> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.utari.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Triggers & Automation

> Set up automatic triggers to run agents on schedules or in response to events, enabling fully automated workflows and intelligent responses to real-world changes.

## Overview

Triggers & Automation enables your Utari workers to execute automatically based on schedules or real-world events. This powerful capability transforms agents from on-demand assistants into autonomous workers that monitor, respond, and act without manual intervention—creating sophisticated automation workflows that run 24/7.

## Trigger Types

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Scheduled Triggers" icon="clock">
    Run agents automatically at specified times using flexible cron expressions
  </Card>

  <Card title="Event Triggers" icon="bolt">
    Execute agents in response to real-world events from connected applications
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Info>
  Triggers can be combined with template variables to create reusable automation workflows that adapt to different contexts and use cases.
</Info>

## Trigger Capabilities

### Scheduled Trigger Management

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Create Scheduled Trigger" icon="plus">
    Set up automatic execution at specific times using cron expressions.

    **Features**:

    * Flexible scheduling with cron syntax
    * Template variables for reusable prompts
    * Custom execution instructions
    * Multiple triggers per agent

    **Example**:

    ```
        Create a scheduled trigger to run daily at 9 AM:
        - Monitor {{company_name}} brand mentions
        - Analyze sentiment
        - Generate daily report
    ```
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Get Scheduled Triggers" icon="list">
    View all scheduled triggers for the current agent.

    **Information Shown**:

    * Trigger schedule (cron expression)
    * Execution instructions
    * Enabled/disabled status
    * Last run time
    * Next scheduled run

    **Example**:

    ```
        Show me all scheduled triggers for this agent
    ```
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Toggle Scheduled Trigger" icon="toggle-on">
    Enable or disable triggers without deleting them.

    **Use Cases**:

    * Temporarily pause automation
    * Seasonal adjustments
    * Testing and maintenance
    * Resource management

    **Example**:

    ```
        Disable the weekend reporting trigger
        Pause all triggers during holiday period
    ```
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Delete Scheduled Trigger" icon="trash">
    Permanently remove scheduled triggers.

    **Important**: Deleted triggers cannot be recovered. Consider disabling instead if you might need them again.

    **Example**:

    ```
        Delete the outdated quarterly report trigger
    ```
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

### Event Trigger Management

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="List Event Trigger Apps" icon="grid">
    Discover which applications support event-based triggers.

    **Information Provided**:

    * App name and slug
    * App logo
    * Available integrations
    * Event capabilities

    **Example**:

    ```
        Show me all apps that support event triggers
        What applications can trigger automation?
    ```
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="List App Event Triggers" icon="list-check">
    View available triggers for a specific application.

    **Information Provided**:

    * Trigger slug and name
    * Description and type
    * Configuration options
    * Payload schema
    * Setup instructions

    **Example**:

    ```
        What event triggers are available for Slack?
        Show me Gmail event trigger options
    ```
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Create Event Trigger" icon="bolt-lightning">
    Set up automation that responds to real-world events.

    **Process**:

    1. Choose application
    2. Select event type
    3. Configure trigger settings
    4. Define agent response
    5. Use template variables for reusability

    **Example**:

    ```
        Create a trigger that:
        - Monitors new emails in Gmail
        - From {{client_name}}
        - Automatically drafts response
        - Saves to drafts for review
    ```
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Template Variables

Template variables make triggers reusable across different contexts:

### Using Template Variables

<Steps>
  <Step title="Define Variables in Prompts">
    Use `{{variable_name}}` syntax in trigger instructions:

    ```
        Monitor {{company_name}} brand mentions on social media
        Track {{competitor_name}} product launches
        Alert on {{keyword}} discussions in {{industry}}
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Users Provide Values">
    When installing or using the trigger, users provide their specific values:

    ```
        company_name: "Acme Corp"
        competitor_name: "TechRival Inc"
        keyword: "artificial intelligence"
        industry: "healthcare"
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Dynamic Execution">
    The trigger executes with user-specific context:

    ```
        Result: Monitor Acme Corp brand mentions on social media
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Common Template Variables

<CodeGroup>
  ```text Company/Brand theme={null}
  {{company_name}} - Your company name
  {{brand_name}} - Brand being monitored
  {{competitor_name}} - Competitor to track
  {{product_name}} - Product being analyzed
  ```

  ```text Contact Information theme={null}
  {{client_name}} - Client or customer name
  {{contact_email}} - Email address
  {{team_member}} - Team member name
  {{department}} - Department or division
  ```

  ```text Content & Keywords theme={null}
  {{keyword}} - Monitoring keyword
  {{topic}} - Subject area
  {{hashtag}} - Social media hashtag
  {{category}} - Content category
  ```

  ```text Location & Time theme={null}
  {{location}} - Geographic area
  {{region}} - Business region
  {{timezone}} - Time zone
  {{market}} - Target market
  ```
</CodeGroup>

<Tip>
  **Best Practice**: Use descriptive variable names that make it obvious what value should be provided. `{{primary_competitor}}` is clearer than `{{comp1}}`.
</Tip>

## Scheduled Trigger Examples

### Using Cron Expressions

Cron expressions provide flexible scheduling:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Common Schedules">
    ```text theme={null}
        Every minute:
        * * * * *
        
        Every 5 minutes:
        */5 * * * *
        
        Every hour:
        0 * * * *
        
        Daily at 9 AM:
        0 9 * * *
        
        Daily at 6 PM:
        0 18 * * *
        
        Every weekday at 8 AM:
        0 8 * * 1-5
        
        Every Monday at 9 AM:
        0 9 * * 1
        
        First day of month at midnight:
        0 0 1 * *
        
        Every Sunday at 10 AM:
        0 10 * * 0
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Advanced Schedules">
    ```text theme={null}
        Every 15 minutes during business hours (9 AM - 5 PM):
        */15 9-17 * * *
        
        Twice daily (morning and evening):
        0 9,18 * * *
        
        Every weekday at noon:
        0 12 * * 1-5
        
        Every quarter (Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct) on 1st at 9 AM:
        0 9 1 1,4,7,10 *
        
        Every 2 hours between 8 AM and 8 PM:
        0 8-20/2 * * *
        
        Every weekday at 9 AM and 5 PM:
        0 9,17 * * 1-5
        
        Last day of month at midnight:
        0 0 28-31 * *
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Cron Format">
    ```text theme={null}
        Format: minute hour day month weekday
        
        minute: 0-59
        hour: 0-23
        day: 1-31
        month: 1-12
        weekday: 0-6 (0 = Sunday)
        
        Special characters:
        * = any value
        */n = every n units
        a-b = range from a to b
        a,b,c = specific values
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

### Daily Automation Examples

<CodeGroup>
  ```text Morning Brief theme={null}
  Schedule: 0 7 * * 1-5 (Weekdays at 7 AM)

  Trigger Instructions:
  Search for overnight news about {{industry}}
  Summarize top 5 developments
  Check {{company_name}} stock performance
  Compile into morning briefing document
  Save to "Daily Briefs/{{date}}"
  Send via Slack to #team-updates
  ```

  ```text Daily Reporting theme={null}
  Schedule: 0 18 * * * (Daily at 6 PM)

  Trigger Instructions:
  Retrieve today's metrics from {{analytics_platform}}
  Compare to yesterday and last week
  Calculate key performance indicators
  Generate daily dashboard report
  Save to "Reports/Daily/{{date}}.pdf"
  Email to {{manager_email}}
  ```

  ```text Social Media Monitoring theme={null}
  Schedule: 0 */4 * * * (Every 4 hours)

  Trigger Instructions:
  Monitor {{brand_name}} mentions on Twitter
  Track sentiment and engagement
  Flag unusual patterns or viral posts
  Update monitoring spreadsheet
  Alert if negative sentiment spike detected
  ```

  ```text Competitive Intelligence theme={null}
  Schedule: 0 9 * * 1 (Mondays at 9 AM)

  Trigger Instructions:
  Visit {{competitor_name}} website
  Capture homepage screenshot
  Check for pricing changes
  Monitor new blog posts
  Compare to our offerings
  Generate weekly competitive report
  ```
</CodeGroup>

### Weekly & Monthly Automation

<CodeGroup>
  ```text Weekly Team Sync theme={null}
  Schedule: 0 9 * * 1 (Mondays at 9 AM)

  Trigger Instructions:
  Review last week's completed tasks from {{project_tool}}
  Identify blockers and risks
  Compile team accomplishments
  Generate weekly status report
  Post to {{team_channel}}
  Schedule follow-ups for open items
  ```

  ```text Monthly Analytics theme={null}
  Schedule: 0 9 1 * * (First day of month at 9 AM)

  Trigger Instructions:
  Gather previous month's data from all sources
  Calculate month-over-month trends
  Generate performance visualizations
  Create executive summary with insights
  Save to "Reports/Monthly/{{month}}-{{year}}.pdf"
  Send to leadership team
  ```

  ```text Quarterly Planning theme={null}
  Schedule: 0 10 1 1,4,7,10 * (Quarterly on 1st at 10 AM)

  Trigger Instructions:
  Review previous quarter performance
  Analyze market trends for {{industry}}
  Research competitive landscape
  Generate strategic recommendations
  Create quarterly planning document
  Schedule planning meetings
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Event Trigger Examples

### Email-Based Automation

<Card title="Client Email Response">
  **Trigger**: New email from {client_domain}

  **Configuration**:

  * App: Gmail
  * Event: New email received
  * Filter: From domain matches {client_domain}

  **Agent Response**:

  ```
    Read email content and context
    Draft personalized response based on:
    - Email subject and content
    - Previous conversation history
    - {{client_name}} relationship notes
    Save draft to Gmail for review
    Add task to follow-up list if needed
  ```
</Card>

### Calendar-Based Automation

<Card title="Meeting Preparation">
  **Trigger**: Meeting scheduled with {keyword} in title

  **Configuration**:

  * App: Google Calendar
  * Event: New event created
  * Filter: Title contains {keyword}

  **Agent Response**:

  ```
    Extract meeting attendees and topic
    Research attendee backgrounds on LinkedIn
    Gather relevant {{company_name}} materials
    Create meeting prep document with:
    - Attendee profiles
    - Discussion topics
    - Company background
    - Previous interactions
    Save to "Meeting Prep/{{date}}-{{title}}"
  ```
</Card>

### Task Management Automation

<Card title="High-Priority Task Alert">
  **Trigger**: High-priority task assigned

  **Configuration**:

  * App: Asana/Trello
  * Event: Task assigned to you
  * Filter: Priority = High

  **Agent Response**:

  ```
    Extract task details and deadline
    Assess current workload
    Check for conflicting priorities
    Generate prioritization recommendation
    Send Slack notification with context
    Add to daily planning document
  ```
</Card>

### Social Media Monitoring

<Card title="Brand Mention Alert">
  **Trigger**: {brand_name} mentioned on Twitter

  **Configuration**:

  * App: Twitter
  * Event: New mention
  * Filter: Contains {brand_name}

  **Agent Response**:

  ```
    Capture tweet and context
    Analyze sentiment (positive/negative/neutral)
    Assess urgency and required response
    Draft response if needed
    Log to brand monitoring spreadsheet
    Alert team if negative or high-engagement
  ```
</Card>

### Sales & CRM Automation

<Card title="New Lead Processing">
  **Trigger**: New lead created in {crm_name}

  **Configuration**:

  * App: Salesforce/HubSpot
  * Event: New lead added
  * Filter: Source = {lead_source}

  **Agent Response**:

  ```
    Extract lead information
    Research company on LinkedIn and web
    Enrich lead data with:
    - Company size and industry
    - Decision makers
    - Recent news
    - Competitive intel
    Update CRM with enriched data
    Generate personalized outreach template
    Assign to appropriate sales rep
  ```
</Card>

## Complex Automation Workflows

### Multi-Stage Triggered Workflow

<Steps>
  <Step title="Stage 1: Morning Data Collection">
    **Scheduled Trigger**: Daily at 6 AM

    ```
        Collect overnight data from:
        - Yahoo Finance ({{stock_symbols}})
        - Twitter trends in {{industry}}
        - News about {{company_name}} and {{competitors}}
        Save raw data to "Data/Daily/{{date}}/"
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Stage 2: Analysis & Processing">
    **Scheduled Trigger**: Daily at 7 AM

    ```
        Analyze collected data:
        - Calculate market sentiment
        - Identify emerging trends
        - Flag unusual patterns
        Generate analysis report
        Save to "Analysis/Daily/{{date}}.pdf"
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Stage 3: Distribution">
    **Scheduled Trigger**: Daily at 8 AM

    ```
        Read analysis report
        Create executive summary
        Generate visualizations
        Send via email to {{distribution_list}}
        Post summary to {{team_channel}}
        Archive in {{document_storage}}
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Stage 4: Event Response">
    **Event Trigger**: Significant market movement

    ```
        If {{stock_symbol}} moves >5%:
        - Generate immediate alert
        - Analyze cause and context
        - Send urgent notification
        - Create deep-dive report
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Adaptive Automation

Create triggers that adapt based on context:

```text theme={null}
Scheduled Trigger: Every 4 hours

Instructions:
Check current day and time
If weekday during business hours:
  - Monitor {{business_channels}}
  - Track urgent items
  - Send notifications for high-priority
If weekend or off-hours:
  - Monitor critical alerts only
  - Batch non-urgent items
  - Send summary once daily

Adjust monitoring intensity based on:
- {{season}} (busy vs. slow periods)
- {{event_status}} (during campaigns vs. normal)
- Recent alert volume (scale up if busy)
```

## Combining Triggers with Other Tools

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="+ Agent Configuration" icon="sliders">
    Create triggers that configure other agents dynamically based on events
  </Card>

  <Card title="+ Data Providers" icon="database">
    Schedule regular data collection from LinkedIn, Yahoo Finance, Amazon, etc.
  </Card>

  <Card title="+ Web Search" icon="magnifying-glass">
    Automatically research topics on schedule or when events occur
  </Card>

  <Card title="+ Files and Folder" icon="folder">
    Organize triggered outputs in structured, dated folders
  </Card>

  <Card title="+ Document Creator" icon="file-word">
    Generate reports automatically on schedule
  </Card>

  <Card title="+ Integrations" icon="plug">
    Respond to events from connected apps like Slack, Gmail, Calendar
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Best Practices

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Start Simple" icon="seedling">
    Begin with basic scheduled triggers before creating complex event-based automation
  </Card>

  <Card title="Use Template Variables" icon="brackets-curly">
    Make triggers reusable with {variables} instead of hardcoding values
  </Card>

  <Card title="Test Thoroughly" icon="flask">
    Test triggers manually before setting to automatic execution
  </Card>

  <Card title="Monitor Initially" icon="eye">
    Watch first few executions closely to catch issues early
  </Card>

  <Card title="Disable vs. Delete" icon="toggle-off">
    Disable triggers temporarily rather than deleting if you might need them again
  </Card>

  <Card title="Document Triggers" icon="book">
    Keep clear documentation of what each trigger does and why it exists
  </Card>

  <Card title="Batch When Possible" icon="layer-group">
    Group related checks into single triggers rather than many separate ones
  </Card>

  <Card title="Handle Failures" icon="life-ring">
    Include error handling and fallback instructions in trigger prompts
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Managing Triggers

### Viewing All Triggers

```text theme={null}
Show me all scheduled triggers for this agent

List all active automation for my Marketing Agent

What triggers are configured for the Research Assistant?
```

### Enabling and Disabling

```text theme={null}
Disable the weekend reporting trigger temporarily

Pause all triggers during the holiday period

Re-enable the daily monitoring trigger

Turn off event triggers while we're in maintenance mode
```

### Updating Triggers

```text theme={null}
Update the daily brief trigger to:
- Run at 8 AM instead of 7 AM
- Add {{new_competitor}} to monitoring list
- Include pricing analysis

Modify the email response trigger to:
- Only respond to priority clients
- Use updated response template
- CC {{manager_email}} on all responses
```

### Organizing Triggers

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="By Purpose">
    ```text theme={null}
        Monitoring Triggers:
        - Brand mention monitoring
        - Competitor tracking
        - Market surveillance
        
        Reporting Triggers:
        - Daily briefs
        - Weekly summaries
        - Monthly analytics
        
        Response Triggers:
        - Email auto-response
        - Social media engagement
        - Lead processing
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="By Frequency">
    ```text theme={null}
        High Frequency (Hourly):
        - Critical alert monitoring
        - Time-sensitive responses
        
        Medium Frequency (Daily):
        - Regular reporting
        - Standard monitoring
        
        Low Frequency (Weekly/Monthly):
        - Periodic analysis
        - Strategic reviews
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="By Agent">
    ```text theme={null}
        Research Agent:
        - Daily industry news scan
        - Weekly competitor analysis
        
        Content Agent:
        - Daily social media posting
        - Weekly blog generation
        
        Sales Agent:
        - New lead processing (event)
        - Daily outreach follow-ups
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Trigger not executing as scheduled">
    Check:

    * Trigger is enabled (not disabled)
    * Cron expression is correct
    * Timezone settings are accurate
    * Agent has necessary tools enabled
    * No conflicting triggers
    * View trigger execution history for errors
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Event trigger not firing">
    Verify:

    * Event source app is properly connected
    * Event filter configuration is correct
    * App permissions allow event monitoring
    * Event type is supported
    * Profile ID and trigger config are valid
    * Test with manual event if possible
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Trigger executes but produces errors">
    Review:

    * Agent has all required tools and integrations
    * Instructions are clear and executable
    * External services are accessible
    * Template variables have values
    * Check execution logs for specific errors
    * Test instructions manually first
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Template variables not substituting">
    Ensure:

    * Using correct {variable_name} syntax
    * Variable names match exactly (case-sensitive)
    * Values provided during trigger setup
    * No typos in variable names
    * Variables used in supported fields
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Too many trigger executions">
    Optimize:

    * Increase time between scheduled runs
    * Combine multiple triggers into one
    * Add filtering to event triggers
    * Use batch processing instead of real-time
    * Disable redundant triggers
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Triggers running at wrong time">
    Check:

    * Cron expression matches intended schedule
    * Timezone is set correctly
    * Daylight saving time considerations
    * Server time vs. local time
    * Use online cron calculator to verify
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Summary

You've successfully learned how to:

<Check>
  Create scheduled triggers with flexible cron expressions
</Check>

<Check>
  Set up event-based triggers that respond to real-world changes
</Check>

<Check>
  Use template variables to create reusable automation
</Check>

<Check>
  Manage, enable, disable, and delete triggers
</Check>

<Check>
  Build complex multi-stage automation workflows
</Check>

<Check>
  Apply best practices for reliable automation
</Check>

<Check>
  Troubleshoot common trigger issues
</Check>

<Check>
  Combine triggers with other Utari tools for powerful workflows
</Check>

Triggers & Automation transforms your Utari workers from on-demand assistants into autonomous agents that work continuously, monitoring conditions, responding to events, and executing tasks automatically—creating truly intelligent automation that adapts to your business needs.

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Agent Configuration" icon="sliders" href="/tools/agent-configuration">
    Configure agents optimized for automated execution
  </Card>

  <Card title="Data Providers" icon="database" href="/tools/data-providers">
    Automate data collection with scheduled triggers
  </Card>

  <Card title="Integrations" icon="plug" href="/integrations">
    Connect apps for event-based automation
  </Card>

  <Card title="Files and Folder" icon="folder" href="/tools/files-folder">
    Organize automated workflow outputs
  </Card>
</CardGroup>