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A trigger automatically starts your Gumloop workflow based on external events. For example, your workflow 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
  • A new issue is created in Linear
Trigger button in pipeline

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Types of Triggers

Time Based

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

Webhooks

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

Email & Messaging

Trigger workflows from Gmail messages, Slack channels, Microsoft Teams 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 workflow 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 workflow 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 workflows via webhook and how to get the output.
Webhook trigger configuration

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Triggers as Nodes

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

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Gmail

Starts your workflow 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 workflow 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 workflow:
This toggle controls whether automated messages should trigger your workflow.
  • No (Default): All messages will trigger your workflow, including those from bots and integrations
  • Yes (Recommended): Only human-generated messages will trigger your workflow
    • Prevents potential trigger loops where your workflow output triggers itself
    • Reduces noise from system notifications and other automated messages
    • Essential when your workflow 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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Microsoft Teams

Starts your flow when a new message is posted in a specified Microsoft Teams channel. Works with both new messages and thread replies.
Teams triggers only work with Microsoft 365 work or school accounts. Personal Microsoft accounts are not supported.
Teams Message Reader trigger configuration

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Filtering Options

When using the Teams Message Reader as a trigger, two filtering options help you control which messages start your flow:
This toggle controls whether automated messages should trigger your flow.
  • No (Default): All messages will trigger your flow, including those from bots and applications
  • 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.
  • Add the Teams Message Reader node to your flow
  • Select your Team and Channel
  • Toggle Activate as flow trigger
  • Configure filtering options (Ignore Bot Messages, Ignore Replies)
  • Save workflow
Read Full Thread: When enabled under “More Options”, the trigger will fetch the full thread for each incoming message instead of just the new message.
  • Auto-respond to customer questions in support channels
  • Route messages to different workflows based on content
  • Log channel activity to external systems
  • Bridge communications between Teams and other platforms
Output Data: When used as a trigger, the node outputs single values (not lists) for each field: Message, Thread ID, Attachment Names, Sender Name, Channel Name, Channel ID, Date, and Subject.

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Incident.io

Automatically starts your workflow 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 workflow
  • Configure filters for Severity and/or Mode (optional)
  • Toggle Activate as workflow 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 workflow 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 workflow and toggle “Activate as workflow 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 workflow 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 workflow 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 workflow 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 workflow 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 workflow 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 workflow 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 workflow 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 workflow trigger” toggle, saving, enabling the same toggle and saving again

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Understanding Edge Cases

  • 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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Zendesk

Automatically starts your workflow when ticket events occur in Zendesk. Supports multiple trigger modes for different use cases.
Zendesk trigger configuration

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Trigger Modes

Triggers when a new ticket is created in Zendesk. You can filter by Type, Priority, and Status to only trigger on specific tickets.
  • Add the Zendesk Ticket Reader node to your workflow
  • Toggle Activate as workflow trigger
  • Select a Trigger Mode from the dropdown
  • Configure filters (Type, Priority, Status) or select a View
  • Save workflow
Type: Filter by ticket type (Question, Incident, Problem, Task, Empty)Priority: Filter by urgency (Low, Normal, High, Urgent, Empty)Status: Filter by ticket state (Open, Pending, Solved)
View-based triggers use the View’s built-in filters instead of Type/Priority/Status
  • Alert teams when urgent tickets are created
  • Track customer responses with comment triggers
  • Escalate tickets that change to pending status
  • Monitor SLA compliance with view-based triggers
Output Data: Provides Ticket ID, URL, Created Date, Updated Date, Type, Priority, Status, Subject, Description, Requester Email, Submitter Email, Assignee Email, and Comments as individual outputs

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Salesforce

Automatically starts your workflow when records are created or updated in any Salesforce object (Opportunities, Leads, Contacts, Accounts, Cases, custom objects, etc.). Polls for changes every 60 seconds.
Salesforce Record Reader trigger configuration showing New Record and Updated Record modes

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Trigger Modes

Triggers when a new record is created in the selected Salesforce object. Uses the record’s CreatedDate field to detect new entries.
  • Add the Salesforce Record Reader node to your workflow
  • Select the Salesforce Object you want to monitor (e.g., Contact, Opportunity, Lead)
  • Choose a Trigger Mode: New Record or Updated Record
  • Toggle Activate as workflow trigger
  • Save workflow
When activated as a trigger, the Salesforce Record Reader polls your Salesforce org for new or updated records of the selected object type, depending on your chosen trigger mode.
  • Polls every 60 seconds
  • Fetches up to 5 records per poll
  • Uses a compound cursor of the relevant timestamp field and record Id to track its position and avoid processing the same record twice
  • Automatically retrieves all available fields for the selected object (excluding compound fields like MailingAddress)
  • Outputs each field as an individual value for use in downstream nodes
  • In Updated Record mode, each update to the same record triggers the workflow again (deduplication includes the modification timestamp)
You can monitor any standard or custom Salesforce object, including:
  • Leads — Trigger on new or updated leads
  • Contacts — Trigger on new or updated contacts
  • Opportunities — Trigger on new or updated deals
  • Accounts — Trigger on new or updated accounts
  • Cases — Trigger on new or updated support cases
  • Custom Objects — Any custom object in your Salesforce org
  • Automatically enrich new leads with external data
  • Notify your team in Slack when a new opportunity is created
  • Sync new Salesforce contacts to other CRMs or databases
  • Kick off onboarding workflows when new accounts are added
  • Route new support cases to the right team
  • Re-trigger workflows when a deal stage changes (Updated Record mode)
  • Alert your team when a case is updated or reassigned
Output Data: All fields from the selected Salesforce object are returned as individual outputs. The exact fields depend on the object type you selected.
Authentication: You must configure your Salesforce credentials in Gumloop Credentials before using this trigger. Gumloop is a Salesforce Connected App — a Salesforce administrator must authorize the connection first. See Salesforce Setup for details.

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Linear

Automatically starts your workflow when issues are created or updated in your Linear workspace. Polls for changes every 60 seconds.
Linear Issue Reader trigger configuration showing New Issue and Updated Issue modes

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Trigger Modes

Triggers when a new issue is created in the selected Linear team. Uses the issue’s createdAt timestamp to detect new entries.
  • Add the Linear Issue Reader node to your workflow
  • Select the Team you want to monitor (required)
  • Choose a Trigger Mode: New Issue or Updated Issue
  • Optionally add Filters to narrow which issues trigger your workflow (Status, Project, Priority, Labels, Assignee)
  • Toggle Activate as workflow trigger
  • Save workflow
When activated as a trigger, the Linear Issue Reader polls your Linear workspace for new or updated issues in the selected team.
  • Polls every 60 seconds
  • Fetches up to 5 issues per poll
  • Uses a cursor based on the relevant timestamp (createdAt or updatedAt) to track its position
  • In Updated Issue mode, each modification to the same issue triggers the workflow again (deduplication includes the update timestamp)
  • Requires a Team to be selected — this is a mandatory parameter for the trigger
You can optionally add filters to control which issues trigger your workflow:
  • Status — Filter by issue status (e.g., In Progress, Done, Backlog)
  • Project — Filter by Linear project
  • Priority — Filter by priority level (e.g., Urgent, High, Medium, Low)
  • Labels — Filter by issue labels (matches issues with at least one of the selected labels)
  • Assignee — Filter by the team member assigned to the issue
Filters are optional. Without any filters, the trigger fires for all issues in the selected team.
  • Alert your team in Slack when high-priority bugs are filed
  • Automatically create follow-up tasks when issues move to a specific status
  • Sync new Linear issues to external project management tools
  • Notify stakeholders when issues in a specific project are updated
  • Kick off QA workflows when issues are assigned to the QA team
  • Track issue updates for SLA compliance
Output Data: Provides Description, Identifier (e.g., “ENG-123”), Title, URL, Assignee, Status, Project, and Labels as individual outputs.
Authentication: You must connect your Linear account on the Apps page before using this trigger.

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Setting Up Triggers

1

Add Trigger Node

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

Configure Settings

Configure the trigger settings
3

Activate Trigger

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

Connect Nodes

Connect it to other nodes in your workflow
5

Save Your Workflow

Save your workflow

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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 Pro tier and above
  • One workflow can have multiple triggers
  • Always save your workflow 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!