Sequences and steps

The Sequence tab has two interchangeable views that edit the same underlying steps: List view, a straightforward step-by-step editor, and Canvas view, a visual node builder for sequences with branching logic. Switching between them doesn't lose your work — both read and write the same campaign steps.

List view

List view is the default. A toolbar shows the step count, the view toggle, Sequence Copilot, and Add step; below it, every step is a collapsible row.

Clicking a row expands it in place to preview whichever variant tab is selected; the pencil icon opens the full step editor. The badge (A, or a range like A–C) shows how many variants that step has. When a campaign is live, adding a follow-up only queues it for leads who already received the prior step and are still eligible; if the campaign is paused, step edits save immediately but nothing sends until you resume it. Deleting a step is blocked while the campaign is Active — you have to pause first.

The step editor

Editing a step opens a modal with subject, body, timing, and analysis all in one place.

Same thread is disabled on Step 1 (it always starts a new thread) and only toggleable on follow-ups. The score badge next to word count is a live spam/quality score — green at 80+, amber at 60+, red below that — recalculated as you type; it's a drafting aid, not a deliverability guarantee. Clicking Preview opens a per-recipient rendering pane with a lead picker and Gmail/Outlook client tabs, so you can check how the resolved copy actually looks before saving.

Merge tags and spintax

Two different {...} syntaxes resolve at send time, and they behave differently:

• Merge tags with fallbacks — {firstName|there} pulls in the contact's real first name if one exists; if it's blank, the literal fallback text after the | is used every time. Recognized fields are firstName, lastName, company, and email.
• Spintax — {Hi|Hey|Hello} is not a recognized merge field, so instead of a fallback, ForgeSend picks one option at random on every single send. Spintax groups can nest, and each |-separated option is equally likely.

Variants

Each step supports up to 5 variants, labeled A through E, each with its own subject and body. Add variant appends the next free letter; the variant tabs appear once a step has more than one.

Canvas view

Canvas view opens as a full-screen overlay over the builder — a drag-and-drop node editor built for sequences with branching, not just a straight list. A left-hand palette offers four node types.

An Email Step node on the canvas shows a green top accent, a Step N badge, the subject line, a 2-line body preview, and a footer reading either "Send immediately" or Wait N days.

An End node is a plain terminal marker — red top accent, a stop icon, and a static "Sequence complete" caption; it has no editable fields, and nothing may connect after it.

Branching on Condition nodes

A Condition node is where branching actually happens. Placing one and picking a condition type reveals a list of colored, individually-connectable outcomes.

Only three condition types exist, and each has its own fixed outcome set — there's no generic yes/no branch:

A Condition node produces no email of its own — it tags the step before it, and each outcome connects onward to its own independent chain of steps. Connections between nodes are dashed, animated lines that turn green when selected; hovering one reveals a small × button to delete just that connection. Branches can fan out from a Condition node, but they can never reconverge back onto the same downstream node — that's flagged as an error before you can save.

How branching actually runs

Branching isn't just a compiled diagram — it's a real, currently-executing mechanism. After a branched step sends, ForgeSend schedules a check rather than the next email immediately: once enough time has passed (based on that step's wait days), it looks at what the lead actually did —

• Clicked link and Opened email are read from real tracking data on that specific send.
• Reply sentiment is read from the AI classification already applied to inbound replies in Reply Box.

— and only then creates the next send job down whichever outcome matches. If a reply comes back Out of office or Unclassified, ForgeSend pauses that lead for human review rather than guessing.

Sequence Copilot

Sequence Copilot drafts a full sequence from a goal and a tone, optionally pulling context from a company URL.

Four goals (Book a meeting, Get a reply, Drive to a link, Re-engage cold leads) and four tones (Professional, Conversational, Direct, Challenger) are available. Generation is metered per workspace per month; usage shows as {used} of {limit} AI generations used this month when a plan limit applies. Copilot output — including spintax variations it writes in — is a draft: review the copy and branching before the campaign reaches launch review.

Where to go next

Next: Scheduling

• Campaigns overview
• Your first campaign
• Reply Box overview