Homerun logo Homerun automation · runs daily

Reply to new Homerun applicants on time

Homerun sends a confirmation email the moment someone applies, but that is not a reply, and the applicants who wait longest are the ones nobody opens first.

Cotlet does it in your own Homerun account with list_candidates, get_candidate, send_candidate_email and add_candidate_note, called by your AI agent, an n8n workflow or a script.

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Hosted · nothing to install or maintain

Can Homerun do this on its own?

Homerun's Public API can send the application confirmation email once per application, and nothing else by email (checked 22 Oct 2026). Homerun can send template emails and bulk emails from the app, and it flags overdue replies, but it does not write a reply that fits each application.

How you do it in Homerun today

  1. Homerun marks a candidate "First reply overdue" on the job overview page and on the profile once the set number of days has passed since the confirmation email.
  2. An admin sets that number in Settings under Hiring process, First reply status, to 3, 5, 7, 14 or 30 days, or per job in the job settings.
  3. To reply, open the job, choose Candidates, open the profile and click the Message button, then write the email or pick an email template.
  4. Choose Send to send it at once, or schedule it for later; the email shows in the Activity and message modal of the candidate.
  5. The status disappears once a reply is sent, so the work is a daily scan of the overdue list and a fresh email for each person.

How to reply to new Homerun applicants on time

Prompt

Find candidates in Customer Success Manager whose first reply is overdue. Send each a short personal reply that mentions one thing from their application and says when we decide. Skip anyone I already wrote to.
  1. 01

    Find who is waiting

    list_candidates runs per job and keeps the candidates flagged as first reply overdue. The flag follows the timeframe your account set, so the agent never invents its own deadline.

  2. 02

    Read the application

    get_candidate brings the answers, the stage and the messages already exchanged. A candidate with an earlier message from you is skipped, because a second greeting reads like a bot.

  3. 03

    Write one reply each

    The email names one concrete thing from the application and gives the next step and the date you gave in your prompt. Placeholders and one template for everyone are what the app does by itself; this is the personal part.

  4. 04

    Send under your name

    send_candidate_email goes through Homerun, so it lands in the candidate's message panel with the rest of the conversation. Each email waits for your OK until you switch confirmation off for it.

  5. 05

    Log what was sent

    add_candidate_note adds a one-line internal note, for example that the first reply went out and which date was promised, so a colleague sees it on the profile.

What you get back

Example data

Candidates with first reply overdue: 9
Replied to 7, e.g. Priya Raman: mentioned her onboarding project, decision by Friday
Skipped 2 (you already wrote to them)
Note added to all 7 profiles

Other ways to ask

  • Every morning, reply to overdue candidates in all active jobs and list the ones you could not answer.
  • Draft the replies for the overdue candidates in this chat and send nothing until I say so.
  • Write to the candidates I disqualified this week with a polite two-line message and no reason.
  • Reply only to candidates who rated their own experience above 3 years in the application form.

What Homerun allows, and what to know first

  • The confirmation email does not count as a first reply in Homerun, so a candidate stays overdue until you write to them.
  • The first reply timeframe can be 3, 5, 7, 14 or 30 days, and switching the status off changes it for everyone in the account.
  • Replies from a candidate show in the message modal, as a notification when enabled, and in your inbox.
  • Homerun can send an email from your company name or your personal name, a setting kept in the account.
  • A bulk email in Homerun cannot be sent from the Talent pool, only from a job's candidate list.

send_candidate_email asks for your OK by default. To run it daily without you, switch confirmation off for that tool in your dashboard.

Sources: Homerun Help: How to consistently reply on time to every application · Homerun Help: How to email candidates · Homerun Help: Candidate communication · Homerun Public API documentation

Call send_candidate_email from a script

curl

curl -X POST https://cotlet.dev/api/v1/homerun/jobs/job_3b7e91/candidates/ap_K2mP7rS1uW5yA9bC3dE6/email \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $COTLET_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"body":"Hi Priya, thanks for applying. Your onboarding project at Northwind is exactly what this role is about. We decide on interviews by Friday and I will write to you then."}'

Example response

{
  "candidate_id": "ap_K2mP7rS1uW5yA9bC3dE6",
  "status": "sent",
  "sent_at": "2026-10-22T09:12:00Z"
}

MCP: add https://cotlet.dev/mcp/v1 with the same key; the call is homerun_write → send_candidate_email. Example data.

Schedule it in n8n, Make, Zapier or cron

Homerun tools this automation uses

Cotlet Homerun tools used to reply to new Homerun applicants on time
Tool Parameters
list_candidates job_id, stage, tag, status
get_candidate job_id, candidate_id
send_candidate_email job_id, candidate_id, body
add_candidate_note job_id, candidate_id, text
All 14 Homerun tools with descriptions

Frequently asked questions

Is it safe to connect Homerun to Cotlet?

Yes. You sign in to Homerun yourself, in your own Cloud Browser in the EU, and we never save your password. Your agents only get Homerun once you enable it, every background request is listed, and the browser profile is stored encrypted with AES-256-GCM, the cipher 1Password uses for its vaults. The AI model never sees a login, posts and messages wait for your OK, and Disable for agents cuts access in one click. Independent scanners grade cotlet.dev A+ on Qualys SSL Labs, securityheaders.com and Mozilla Observatory; live results are on https://cotlet.dev/security.

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