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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
Trigger button in pipeline

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Types of Triggers

Time Based

Schedule flows to run at specific times with daily, weekly, or custom schedules. Perfect for automating regular tasks.

Webhooks

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

Email & Messaging

Trigger flows from Gmail messages, Slack channels, or other communication platforms.

Database & Forms

Automatically respond to changes in Airtable, Notion, Google Sheets, or form submissions.

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Time Based Triggers

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.

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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 Configuration: The flow is configured to run every Monday at 6:00 AM Pacific Time, with up to 3 retry attempts if it fails.
Time trigger configuration

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Webhooks

You can add the webhook trigger by clicking on the webhook icon on the top bar:
Webhook in pipeline
Check out our API Reference guide for more details on how to start flows via webhook and how to get the output.
Webhook trigger configuration

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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:

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Gmail

Starts your flow when you receive new emails. It can be set to a specific label or your entire inbox.
Due to Google watch response API limitations, only one Gmail account can be monitored per credential. For multiple accounts, consider using scheduled time triggers instead. More info here
Gmail trigger configuration

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Slack

Starts your flow when you receive a new message in the specified channel. Can work on both new messages and thread replies.
Slack trigger configuration

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Filtering Options

When using the Slack Message Reader as a trigger, two important filtering options help you control exactly which messages will start your flow:
  • Ignore Bot Messages
  • Ignore Replies
This toggle controls whether automated messages should trigger your flow.
  • No (Default): All messages will trigger your flow, including those from bots and integrations
  • Yes (Recommended): Only human-generated messages will trigger your flow
    • Prevents potential trigger loops where your flow output triggers itself
    • Reduces noise from system notifications and other automated messages
    • Essential when your flow posts back to the same channel
For most automations, we recommend:
  • Ignore Bot Messages: Yes - Prevents trigger loops and focuses on human communications
  • Ignore Replies: No - Captures all relevant communications including thread discussions
When building response bots, always enable “Ignore Bot Messages” to prevent infinite loops where your bot responds to its own messages.

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Incident.io

Automatically starts your flow when new incidents are detected in incident.io. Polls for updates every 5 minutes.
Incident.io trigger configuration
  • Add the Incident.io Incidents Reader node to your flow
  • Configure filters for Severity and/or Mode (optional)
  • Toggle Activate as flow trigger
  • Save workflow
Severity: Filter by incident priority (Minor, Major, Critical)Mode: Filter by incident type (Standard, Retrospective, Tutorial, Test)
Status filters are not applied in trigger mode, only Severity and Mode
  • Automatically notify teams about critical incidents
  • Create support tickets for major incidents
  • Post incident updates to Slack channels
  • Log incidents to tracking systems
Output Data: Provides incident ID, name, status, severity, timestamps, summary, permalink, and Slack channel ID as individual outputs

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Airtable

Starts your flow when your tables update.
Airtable trigger configuration
1

Add Last Modified Timestamp Field

Requires a “Last Modified Timestamp” field type column to track changes:
Last modified timestamp field in Airtable
2

Configure Trigger

Set up the Airtable trigger in your flow and toggle “Activate as flow trigger”
3

Wait for Activation

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

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Typeform

Triggers the workflow on new form submissions.
Typeform trigger configuration

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Notion

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

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Google Drive

Starts your flow when your selected Google Drive folder receives a new file upload.
Google Drive trigger configuration

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Google Calendar Event Reader

Triggers the workflow X minutes before every event on your calendar. Default time is 15 minutes, you can adjust this under the Minutes Before Event input.
Google Calendar event trigger configuration

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Google Forms

Automatically starts your flow when someone submits a Google Form. Perfect for automating follow-up actions based on form submissions.
Google Forms trigger configuration
  • Select your Google Form (via direct selection or URL)
  • Toggle Activate as flow trigger
  • Save workflow
  • Customer onboarding automation
  • Survey response processing
  • Lead qualification workflows
  • Event registration handling
Output Data: Provides all submitted form fields as individual outputs

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Google Sheets

Automatically starts your flow when data in your Google Sheet changes.
Google Sheets trigger mode options

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Trigger Modes

Two trigger modes are available:

Create

Only triggers on new rows added to the sheet

Create or Update

Triggers when rows are added OR existing rows are modified

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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

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Configuration

1

Select Your Sheet

Select your Google Sheet (via direct selection or URL)
2

Specify Worksheet

Specify worksheet tab to monitor
3

Choose Trigger Mode

Choose trigger mode based on your needs
4

Activate Trigger

Toggle Activate as flow trigger
5

Save Workflow

Save workflow

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Timing 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.

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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
Consider resetting the trigger by disabling the “Activate as flow trigger” toggle, saving, enabling the same toggle and saving again

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Understanding Edge Cases

  • Column Changes
  • Row Operations
  • 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

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Setting Up Triggers

1

Add Trigger Node

Drag a trigger node into your flow or configure the time/webhook triggers
2

Configure Settings

Configure the trigger settings
3

Activate Trigger

Toggle ‘Activate as flow trigger’ to Yes for node triggers
4

Connect Nodes

Connect it to other nodes in your flow
5

Save Your Flow

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 notification.
  • Triggers are only available on the Solo 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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Need Help?

Check our tutorials or reach out on the Gumloop Forum!