# How a sequence executes

> The execution rule — daily contact throttling, the 10,000-email cap, step delays that count weekends, task handling modes, and the same-domain limit.

**An active sequence advances each contact step by step. Max new daily contacts throttles how many start Step 1 daily and overrides Max emails per day (up to 10,000). Step delays count weekends, one day equals 24 hours, and Calls and Tasks steps advance manually or automatically after the step delay.**

_Status: Reviewed — human-edited, facts not yet confirmed against the product._

## At a glance

| Aspect | Detail |
| --- | --- |
| **What it governs** | How each contact advances through sequence steps — throttling into Step 1, delays between steps, and task handling |
| **Trigger** | A sequence is launched, or a contact's step delay elapses |
| **Inputs** | Max new daily contacts and addition mode, Max number of emails per day, step delays, tasks handling mode, same-domain limit |
| **Result** | The contact moves to the next step: an email sends, a task is generated, or a LinkedIn action executes |
| **Configurable** | Every setting above, in Sequence > Settings (General settings, Replies handling, Calls and tasks handling) |
| **Does not** | Pick the send moment inside a window ([When Reply sends](/behavior/sending-schedules)) or the sending account ([Mailbox selection](/behavior/mailbox-selection)) |
| **Plans** | Task ownership by contact owner requires Team Edition in Public mode |

## Rule summary

When contacts are added or a sequence launches, Reply runs a **throttling process**:
contacts are temporarily marked **Throttled** while the system prepares them for Step 1,
at the pace set by **Max new daily contacts**. Each subsequent step fires after its
configured delay — **weekends are included in the day count, and one day of delay equals
24 hours**. Email steps respect the sequence's daily email cap (up to **10,000** first-step
emails per day) and the per-email delay; Call and Task steps advance manually or
automatically depending on the handling mode.

## Trigger

The sequence is launched with contacts in it, new contacts are added, or a contact's step
delay elapses.

## Decision logic

1. **Throttle new contacts into Step 1.** Reply starts at most **Max new daily contacts** per day. With **Add full amount**, the full configured number is added every day, regardless of contacts still in Step 1 or a closed schedule. With **Add until capacity** (the default), only enough contacts are added to reach the limit — 50 already in Step 1 against a limit of 100 means only 50 more — and no contacts are added while the schedule is closed. **No limit on new daily contacts** skips throttling entirely: contacts move straight to Step 1.
2. **Balance first steps against follow-ups.** Max new daily contacts overrides Max number of emails per day. With Max emails per day at 400 and Max new daily contacts at 100, the sequence sends 100 first-step emails per day and distributes the remaining 300 across follow-up steps.
3. **Wait out the step delay.** Delays are set per step in days, hours, and minutes. A 3-day delay after a Monday step means Thursday — 72 hours, weekends counted.
4. **Check the same-domain limit.** With **Max same-domain contacts per day** enabled, Reply reaches at most that number of contacts sharing one domain per day — free domains such as gmail.com, outlook.com, and yahoo.com are excluded from the limit.
5. **Execute the step.** Email steps send (spaced by the configured per-email delay); Call and Task steps generate tasks; LinkedIn steps execute their action.
6. **Advance per the handling mode.** In **Manual** mode, the contact does not move on until you complete the task. In **Automatic** mode, completing the task moves the contact on; if you do not complete it, the sequence moves the contact to the next step after the step delay and finishes the current task.

## Result

The contact progresses step by step. The **Current step** column in the sequence's People
tab shows the step each contact is waiting for — hover to see when the step delay ends.
The Steps tab shows how many contacts sit in each step, and the History view in the People
tab shows how many completed each step.

## State changes

| Field | Change |
| --- | --- |
| New contact | → **Throttled** while prepared for Step 1 (skipped when No limit on new daily contacts is on) |
| Contact's current step | Advances when the step executes and the next delay starts |
| Missing-data contacts | A red badge on the step shows their count; the **Skip** button moves them to the next step |
| Task steps | A task is generated, assigned to the sequence owner or the contact owner (Team Edition Public mode) |

## Exceptions

- **Contacts already on a step ignore an edited delay** — changing a step's delay applies only to contacts that have not reached it yet.
- **Blacklisted contacts on Step 1 are excluded from the capacity count** and do not consume daily slots; the capacity snapshot is recalculated once per day at UTC midnight, so blacklist changes take effect the next day.
- **Active sequences with contacts in progress cannot take a new first step** — the button to insert before Step 1 is hidden; steps can only be appended at the end.
- **Conditional branches share defaults** — two branches created from the same parent step receive the same default delay.
- **A reply stops further steps for the contact** under Mark as finished — see [Sequence stopping](/behavior/sequence-stopping).

## Configuration that changes this rule

All of it lives in Sequence > Settings. **General settings**: plain text sending mode,
opens tracking (disabled by default), link tracking (disabled by default), the
List-Unsubscribe header, Max same-domain contacts per day, Matching email providers, Max
new daily contacts with its addition mode, Max number of emails per day, and the delay
between each email sent (120-180 seconds recommended; the system needs an additional
10-15 seconds per email — include that when sizing the daily cap). **Replies handling**
decides what a reply stops. **Calls and tasks handling** sets manual vs. automatic
advancement and task ownership, and can call a prospect automatically after several email
opens or set **Paused** after a successful call.

When adding a new step, the delay is pre-filled by insertion position:

| Insertion position | Default delay |
| --- | --- |
| 1 (first step) | 0 days |
| 2 | 2 days |
| 3 | 4 days |
| 4 | 7 days |
| 5 | 9 days |
| 6 or later | 11 days |

## Limits

| Limit | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Max first-step emails per sequence per day | Up to 10,000 |
| Recommended delay between individual emails | 120-180 seconds, plus 10-15 seconds of system processing |
| Day count in step delays | Weekends included; 1 day = 24 hours |
| Capacity snapshot recalculation | Once per day at UTC midnight |
| Same-domain limit scope | Paid domains only — free domains (gmail.com, outlook.com, yahoo.com, and similar) are excluded |

## FAQ

### What does the Throttled status mean?

The contact is queued for Step 1 under Max new daily contacts — the system is pacing how
many contacts start each day, which also caps how many Call or Task steps land on your
team daily (a limit of 25 means no more than 25 Call tasks created per day). Enable No
limit on new daily contacts to skip throttling.

### Can I add a step before Step 1 in a running sequence?

Not once the sequence is active with contacts in progress — the insert-at-top button is
hidden and steps can only be appended at the end. See [Sequence steps](/specifications/sequence-steps).

### What happens to a Call or Task step I never complete?

In Manual mode, nothing — the contact waits until you complete the task. In Automatic
mode, the sequence moves the contact to the next step after the step delay and finishes
the current task on its own.

### How do I see where each contact is?

Use the Current step column in the sequence People tab (hover for the delay end time), the
per-step counts in the Steps tab, the Lead's progress filter, and the History view for
completed steps. Contacts flagged by the red missing-data badge can be fixed or skipped to
the next step.

## Related

- [Sequence steps](/specifications/sequence-steps)
- [When Reply sends](/behavior/sending-schedules)
- [Mailbox selection](/behavior/mailbox-selection)
- [Sequence stopping](/behavior/sequence-stopping)
- [Why is a campaign not running?](/troubleshooting/campaign-is-not-running)

## Build with Reply

- REST API: [docs.reply.io](https://docs.reply.io/api-reference/introduction) — sequence settings and start/pause operations
- MCP: [agents.reply.io/mcp](https://agents.reply.io/mcp) — agents start, pause, and monitor sequences