Commands & Workflows

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A command is a verb on a layer — refresh-schedule, process-due, disable-underperforming, etc. Commands map to versioned workflows.

Triggering a command

From the UI

Open the layer detail page → Commands tab → click Run on any row. A dialog asks for parameters (if the workflow needs any). Confirm and the workflow is queued.

From the CLI

The layers CLI can authenticate and invoke commands via the Partner API — see CLI install.

From the Partner API

curl -X POST https://api.layers.com/api/project-layers/{projectLayerId}/execute \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LAYERS_TOKEN" \
  -d '{ "commandId": "refresh-schedule", "parameters": {} }'

The initialize command is handled internally during layer install and is not externally callable.

Common commands

Examples from the Social Distribution template:

Command	Trigger	What it does
`initialize`	once on install (internal)	Sets up resources, validates config.
`refresh-schedule`	executable	Recompute upcoming distribution slots.
`refresh-schedule-scheduled`	scheduled (nightly)	Same, but auto.
`attach-to-schedule`	executable	Atomically claim a slot for a generated post.
`process-due`	scheduled (every minute)	Publish posts whose scheduled time has arrived.

Examples from Meta / TikTok Ad Manager:

Command	Trigger	What it does
`content-refresh`	scheduled (every 15 min)	Disable underperformers + add fresh eligible creatives to adsets.
`ad-optimize`	scheduled (every 6h)	Optimizer pipeline — propose pauses / budget moves / bid moves.
`ad-optimize-watchdog`	scheduled (every 2h)	Catch catastrophic spend with 0 installs.

Scheduled commands

Commands ending in -scheduled run on a cron managed by the scheduler. Override the cron in the layer config.

Watching a workflow

After triggering, the workflow appears in the Runs tab with status running. Click it to see:

Activities executed in order.
Inputs / outputs of each activity.
Logs streamed live.
Heartbeat indicators (for long activities).

Failure & retry

Failed workflows are visible in the runs tab with a stack trace. Most activities are idempotent and retry-safe; you can click Retry to re-run.

Some workflows operate across multiple layers or projects in the same Org. Filters: projectId, templateIds, statusFilter, whereContains (JSON contains on config). This is how Org-wide refresh cycles work.