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A Workflow Trigger is the event that initiates an automation. Every workflow must have exactly one trigger, which acts as its designated starting point. Choosing the right trigger is the first step in building any workflow, as it defines when and how your process will run.

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Webhook Trigger vs. Webhook Action

It’s important to understand the difference between a Webhook Trigger and a Webhook Action, as they serve opposite purposes.

Webhook Trigger (Starts a Workflow)

A Webhook Trigger starts a workflow from an external event. It provides a unique URL that waits for an incoming HTTP POST request from a third-party service. When the request is received, the workflow begins, and the request’s body and headers become the initial data.

Webhook Action (Used in a Workflow)

A Webhook Action sends an HTTP request to an external service during a workflow. It is a step within your automation used to call a third-party API, send a notification, or push data to another system.

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Available Trigger Types

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Scheduled Trigger

Use a Scheduled Trigger to run workflows automatically on a recurring basis. This is perfect for maintenance tasks, generating reports, or syncing data periodically. Common Use Cases:
  • Run a daily health check on all sites.
  • Generate and email a weekly performance report.
  • Sync data with an external system every 15 minutes.

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Configuration

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schedule_type
string
required
The type of recurrence for the schedule.
  • interval: Runs at a fixed interval. Requires a schedule_value like "5 minutes" or "2 hours".
  • cron: Runs based on a standard cron expression. Requires a schedule_value like "0 9 * * 1" (Every Monday at 9:00 AM).
  • daily: A simplified option to run the workflow once per day at a specific time.
  • weekly: Runs the workflow on a specific day of the week at a specific time.
  • monthly: Runs the workflow on a specific day of the month at a specific time.

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Webhook Trigger

Use a Webhook Trigger to start a workflow from an external system in real-time. This trigger provides a secure, unique URL to receive HTTP POST requests.
Developer Tip: This is crucial for “GitOps” workflows. You can use the Trigger a workflow via webhook API to deploy changes automatically when code is committed to your repository.
Common Use Cases:
  • Process a payment confirmation from a service like Stripe.
  • Handle a new form submission from a website.
  • Respond to an alert from a third-party monitoring system.

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Configuration

This trigger has no user-configurable options. The secure URL is automatically generated when you save the workflow.

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Output

The output of the Webhook Trigger node will be a JSON object containing the body and headers of the incoming HTTP request, which can be used in subsequent steps.

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Manual Trigger

Use a Manual Trigger for workflows that require on-demand execution by a user from the SDX dashboard. Common Use Cases:
  • Run a one-time diagnostic script on a specific site.
  • Manually provision a new user or resource.
  • Execute an emergency “lockdown” procedure.

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Configuration

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input_schema
JSON Schema (Optional)
You can define a JSON schema for the input data. When a user runs the workflow, the UI will generate a form based on this schema, ensuring they provide the correct data.

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SNS Trigger (Advanced)

Use an SNS Trigger to start a workflow in response to internal Altostrat platform events. This allows for deep, event-driven integration with the platform’s lifecycle. Common Use Cases:
  • When a new site is created, automatically apply a set of default tags.
  • When a WAN Failover event occurs, create a ticket in an external system.
  • When a user is added to your team, send them a welcome message.

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Configuration

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event_name
string
required
The specific platform event pattern to listen for. Wildcards (*) are supported. For example, site.created or fault.*.
You can listen for multiple events (e.g., site.created,site.updated), but they must belong to the same root category.

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Workflow Trigger

Use a Workflow Trigger to create modular, reusable “sub-workflows” that can be called by other workflows. This is essential for building complex, maintainable automations. Common Use Cases:
  • A reusable “Send Slack Notification” workflow that can be called by dozens of other workflows.
  • A common “Error Handling” workflow that logs details to a specific service.
  • A “User Validation” workflow that checks user data and returns a standardized result.
A workflow with this trigger cannot be started on its own via a schedule or webhook. It can only be triggered by another workflow using a Trigger Workflow Action.

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Configuration

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expected_schema
JSON Schema (Optional)
Define the data structure you expect to receive from the calling workflow. This is for documentation and helps validate the incoming payload.

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Next Steps

Now that you’ve chosen a trigger, the next step is to build out the logic of your automation.

Building Workflows

Discover the actions and conditions you can use to create powerful, branching logic.

Using the Vault

Learn how to securely store and use API keys, tokens, and other secrets in your workflows.