> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ycloud.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Journey introduction # Journey introduction A Journey helps you automate follow-up for contacts who meet conditions that you configure. When a contact enters a Journey, the steps in your flow determine what happens next. ## What you can automate Use a Journey to organize a follow-up flow that can: * Send a template message. * Wait before the next action. * Check whether a contact has read or replied to a template message. * Add tags to contacts who reach a step. * Route contacts to different follow-up paths based on the rules in your flow. ## How a Journey works 1. A **Trigger** starts the Journey when a contact matches the entry conditions. 2. The steps you configure determine the follow-up actions and timing. 3. You can add a **Goal** to track completion and an **Exit rule** to remove contacts from remaining follow-up when they meet your exit conditions. Saved inactive Journey with Contact created trigger connected to an English welcome template. ## Before you start Before you build a Journey, decide: * Which contacts should enter the flow. * Which Sender and template message you plan to use. * What follow-up should happen after a message is sent. * What should count as completion or when a contact should leave the flow. ## Track completion and stop follow-up Use a **Goal** to track completion. Use an **Exit rule** to remove contacts from remaining follow-up when they meet the exit conditions that you configure. Journey Goal settings and the separate optional Exit rule. ## Next steps [Create a Journey](/en/documentation/journey/create-a-journey) to build your first flow, or review the [Journey components](/en/documentation/journey/components-and-features-introduction/index) before you start. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.