Every workflow needs at least one trigger. The trigger defines when the workflow starts and what input it starts with. A workflow can have multiple triggers of the same or different kinds.
Triggers are configured on the workflow’s Start step.
Schedule triggers
Run the workflow on a time schedule.
- Enter a cron expression directly (
0 9 * * 1-5 runs at 9 am UTC on weekdays).
- Or use the AI assistant next to the field to generate cron from plain English (“every weekday at 9am”).
- Quick presets: every 5 minutes, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly.
All schedules run in UTC. If your team is in a different timezone, convert before entering the cron expression.
Event triggers
Run the workflow when something happens inside Tale.
| Event | Example use |
|---|
| New customer added | Send a welcome e-mail. |
| New conversation opened | Tag the thread based on the customer’s history. |
| Approval requested | Notify a Slack channel. |
| Document uploaded | Extract metadata and classify. |
| Product stock ≤ threshold | Re-order or alert purchasing. |
Webhook triggers
Every workflow gets a unique webhook URL you can POST to. Use webhook triggers when something outside Tale should start the workflow — a form submission, an upstream system event, a CI/CD hook.
- The request body is available to every step as the workflow input.
- Add a webhook secret to verify request authenticity. Tale checks for an
X-Tale-Signature header and rejects requests that don’t match.
- The webhook URL is visible on the Start step and on the workflow’s Configuration tab.
See Webhooks for detailed request/response formats and signature verification code.
Manual triggers
The Run now button on any workflow lets you start it manually with custom input. Useful for:
- Testing a new workflow before scheduling it.
- One-off runs where the workflow exists but shouldn’t run automatically.
- Kicking off a backfill.
Manual runs show up in Executions like any other run.
Multiple triggers on one workflow
A workflow can be triggered by, for example, both a schedule (every hour) and a webhook (on-demand). Each execution records which trigger started it. Last modified on April 19, 2026
