Mirror Columns in Automations: Why They Don't Work & How Custom Blocks Unlock Editable Data

Mirror columns in monday.com cannot be used as triggers or values in native automations—they're read-only by design and don't appear in automation builders. This limitation affects millions of users trying to create cross-board workflows, but custom automation blocks can copy mirror data to editable columns, unlocking full automation capabilities.

What Are Mirror Columns and Why Can't They Trigger Automations?

Mirror columns display data from connected boards in a read-only format. When you connect Board A to Board B and create a mirror column on Board A, you're essentially creating a window that shows Board B's data without copying it.

This design creates a fundamental automation limitation: monday.com's native automation engine can only work with "real" data that exists directly on the current board. Mirror columns are pointers to data elsewhere, so they don't register as available triggers or values in the automation builder.

The limitation affects all column types that can be mirrored:

• Status columns (most commonly requested for automation triggers)
• Date columns (frequently needed for deadline automations)
• Person columns (needed for assignment workflows)
• Number columns (required for threshold automations)
• Text and dropdown columns

How Mirror Column Automation Limitations Impact Real Workflows

The inability to trigger automations from mirror columns creates significant workflow gaps. Consider these common scenarios where teams hit roadblocks:

Cross-Board Project Management: When a task status changes on the main project board, you want to automatically update the client-facing status board. With mirror columns, you can see the status change but can't automate responses to it.

Resource Planning: You mirror team member workload from individual project boards to a master capacity board. When workload exceeds a threshold, you need to trigger reassignment automations—but mirrored number columns can't fire these triggers.

Deadline Management: Mirroring due dates from multiple project boards to a master dashboard provides visibility, but you can't create "approaching deadline" notifications based on mirrored date data.

As detailed in our guide on Mirror Columns That Actually Update, many users attempt workarounds like formula columns or Connect Boards two-way sync, but these approaches have their own limitations and complexity.

The Technical Reason Mirror Columns Don't Work in Automations

Monday.com's automation engine operates on database-level triggers. When a "real" column changes, it generates a database event that can fire automation rules. Mirror columns don't generate these events because they're display layers, not data storage.

Even when the source data changes on the connected board, the mirror column updates its display but doesn't create a trigger event on the board where it's mirrored. This is why you might see the visual change in a mirror column but find that no automations fire.

This limitation extends to automation actions as well. You can't use mirror column values to populate other fields because the automation engine can't read the mirrored data as a variable.

What Native Automations Can and Cannot Do with Connected Data

While mirror columns don't work in automations, monday.com does offer some cross-board automation capabilities through Connect Boards columns:

What Works:

• Automating on the source board when connected items change
• Using Connect Boards two-way sync for bi-directional updates
• Creating items on connected boards through Connect Boards actions

What Doesn't Work:

• Triggering automations based on mirrored data
• Using mirrored values in automation conditions
• Copying mirror column data to regular columns via native automations
• Creating OR conditions with multiple mirror column values

For complex cross-board workflows that don't involve mirrored data specifically, our Cross-Board Sync Without Infinite Loops guide covers safe automation patterns.

How Custom Automation Blocks Solve Mirror Column Problems

Custom automation blocks can bridge the gap between mirror columns and automation workflows by copying mirrored data to editable columns that can then trigger or be used in automations.

Community Cookbook's "Copy Mirror Column Value to Editable Column" recipe solves the core problem: it reads mirror column data and writes it to a regular column on the same board. Once copied, this data becomes "real" data that can trigger automations, be used in conditions, and populate other fields.

Here's how it works:

1. Set up your mirror column as usual to display connected board data
2. Create a regular column of the same type (status, date, number, etc.)
3. Configure the automation to copy from mirror column to regular column
4. Build your workflow automations using the regular column as triggers or values

This approach maintains the visibility benefits of mirror columns while unlocking full automation capabilities on the copied data.

When to Use Mirror Columns vs. Direct Cross-Board Automations

Mirror columns excel at providing visibility and consolidated views, but they're not the right choice for every cross-board scenario. Here's when to use each approach:

Use Mirror Columns When:

• You need read-only visibility of connected data
• Creating dashboard views that consolidate multiple boards
• Displaying summary information (like project progress percentages)
• Building reports that don't require automation triggers

Use Direct Cross-Board Automations When:

• You need to trigger actions based on connected board changes
• Building bi-directional sync workflows
• Creating items on multiple boards simultaneously
• Implementing complex conditional logic across boards

Use Custom Copy Blocks When:

• You need both visibility AND automation capability
• Building workflows that combine mirrored data with local automation logic
• Creating threshold-based automations on connected data
• Implementing complex business rules that require mirrored data as variables

For teams heavily reliant on automation workflows, the copy-to-editable approach often provides the best balance of visibility and functionality.

Building Automation Workflows with Copied Mirror Data

Once you've copied mirror data to editable columns, you can build sophisticated automation workflows that were impossible with mirror columns alone.

Multi-Board Status Workflows: Copy mirrored statuses and use them to trigger status changes across multiple connected boards, creating cascading workflow updates.

Threshold Automations: Copy mirrored number columns and use threshold triggers to automate resource allocation, budget alerts, or capacity warnings.

Date-Based Automations: Copy mirrored dates and create deadline reminders, project milestone notifications, or automatic timeline adjustments.

Person Assignment Logic: Copy mirrored person columns and use them in assignment automations, workload balancing, or notification routing.

The key advantage is that copied data maintains the connection to source information while becoming fully available to monday.com's automation engine. Changes on the source board flow through the mirror column and get copied to the editable column, which can then trigger your automation workflows.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I trigger an automation when a mirrored status column changes?+

Why doesn't my mirrored date column show up in automation trigger options?+

How do I copy a value from a mirrored column to a regular column using automations?+

Can I use a mirrored person column to automatically assign team members?+

Is there a workaround to use mirrored columns in automations without external tools?+

Do mirror columns from multiple connected boards work differently in automations?+