How to Use Advanced Settings for Phantoms and Workflows

This guide explains how to customize your automation's behavior using advanced settings like execution limits, proxies, webhooks, and file output options.

Advanced settings are available for both Phantoms and Workflows. They let you fine-tune how your automations runs.

You can control how long it runs, how it handles errors, add a proxy, send alerts to other tools, and choose how your results files are saved. These settings are optional and can be adjusted before each launch.

Access advanced settings

To open the Advanced settings panel:

1. Log in to your PhantomBuster workspace and go to your Dashboard if you want to update one of your existing automation. 
   → If you're setting up a new Phantom or Workflow, Advanced settings will appear as an optional step in the left-hand menu during setup.
2. Click on the three dots menu on the automation's card you want to update, select Setup, and scroll to the Advanced settings step in the left-hand side menu to adjust how your automation behaves.
   

Set execution and retry limits

Control how long your automation runs and how it behaves when it encounters errors.

To configure this:

1. Open the Advanced settings.
2. Select the Limits tab.
3. You'll see two options:

• Maximum execution time per launch (in minutes):
  Define how long a single launch should last. Max is 300 minutes.
  → Example: Enter 30 to stop the run after 30 minutes, even if it hasn't finished.
• Maximum number of launch retries:
  Set how many times the automation should retry if it fails. Max is 10.
  → Example: Enter 3 to retry the launch up to three times.

Set email notifications

Receive emails when your automation succeeds or fails.

To configure this:

1. Open the Advanced settings.
2. Select the Email notifications tab.
3. Choose whether you want to be alerted about:

• Successful launches.
• Failed launches.

→ Learn more on Email Notifications.

Add a proxy

A proxy lets your automation run from a consistent location each time. This helps prevent location-related flags on sensitive platforms like LinkedIn or Google Maps.

• Proxies are off by default. You don't need one unless the platform you're using is sensitive to location changes.
• You can assign an existing proxy from your account or create a new one.
• Proxies are most helpful if you're running multiple automations, working with several LinkedIn accounts, or want to keep your IP address consistent over time.

To configure this:

1. Open the Advanced settings.
2. Select the Proxies tab.
3. Select a proxy.

→ Learn more about when and why to use a Proxy.

Send data via webhooks

Webhooks automatically send your results or status updates to other tools.

You can use this to:

• Send a notification to Slack when an automation finishes running.
• Send results to another tool like Notion, Zapier, or your own system.

To configure this:

1. Open the Advanced settings.
2. Select the Webhooks tab.
3. You'll see two webhook options:

• Slack webhook URL: Sends data or alerts to a Slack channel.
• Custom webhook URL: Connects to your API or tools like Notion, etc.

→ Learn more in our documentation about webhooks.

Manage result files

Choose how PhantomBuster stores your results after each launch.

To configure this:

1. Open the Advanced settings.
2. Select the File Management tab.
3. Pick the file storage option you want.

Available options include:

Recommended default:

• Combine files (default): Adds new results to the same file each time the automation runs.
  • This setting allows many Phantoms to remember where they left off and continue processing only new leads or actions.
  • It is the best option for most users to avoid reprocessing the same data or creating duplicates.
  • Limitation: Some Phantoms have platform limitations and can't resume from where they stopped.
    For example, the Facebook Group Members Export must extract members in one full session and can't pick up where it left off. In these cases, we recommend relaunching the Phantom to try extracting additional results.

Other options:

• Create new files: Generates a separate file for each launch.
  • Important: Each new file is built from scratch, so the automation reprocesses the same input data every time it runs. This can look like the automation is "stuck" or "restarting from zero."
• Delete previous files: Removes all older files before saving new results.
  • Important: With this setting, the automation also starts over from the beginning of your input data on each run. Older results are permanently erased, and the same profiles or data may be processed repeatedly.

Frequently asked questions

What are advanced settings in PhantomBuster?

Advanced settings let you control how your Phantom or Workflow runs, including execution time limits, retry behavior, proxy configuration, webhook integrations, and how result files are stored.

Do I need to configure advanced settings?

No. Advanced settings are optional and most automations work fine with their defaults. Adjust them when you need more control over execution time, want alerts in Slack, or need a proxy for location-sensitive platforms.

What does the "Combine files" option do?

It adds new results to the same file after each launch, so your Phantom can pick up where it left off and avoid reprocessing the same data. This is the recommended default for most use cases.

When should I use a proxy?

Use a proxy when working with platforms that are sensitive to IP or location changes, like LinkedIn. It keeps your automation running from a consistent location each time.

Can I send my automation results to Slack or other tools automatically?

Yes. Use the Webhooks tab in Advanced settings to send results or status alerts to Slack, Zapier, Notion, or any tool that accepts a webhook URL.