Triggers and Actions

Start every automation with a trigger and chain action Steps to carry out the work. Triggers define when an automation runs and actions define what it does.

At a glanceVerified in app · Oct 30, 2026

Use it to: Start an automation from an event, schedule, form, chat, or click, then chain action Steps to do the work
Find it: Tools → Start (built-in triggers) and Apps / Tools (actions)
Output: Trigger event payload (except Scheduler, which uses {{ $now }}) passed to connected action Steps

Starts the runTriggers

Sit at the root of an automation and listen for an event, schedule, chat message, or manual click.
Can pass incoming event payloads to downstream Steps (except Scheduler, which carries no payload).
An automation can attach multiple triggers feeding the same downstream path.

Does the workActions

Run after the trigger in the order defined by canvas connections.
Fetch records, reshape data, evaluate conditions, run AI models, pause for Human Review, or update external apps.
Configured manually field by field or populated by the Workflow Assistant.

Triggers

A trigger decides when an automation runs. In Draft, automatic triggers are paused and you start runs yourself with Run. In Live, the trigger starts a run on every matching event.

The six built-in triggers sit under Tools → Start in the dock:

Trigger	Starts a run when	Gives the next steps	Draft behaviour
Scheduler	A time or interval you describe in words (`Run everyday at 8:00 AM`) or as cron	Run time via `{{ $now }}` / `{{ $run.startedAt }}`	Schedule paused; Run starts it once
Click to start	You click the trigger on the canvas	Its saved Testing data (`{{ N.<field> }}`)	Same in Draft and Live (uses saved Testing data)
Webhook	An HTTP request reaches its URL	`method`, `path`, `headers`, `query`, `body` (`{{ N.body.<field> }}`)	No active URL until Live (`202` no-op); Run uses Testing data
Chat Trigger	A visitor sends a chat message (Glow-hosted chat page or your own widget)	`chatInput`, `sessionId`, `metadata`, `historyText`	The Chat tab in the drawer runs test turns; the last Step’s output is the reply
Form Trigger	Someone submits a form Glow hosts at a shareable link	`formData.<field>`, `submittedAt`, `responder`	Only signed-in workspace members can submit; each submission runs the Draft as a test
Error Trigger	Another team automation in this workspace fails and nothing handled it	`workflow`, `execution`, `failedStep`, `occurrenceCount`	Ignores private automations and single-step tests

Which one to pick? Use Scheduler for recurring reports and syncs, Webhook when another system pushes events, Form Trigger or Chat Trigger when a person starts the work, Click to start for jobs you run by hand on the canvas, and Error Trigger for workspace-wide failure alerts.

To start from a Data Store or connected app event instead:

Trigger family	Where to find it	Starts a run when
Data Store Triggers	Apps → Data Store	A Table/List row is added, updated, deleted, or expired, a Key-value record changes, or a Collect and send list is ready to send.
App Triggers	Apps	An event happens in a connected service, such as a new Gmail email, Google Sheets row, Stripe charge, or Jira issue.

Multiple triggers

A single automation can have more than one trigger, such as both a Webhook and a Scheduler feeding into the same downstream steps.

Tip: Two triggers hand the automation two different things. A Webhook passes on whatever the sender posted. A Scheduler carries no data of its own, so a later step that needs the time uses {{ $now }}. Check that downstream steps can handle both.

Actions

Actions are every step that comes after a trigger:

Category	What it does
App Integrations	Pre-built actions for services like Slack, Google Sheets, Salesforce, HubSpot, Jira, and Stripe (such as sending messages or updating records).
AI Steps	Language-model steps (AI Prompt, AI Agent, and AI Data Transform) to classify messages, extract fields, draft text, or call tools.
Data	Built-in Change, Lists, and Convert steps that reshape, filter, sort, merge, and parse data between steps.
Flow	Branching, conditions, and loops (Conditions, Switch, Filter, Repeater) plus Human Review checkpoints that pause a run for a person’s decision.
Code and HTTP Requests	Dev tools for cases where no integration fits: HTTP Request for public APIs, Respond to Webhook for custom synchronous webhook replies, and Code editor for custom Python logic.

Two ways to configure a step

Every app action ends up configured the same way: a set of fields you can see and edit. How those fields get filled is up to you.

Fill them yourself. Open the step and map each field, for precise control over what is sent to the external API.
Let the assistant fill them. Describe what you want and the Workflow Assistant places the step and populates its fields from your description.

A Google Calendar step selected on the canvas with its settings open: the account it acts through, the task it performs, a custom name, and its optional fields below. — The same panel either way: the account, the task, and the fields that task takes.

Either way you end up with the same editable step. Open an Assistant-built action to review its account, inputs and mappings before testing it.

Verify it works

Run: Place a trigger from Tools → Start, connect an action Step, and click Run in the bottom dock.
You should see: The trigger emits its payload and the connected action Step executes with the mapped inputs.

What’s Next?

Set up your first trigger in detail with the Webhook Trigger or Scheduler Trigger.
See how data flows from one step’s output into the next in Automation Data.