Triggers

A trigger automatically starts your Gumloop flow based on external events. For example, your flow can start whenever:

• A specific time arrives (like 9 AM every day)
• A new email lands in your Gmail
• Someone submits your Typeform
• A new record is added to your Airtable

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Types of Triggers

1. Time Based
   • Schedule flows to run at specific times
   • Set up daily, weekly, or custom schedules
   • Perfect for automating regular tasks

The time trigger is available under the ‘Triggers’ category in the Node Library.

You can configure the time settings by specifying how frequently the flow should run or by customizing the settings manually using the settings cog.

Here’s a breakdown of the manual time settings:

• Minute: The exact minute within the hour (e.g., 0 for the start of the hour).
• Hour: The specific hour of the day (e.g., 6 for 6:00 AM).
• Day of Month: The specific day(s) of the month (use * for all days).
• Month: The specific month(s) (use * for all months).
• Day of Week: The day of the week (0 and 7 = Sunday, 1 = Monday, etc.).
• Timezone: The time zone for the schedule.
• Max Failure Count: The number of retry attempts if a trigger fails.

Example (Image Settings): The flow is configured to run every Monday at 6:00 AM Pacific Time, with up to 3 retry attempts if it fails.

2. Webhooks
   • Start your flows from external applications
   • Useful for connecting Gumloop with your other tools

You can add the webhook trigger by clicking on the webhook icon on the top bar:

Check out our API Reference guide for more details on how to start flows via webhook and how to get the output.

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Triggers as Nodes

Drop these nodes directly into your flow and toggle the “Activate as flow trigger” option to trigger your automation:

1. Gmail
   • Starts your flow when you receive new emails
   • It can be set to a specific label or your entire inbox

2. Slack
   • Starts your flow when you receive a new message in the specified channel
   • Works on both new messages and thread replies by default

3. Airtable
   • Starts your flow when your tables updates
   • Requires a “Last Modified Timestamp” field type column to track changes:

• Takes a few minutes to activate after creation
• Polls for updates every 60 seconds

4. Typeform
   • Triggers the workflow on new form submissions

5. Notion
   • Starts your flow when your database updates
   • Takes a few minutes to activate after creation
   • Polls for updates every 60 seconds

5. Google Drive
   • Starts your flow when your selected Google Drive folder receives a new file upload

6. Google Calendar Event Reader
   • Triggers the workflow X minutes before every event on your calendar
   • Deafult time is 15 minutes, you can adjust this under the Minutes Before Event input

7. Google Sheets
   • Automatically starts your flow when data in your Google Sheet changes
   • Two trigger modes:
     • Create: Only triggers on new rows added to the sheet
     • Create or Update: Triggers when rows are added OR existing rows are modified

• Understanding Row Events:

  • Row Creation: Triggers when any new row is added to your sheet
  • Row Update: Triggers when any cell value is changed in any existing row

• Configuration:

  • Select your Google Sheet (via direct selection or URL)
  • Specify worksheet tab to monitor
  • Choose trigger mode based on your needs
  • Toggle Activate as flow trigger
  • Save workflow

• Trigger Activation Time and Behavior:

  • After creating or updating a trigger, it may take up to 5 minutes to become active
  • The system checks for updates approximately every 60 seconds thereafter

• Troubleshooting Google Sheets Triggers:

  • Verify Activation: Ensure you’ve saved the workflow after setting up the trigger and running the flow manually works
  • Check Permissions: Confirm your Google account has appropriate access to the spreadsheet
  • Inspect Headers: Make sure your sheet has headers in the first row and at least one row of data thereafter
  • Test Simple Changes: Test the trigger with a simple row addition to verify functionality
  • Refresh Column Data: If you’ve modified your sheet structure, click the refresh icon (🔄) next to the Sheet Name and save
  • Consider Row Order: If using the “Create” mode, remember that it only detects newly added rows, not modified existing rows
  • Unique Identifiers: For mission-critical workflows, include a unique ID column to ensure reliable row tracking
  • Reset Trigger: Consider resetting the trigger by disabling the “Activate as flow trigger” toggle, saving, enabling the same toggle and saving again

• Understanding Edge Cases:

  • Column Changes:
    • Adding New Columns: New columns are automatically included in trigger data
    • Inserting Columns: System adapts to columns inserted between existing ones, but may trigger for any rows where the row hash changes
    • Deleting Columns: System adapts to columns deleted between existing ones, but may trigger for any rows where the row hash changes
  • Row Operations:
    • Row Additions: Always triggers workflows in both “Create” and “Create or Update” modes
    • Row Updates: Only trigger in “Create or Update” mode
    • Row Deletions:
      • In “Create” mode: No trigger occurs when rows are deleted
      • In “Create or Update” mode: Triggers for rows that shift position after deletion
    • Row Reordering:
      • In “Create” mode: Not detected
      • In “Create or Update” mode: Triggers for all affected rows as their position-based hashes change

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Setting Up Triggers

1. Drag a trigger node into your flow or configure the time/webhook triggers
2. Configure the trigger settings
3. Toggle ‘Activate as flow trigger’ to Yes for node triggers
4. Connect it to other nodes in your flow
5. Save your flow

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Important Notes

• Triggers automatically deactivate after 3 consecutive failed runs (If the trigger is deleted, you will receive an email)
• Triggers are only available on the Starter tier and above
• One flow can have multiple triggers
• Always save your flow before and after adding triggers
• Test your triggers after setup

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Coming Soon

• Discord triggers
• Advanced webhook configurations
• And more…

Need help? Check our tutorials or reach out on the Gumloop Forum!