. |
| Override Autotask Connection | Use a specific Autotask connection instead of the default. |
Action When Complete
| Field | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Action to take if we successfully create a new ticket? | What happens after the ticket is successfully created. | Stop All |
Returned Variables
When you configure Store the results in Variable, these variables become available for use in subsequent actions:
Status Flags
| Variable | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
CreatedNewAutotaskTicket | bool | true if the ticket was created successfully |
CreatedNewAutotaskTicketCausedError | bool | true if ticket creation failed |
Retrieved Objects
| Variable | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Ticket | object | The created Autotask ticket |
TicketInstalledProduct | object | The matched Configuration Item |
TicketAccount | object | The account from the Configuration Item |
TicketContact | object | The contact from the Configuration Item (may be null) |
Example usage: {{custom.myVariable.Ticket.TicketNumber}}
Examples
RMM alert matched by serial number
An RMM tool like Datto RMM or NinjaRMM sends an alert email whose body contains the device's serial number (e.g., C02XL0JYJGH5). Your Autotask CIs have the same serial number stored in the SerialNumber field.
- Use a previous action (e.g., MatchRegex) to extract the serial number from the email body into
{{custom.parsedSerialNumber}} - Configure this action:
- Set Where to extract from to
{{custom.parsedSerialNumber}} - Set Autotask Configuration Item Field to search to
SerialNumber
- Set Where to extract from to
- The action finds the CI with that serial number, pulls the associated account and contact, and creates the ticket linked to that device.
Backup software alert matched by hostname
A backup tool sends failure emails with the hostname in the subject line (e.g., Backup failed on ACME-LAPTOP-07). Your Autotask CIs store the computer name in the ReferenceTitle field.
- Use a previous action to parse the hostname into
{{custom.parsedHostname}} - Configure this action:
- Set Where to extract from to
{{custom.parsedHostname}} - Set Autotask Configuration Item Field to search to
ReferenceTitle
- Set Where to extract from to
- The action finds the matching CI by hostname, looks up the account, and creates the ticket.
FAQs
What is a device identifier?
A device identifier is a value that your monitoring or RMM tool uses to refer to a specific device, and which you have also recorded in an Autotask Configuration Item field. Common examples include MAC addresses, serial numbers, IP addresses, hostnames, and device names.
It is not the Autotask CI's internal numeric ID (the id field). The identifier must be a real-world device attribute that appears in the alert email and matches a value stored on the CI in Autotask.
What Configuration Item fields can I search?
You can search any standard field like SerialNumber, ReferenceTitle, or ReferenceNumber. User-defined fields (UDFs) are also available if configured in your Autotask instance.
What happens if multiple Configuration Items match?
The action uses the first matching Configuration Item. If you need to handle multiple matches differently, use the API: Query for Objects action to query Configuration Items and then use conditional logic.
Can I search by partial values?
No, the search requires an exact match. The extracted identifier must match the Configuration Item field value exactly.
What if the Configuration Item doesn't have a contact?
The ticket is created without a contact. The TicketContact variable is null in this case, but the ticket is still created with the correct Account from the Configuration Item.