Core Concepts

Flows

A flow is an automated workflow that consists of triggers and actions. Each flow starts with a trigger and can contain multiple actions that execute sequentially when the trigger conditions are met.

Triggers

Triggers are events that start your flow. They act as the entry point and determine when your flow should run. There are several types of triggers:

Webhook Triggers

• Receive data from external services via HTTP requests
• Get notified when specific events occur in connected applications

Schedule Triggers

• Run flows at specified intervals
• Execute tasks on a time-based schedule
• Example: Every Monday at 9 AM, or every 15 minutes

In this example, the flow is triggered every workday at 9 AM running query to fetch the latest data from the database and notifies you via Slack.

App Triggers

• Listen for events from integrated applications
• Respond to specific actions within connected services
• Example: When a new email arrives in Gmail

Actions

Actions are the tasks that your flow performs after being triggered. They represent the actual work being done in your automation.

Types of Actions

App Actions

• Interact with third-party services
• Perform operations like sending emails, creating records, or posting messages
• Example: Create a new Slack message or add a row to Google Sheets

Code Actions

• Execute custom JavaScript code
• Process data or perform complex calculations
• Example: Transform data format or apply business logic

Flow Control Actions

• Branch flows based on conditions
• Loop through data sets
• Example: If-else statements or forEach loops

Connections

Connections are secure authentication configurations that allow your flows to interact with third-party services. They store:

• API keys
• OAuth tokens
• Account credentials

Data Flow

Data flows through your automation in a structured way:

1. Trigger generates initial data
2. Each action can:
   • Use data from previous steps
   • Transform data
   • Generate new data
3. Data is passed between steps using variables

Variables and Expressions

• Access data from previous steps using expressions
• Reference dynamic values throughout your flow
• Format: {{trigger.body.email}} or {{step1.data.name}}

Best Practices

• Name your flows descriptively
• Test triggers and actions individually
• Monitor flow execution history
• Handle errors appropriately
• Keep flows modular and focused