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Triggers

Overview

Every workflow begins with a trigger - the first step, which decides how and when the flow runs. There are three trigger types, and a workflow has exactly one.

  • Manual Trigger - you click Run.
  • Webhook - an external HTTP POST starts it.
  • Schedule - a timer starts it.

You pick the trigger by adding it from the palette as the first step, then configure it in the inspector.

Manual Trigger

The simplest start. The workflow runs when you click the blue Run button in the builder.

A Manual Trigger has an Input field - a JSON value handed to the next step when you Run. Use it to seed test data so downstream steps have something to work with while you build.

Webhook

A Webhook lets an external system start the workflow by sending an HTTP POST.

When you add a Webhook step and save, Rival generates a unique URL of the form:

https://<api>/api/v1/workflow-hooks/{token}

The inspector shows:

  • The webhook URL with a copy button.
  • A ready-to-paste curl snippet.
  • A Sample input field used when you click Run - a real POST body overrides it at runtime.

The POST body becomes the trigger data the first step receives. The token in the URL is the credential, so treat the URL as a secret - anyone with it can start the workflow.

Schedule

A Schedule runs the workflow on a timer, unattended.

The inspector has a Schedule type with two options:

  • Every N minutes - set the interval in minutes (minimum 1).
  • Daily at time - set a Run at time as HH:MM in UTC (for example 09:00).

Once configured and saved, Rival fires the workflow automatically at the scheduled times with no one in the builder.

Next steps