Configure triggers to start workflows automatically

A trigger defines the event or condition that starts a workflow. Every workflow must have exactly one trigger. When the trigger fires — whether that’s a scheduled time, an incoming HTTP request, an event in a connected app, or a manual run — RCB Automation begins executing the workflow’s steps from the top. To add or change a trigger, open your workflow in the canvas, click the trigger card at the top of the canvas (or the + Add trigger prompt if none exists), and choose a trigger type from the panel that opens on the right.

Schedule
Webhook
App event
Manual

Schedule trigger

Use a schedule trigger to run your workflow automatically at a fixed time or interval — no external event required. This is the right choice for daily reports, weekly cleanups, regular data syncs, and any other time-based process.

Configuration

Select Schedule from the trigger panel

Click the trigger card on the canvas, then choose Schedule from the trigger type list.

Choose an interval or cron expression

Select one of the preset intervals (every 15 minutes, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly) or switch to Custom (cron) to enter a cron expression directly.Common cron examples:

Expression	Runs
`0 9 * * 1`	Every Monday at 9:00 AM
`0 8 * * 1-5`	Weekdays at 8:00 AM
`0 0 1 * *`	First day of every month at midnight
`/15 * * *`	Every 15 minutes
`0 18 * * 5`	Every Friday at 6:00 PM

Set your time zone

All schedule times are interpreted in the time zone you select. The default is your account’s time zone, set in Settings → Account.

Save the trigger

Click Save. The trigger card updates to show the next scheduled run time.

Schedule triggers do not provide any input data to downstream steps. If your actions need dynamic data, fetch it using an HTTP action or app integration step early in the workflow.

Testing a schedule trigger

Click Test trigger in the trigger panel. This executes the workflow immediately as a test run, as if the schedule had fired. No data is injected — the workflow runs with an empty trigger payload.

Webhook trigger

Use a webhook trigger when you want an external system to start a workflow by sending an HTTP POST request to a unique URL. This is the right choice for receiving data from forms, payment processors, GitHub, or any service that supports outbound webhooks.

Configuration

Select Webhook from the trigger panel

Click the trigger card on the canvas, then choose Webhook from the trigger type list.

Copy your webhook URL

RCB Automation generates a unique webhook URL for this workflow. Copy it — you’ll paste it into the external service that will send requests.

Configure the sending service

In the external system, add the copied URL as the webhook destination. Set the content type to application/json. The external service will POST its data to this URL whenever the relevant event occurs.

Set an optional secret (recommended)

Enter a shared secret in the Webhook secret field. RCB Automation will validate the X-RCB-Signature header on incoming requests and reject requests that don’t match. This prevents unauthorized callers from triggering your workflow.

Save the trigger

Click Save. The workflow will now start whenever a valid POST request arrives at the webhook URL.

The webhook URL is specific to each workflow. If you duplicate a workflow, the duplicate gets its own unique URL.

Testing a webhook trigger

Click Test trigger in the trigger panel, then click Send test event. This sends a sample POST payload to your workflow and runs it immediately so you can verify the downstream steps behave correctly. You can also paste a custom JSON body to simulate real data from your system.The full request body, headers, and query parameters from the incoming POST are available as trigger data in subsequent steps under trigger.body, trigger.headers, and trigger.query.

App event trigger

Use an app event trigger to start a workflow in response to something that happens inside a connected application — for example, a new row added to a Google Sheet, a deal moved to a new stage in your CRM, or a message posted in a Slack channel.

Configuration

Connect the app

If you haven’t already connected the app, click Connect account in the trigger panel and follow the OAuth prompts to authorize RCB Automation. Connected accounts are shared across your workspace.

Select App event from the trigger panel

Click the trigger card on the canvas, then choose App event from the trigger type list. Search for or browse to the app you want.

Choose the event

Select the specific event that should start the workflow. Available events depend on the app. Examples include:

Google Sheets — New row added, Row updated, Sheet created
Gmail — New email received, Email labeled
Salesforce — New lead, Opportunity stage changed
HubSpot — New contact, Deal created, Form submitted

Configure event filters (optional)

Many events support filters to narrow which occurrences fire the trigger. For example, a “New email” trigger can be filtered to only fire for emails matching a specific subject or sender.

Save and subscribe

Click Save. RCB Automation subscribes to the selected event in the connected app. The trigger card shows the connected account and event name.

If an app you need isn’t listed, check the Integrations overview — new integrations are added regularly. You can also use the Webhook trigger with the app’s outbound webhook feature as a workaround.

Testing an app event trigger

Click Test trigger in the trigger panel. RCB Automation fetches a recent real event from the connected app and uses it as the trigger data for a test run. This lets you verify that your downstream steps correctly reference the trigger’s fields.If no recent events are available, you can trigger a real event in the source app (for example, add a row to your sheet) and then click Refresh to pull it in.

Workflows

Manage the workflows your triggers are attached to.

Actions

Define what happens after a trigger fires.

Webhooks

Learn more about sending and receiving webhooks.

Integrations

Connect apps to use as app event trigger sources.

Get Started

Automation

Integrations

Configuration

Help

Configure triggers to start workflows automatically

Schedule trigger

Configuration

Testing a schedule trigger

Webhook trigger

Configuration

Testing a webhook trigger

App event trigger

Configuration

Testing an app event trigger

Manual trigger

Configuration

Running a manual workflow

Testing a manual trigger

Workflows

Actions

Webhooks

Integrations

Get Started

Automation

Integrations

Configuration

Help

​Schedule trigger

​Configuration

​Testing a schedule trigger

​Webhook trigger

​Configuration

​Testing a webhook trigger

​App event trigger

​Configuration

​Testing an app event trigger

​Manual trigger

​Configuration

​Running a manual workflow

​Testing a manual trigger

​Related pages

Workflows

Actions

Webhooks

Integrations

Schedule trigger

Configuration

Testing a schedule trigger

Webhook trigger

Configuration

Testing a webhook trigger

App event trigger

Configuration

Testing an app event trigger

Manual trigger

Configuration

Running a manual workflow

Testing a manual trigger

Related pages