Overview

Triggers are the core ways to start Sim workflows

Triggers Overview

Core Triggers

Use the Start block for everything originating from the editor, deploy-to-API, or deploy-to-chat experiences. Other triggers remain available for event-driven workflows:

Start

Unified entry point that supports editor runs, API deployments and chat deployments

Webhook

Receive external webhook payloads

Schedule

Cron or interval based execution

RSS Feed

Monitor RSS and Atom feeds for new content

Email Polling Groups

Monitor team Gmail and Outlook inboxes

Quick Comparison

TriggerStart condition
StartEditor runs, deploy-to-API requests, or chat messages
ScheduleTimer managed in schedule block
WebhookOn inbound HTTP request
RSS FeedNew item published to feed
Email Polling GroupsNew email received in team Gmail or Outlook inboxes

The Start block always exposes input, conversationId, and files fields. Add custom fields to the input format for additional structured data.

Using Triggers

  1. Drop the Start block in the start slot (or an alternate trigger like Webhook/Schedule).
  2. Configure any required schema or auth.
  3. Connect the block to the rest of the workflow.

Deployments power every trigger. Update the workflow, redeploy, and all trigger entry points pick up the new snapshot. Learn more in Execution → Deployment Snapshots.

Manual Execution Priority

When you click Run in the editor, Sim automatically selects which trigger to execute based on the following priority order:

  1. Start Block (highest priority)
  2. Schedule Triggers
  3. External Triggers (webhooks, integrations like Slack, Gmail, Airtable, etc.)

If your workflow has multiple triggers, the highest priority trigger will be executed. For example, if you have both a Start block and a Webhook trigger, clicking Run will execute the Start block.

External triggers with mock payloads: When external triggers (webhooks and integrations) are executed manually, Sim automatically generates mock payloads based on the trigger's expected data structure. This ensures downstream blocks can resolve variables correctly during testing.

Email Polling Groups

Polling Groups let you monitor multiple team members' Gmail or Outlook inboxes with a single trigger. Requires a Team or Enterprise plan.

Creating a Polling Group (Admin/Owner)

  1. Go to Settings → Email Polling
  2. Click Create and choose Gmail or Outlook
  3. Enter a name for the group

Inviting Members

  1. Click Add Members on your polling group
  2. Enter email addresses (comma or newline separated, or drag & drop a CSV)
  3. Click Send Invites

Invitees receive an email with a link to connect their account. Once connected, their inbox is automatically included in the polling group. Invitees don't need to be members of your Sim organization.

Using in a Workflow

When configuring an email trigger, select your polling group from the credentials dropdown instead of an individual account. The system creates webhooks for each member and routes all emails through your workflow.

Common Questions

Yes, a workflow can have multiple triggers (for example, a Start block and a Webhook trigger). When you click Run in the editor, Sim executes the highest-priority trigger: Start block first, then Schedule, then external triggers like webhooks. Each trigger type can also fire independently when its event occurs.
The Generic Webhook trigger supports authentication. Enable the Require Authentication toggle, set an auth token, and optionally specify a custom header name. Incoming requests must include the token as a Bearer token in the Authorization header (or in your custom header). Requests without a valid token are rejected.
When you click Run on a workflow with an external trigger (webhook, Slack, Gmail, etc.), Sim generates a mock payload based on the trigger's expected data structure. This lets downstream blocks resolve their variable references correctly so you can test the full workflow without waiting for a real event.
All trigger-based executions (API, chat, schedule, webhook) run against the active deployment snapshot, not your draft canvas. After making changes, you need to redeploy for triggers to pick up the updated workflow version.
Sim supports a wide range of trigger integrations including GitHub (push, PR, issues), Slack, Gmail, Outlook, Linear, Jira, HubSpot, Stripe, Airtable, Calendly, Typeform, Telegram, WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams, RSS feeds, and more. Each integration provides event-specific triggers like issue_created or email_received.
The Schedule trigger runs your workflow on a timer using cron expressions or interval-based configuration. The schedule is managed within the schedule block settings. Like all triggers, scheduled runs execute the active deployment snapshot, so make sure to redeploy after making workflow changes.
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On this page

Core Triggers
Quick Comparison
Using Triggers
Manual Execution Priority
Email Polling Groups