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🛠 Build🧠 Core ConceptsWhat Is a Workflow?

What Is a Workflow?

A workflow in Glow is a series of automated steps that move and transform data between apps, services, and systems. You build it visually on a canvas, connecting triggers (events that start the workflow) to actions (tasks the workflow performs).

The result is a repeatable, automated process that runs whenever its trigger fires.

The trigger-action pattern

Every workflow follows the same pattern:

A trigger fires

Something happens: an HTTP request arrives, a schedule fires, or a person presses Click to start.

Actions execute in sequence

Each subsequent step receives data from earlier steps, does its work, and passes its output forward.

The workflow completes

The final step finishes, and the run is recorded for review.

This pattern scales from a two-step automation to a complex, branching process with dozens of steps.

A Real-World Analogy

Think of a workflow like an assembly line. Raw materials arrive at one end (the trigger). Each station along the line adds or transforms something (the actions), and a finished product rolls off the other end.

If one station needs a part from an earlier station, it can reach back and grab it. Any step in Glow can reference the output of any previous step the same way.

Example: Lead Enrichment

Take a request like: “When a contact form is submitted, enrich the lead with AI, then add it to our CRM.”

In Glow, that becomes three steps:

Listens for form submissions and captures the submitted data.

1. Webhook Trigger

Takes the raw form data, enriches it (classifying intent or extracting key details), and outputs structured results.

2. AI Step

Receives the enriched data and creates a new contact record in your CRM.

3. CRM App Action

You arrange these steps visually on the canvas, drawing connections to set execution order and data flow.

Glow connects to thousands of third-party apps, and HTTP Request and Code editor steps cover services that have no dedicated integration.

You do not need to plan the entire workflow up front. Start with a trigger and one action, test it, then extend the chain step by step.

What’s Next?

Steps and Connections