# "Link if already exists, otherwise create" functionality

**URL:** https://community.fibery.io/t/link-if-already-exists-otherwise-create-functionality/10032
**Category:** Get Help
**Created:** [November 17, 2025, 9:56pm UTC](https://community.fibery.io/t/link-if-already-exists-otherwise-create-functionality/10032 "2025-11-17T21:56:17Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![AdVhPkgKad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7993a0/32.png) [@AdVhPkgKad](https://community.fibery.io/u/AdVhPkgKad)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2025, 9:56pm UTC](https://community.fibery.io/t/link-if-already-exists-otherwise-create-functionality/10032/1 "2025-11-17T21:56:17Z")

</div>

We know that the auto-linking is pretty cool

…but what if there is not a target record that matches the link criteria?

Here’s a use case:

- User creates an Event record in October
- A formula field calculates the first date of that month
- The auto-link rule specifies that it should create a relation between entities in the Events and the Periods tables by matching first date field
- The Period does not exist
- The auto-link fails silently

(I know this is not the best example since you can set up automations to create a Period entity on the last day of each month, but you get the picture)

Another use case:

- A website has a contact us form
- The customer enters their details and a message
- The website uses the Fibery API to POST the form, mapping it to a Ticket entity
- The Ticket should attach automatically to a Person entity (email address match, or maybe email + first name + last name if people share)
- The Person doesn’t exist
- The auto-link fails silently

Can automations detect when linking was attempted but found no results?