Automation
Triggers & events
Configure model events, periodic triggers, trigger data, and event payloads.
Triggers & events
Triggers decide when automation starts. In Workflow Studio, a Trigger node can represent model events such as create or update, periodic schedules, and event-specific trigger data. Use triggers to connect product activity to repeatable work.
Trigger types
| Type | Use when | Configuration notes |
|---|---|---|
| Create event | A newly created record or ticket should start a process. | Best for intake, onboarding, acknowledgement, and first review. |
| Update event | A changed record should be evaluated. | Pair with decision logic or trigger data to avoid noisy runs. |
| Periodic trigger | Every record matching a filter should be processed on a schedule. | Fires once per matching record, every slot. Store the recurrence in trigger data. |
| Scheduled workflow | Work should run on a schedule with no record behind it. | Fires once per slot. See Scheduled workflows. |
| Manual or playground run | A template should be tested safely. | Use playground templates before publishing, or Run now on a scheduled workflow. |
Per record, or once?
The two scheduled options are easy to confuse, and picking the wrong one is the most common cause of a workflow that runs far more (or far less) than expected.
- A periodic object trigger resolves its filter at fire time and starts one run for each matching record.
instanceis that record. - A scheduled workflow starts exactly one run.
instanceis the run itself; fetch whatever data you need with a Filter node.
Recurrence options
Both periodic triggers and scheduled workflows use the same frequency picker and the same stored shape.
| Frequency | You choose | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Daily | Interval in days, time of day | Every day at 06:00 |
| Weekly | Interval in weeks, weekdays, time of day | Every 2 weeks on Monday, Friday at 09:30 |
| Monthly | Interval in months, days of the month, time of day | Every month on the 1st, 15th at 23:00 |
| Yearly | Interval in years, month and day | Every year on 20th of August |
Times are interpreted in the workspace timezone. A slot that falls before the trigger was created is skipped rather than back-filled; a slot that has just passed when the scheduler ticks late is still fired.
Configure a trigger
- Choose the object, ticket category, or automation surface that owns the event.
- Add a Trigger node near the start of the graph.
- Select the event and provide trigger data.
- Add a Decision node if only some events should continue.
- Publish the workflow version and monitor jobs after the first live events.