> ## 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.
# Create and Manage Triggers
> Learn how to automate your Utari workers with scheduled and event-based triggers to streamline workflows and execute tasks automatically without manual intervention.
## Overview
Triggers enable you to automate your Utari workers by scheduling them to run at specific times or in response to events. This powerful automation capability allows your workers to perform tasks daily, hourly, or on custom schedules—completely hands-free. Whether you need daily reports, regular monitoring, or event-driven responses, triggers make it possible.
## Types of Triggers
Utari supports two types of triggers for different automation needs:
Execute workers on a time-based schedule—daily, hourly, weekly, or custom intervals
Activate workers automatically when specific events occur in connected apps
This guide focuses on schedule triggers. Event-based triggers documentation is coming soon.
## Where to Create Triggers
You can create triggers from two locations in Utari:
### Option 1: Within the Worker
Navigate to the worker you want to automate.
Click on the **Triggers** tab within the worker's configuration.
Click **Create new** to start configuring a trigger for this specific worker.
### Option 2: From Triggers Tab
Go to the main **Triggers** tab in your Utari dashboard.
Click **Add new trigger** to create a trigger.
Choose which worker this trigger should activate.
Both methods achieve the same result. Use the worker-specific method when configuring a single worker, or the main Triggers tab when managing multiple trigger workflows.
## Creating a Schedule Trigger
Let's create a schedule trigger step by step:
Choose **Schedule Trigger** from the available trigger types.
Choose the worker that will be activated by this trigger. Make sure the worker has all necessary tools and integrations configured.
Provide a clear, descriptive name for the trigger (e.g., "Daily AI News Research" or "Weekly Report Generation").
Optionally, add a description to document the trigger's purpose.
Click **Set schedule and timing** to choose when the trigger runs. You have several options:
**Quick Options:**
* Every minute
* Every 5 minutes
* Every 15 minutes
* Every 30 minutes
* Every hour
* Daily at 9 AM (default)
**Recurring Schedules:**
* Daily (choose specific time)
* Weekly (choose day and time)
* Monthly (choose date and time)
**One-Time:**
* Execute once at a specific date and time
**Advanced:**
* Custom cron expressions for complex schedules
**Critical Step**: Adjust the time zone to match your preferred location. The trigger will execute based on the selected time zone.
For example, if you set "Daily at 9 AM" with Mountain Time, it will run at 9 AM Mountain Time every day.
Click **Choose execution method** to proceed to defining what the worker will do.
Write clear, specific instructions for what the agent should do when triggered. This is the prompt the worker will execute.
**Example:**
```
Use the browser tool to research the top 10 AI news stories from today, then create a summary document and save it in the "Daily News Briefs" folder.
```
Be as specific as possible about:
* What tools to use
* What information to gather
* What output to create
* Where to save results
Click **Create schedule task** to activate your trigger.
## Schedule Configuration Options
### Quick Schedules
Pre-configured intervals for common use cases:
Executes 1,440 times per day
**Use for:**
* Real-time monitoring
* High-frequency data collection
* Urgent alert systems
Executes 288 times per day
**Use for:**
* Frequent status checks
* Regular data updates
* Near-real-time reporting
Executes 96 times per day
**Use for:**
* Periodic monitoring
* Regular data synchronization
* Moderate-frequency updates
Executes 24 times per day
**Use for:**
* Hourly reports
* Regular content aggregation
* Scheduled data processing
Executes once per day
**Use for:**
* Daily reports and summaries
* Morning briefings
* Daily content creation
* Overnight processing
### Recurring Schedules
```text Daily theme={null}
Run every day at a specific time
Example: Every day at 6:00 PM
```
```text Weekly theme={null}
Run on specific days of the week
Example: Every Monday and Friday at 10:00 AM
```
```text Monthly theme={null}
Run on specific dates each month
Example: 1st and 15th of every month at 2:00 PM
```
### Advanced Scheduling
For complex schedules, use cron expressions:
```text theme={null}
0 9 * * 1-5 # Every weekday at 9 AM
0 */4 * * * # Every 4 hours
0 0 1 * * # First day of every month at midnight
30 14 * * 0 # Every Sunday at 2:30 PM
```
Cron expressions give you precise control over scheduling but require understanding cron syntax. Use online cron generators if needed.
## Writing Effective Trigger Instructions
The instructions you provide determine what your worker does when triggered. Follow these best practices:
### Be Specific and Clear
❌ **Vague Instructions:**
```text theme={null}
Research AI news
```
✅ **Specific Instructions:**
```text theme={null}
Use the web search tool to find the top 10 AI news stories published today. For each story, extract the headline, source, and a brief summary. Create a document with all findings and save it in "Daily Briefings/AI News/[DATE]" folder.
```
### Include All Necessary Steps
```text theme={null}
1. Search for "AI industry news today" using web search
2. Visit the top 5 results and capture screenshots
3. Extract key points from each article
4. Compile findings into a formatted report
5. Save the report as "AI News Digest - [DATE].docx" in the Reports folder
6. Send a Slack message to #team-updates with a summary
```
### Specify Tools and Resources
```text theme={null}
Using the browser tool and image vision tool, visit competitor websites [URL1, URL2, URL3], take screenshots of their homepages, analyze design changes since last week, and create a comparison document.
```
### Define Output Requirements
```text theme={null}
Create a spreadsheet with columns: Date, Source, Headline, Category, Sentiment. Populate with today's findings and save to Google Sheets "News Tracker" document.
```
## Managing Triggers
Once created, triggers appear in your triggers list with management options:
### View Trigger Status
Trigger is running on schedule
Trigger is temporarily disabled
Last execution encountered an error
### Trigger Actions
From the triggers list, you can:
Click on a trigger to see its configuration, schedule, and execution history.
Click the **edit icon** to modify:
* Schedule timing
* Time zone
* Instructions
* Worker selection
Click the **pause button** to temporarily disable the trigger without deleting it. Resume when needed.
Click the **delete icon** to permanently remove the trigger.
Review past executions to see:
* Execution timestamps
* Success/failure status
* Generated outputs
* Error logs (if any)
## Common Trigger Use Cases
### Daily Reporting
**Schedule:** Daily at 7:00 AM
**Instructions:**
```
Search for overnight news in our industry, create a 5-point executive summary, and email it to the leadership team before their 8 AM standup.
```
### Regular Monitoring
**Schedule:** Every Monday at 10:00 AM
**Instructions:**
```
Visit competitor websites, take screenshots of their pricing pages, compare against our prices, and create a weekly competitive analysis report in the "Market Intelligence" folder.
```
### Content Automation
**Schedule:** Every day at 9:00 AM, 1:00 PM, and 5:00 PM
**Instructions:**
```
Using our content calendar from Google Sheets, create today's scheduled social media posts, generate accompanying images, and save drafts in the "Social Content/Ready to Post" folder.
```
### Data Processing
**Schedule:** Daily at 11:59 PM
**Instructions:**
```
Access today's data from Google Analytics integration, compile key metrics (traffic, conversions, top pages), create a daily dashboard update, and save to "Analytics/Daily Reports/[DATE]".
```
### Task Management
**Schedule:** Every Friday at 4:00 PM
**Instructions:**
```
Review all tasks in Asana completed this week, create a team accomplishments summary, and post it to the #wins Slack channel.
```
### Reminders and Follow-ups
**Schedule:** Every weekday at 9:00 AM
**Instructions:**
```
Check Gmail for unanswered emails older than 3 days, create a priority list, and send a Slack DM with follow-up reminders.
```
## Best Practices
Run your worker manually with the same instructions before creating the trigger to ensure it works correctly
Begin with basic triggers and gradually add complexity as you understand the system better
Watch the first few executions closely to catch any issues early
Name triggers clearly so you can identify their purpose at a glance
Don't over-schedule. Choose the minimum frequency needed for your use case
Use the description field to explain why the trigger exists and what it accomplishes
Double-check time zone settings to ensure triggers run when you expect
Consider what happens if a trigger fails and have a backup plan
## Troubleshooting
Check:
* Trigger status is "Active" not "Paused"
* Schedule settings are correct
* Time zone is set properly
* Worker has all required tools and integrations
* Instructions are valid and clear
* View execution history for error messages
Verify:
* Time zone setting matches your location
* Schedule configuration is correct (AM vs PM)
* Daylight saving time considerations
* Server time vs local time differences
Review:
* Execution history for specific error messages
* Worker has necessary permissions for all tools
* Instructions are properly formatted
* External services (integrations) are accessible
* Test the same instructions manually
Improve by:
* Making instructions more specific and detailed
* Breaking complex tasks into steps
* Specifying exact output format and location
* Testing instructions manually first
* Adding error handling instructions
Try:
* Pausing the trigger first
* Refreshing the page
* Checking your permissions
* Waiting for current execution to complete
* Contact support if issue persists
Consider:
* Reducing trigger frequency
* Making worker tasks more efficient
* Consolidating multiple triggers
* Pausing unnecessary triggers
* Using one-time triggers for testing
## Advanced Trigger Strategies
### Chained Workflows
Create multiple triggers that work together:
```text theme={null}
Trigger 1 (Daily 6 AM): Collect data from multiple sources
Trigger 2 (Daily 7 AM): Process and analyze collected data
Trigger 3 (Daily 8 AM): Generate and distribute reports
```
### Conditional Execution
Include conditional logic in instructions:
```text theme={null}
Check if today is the first Monday of the month. If yes, generate the monthly executive report. If no, generate the standard daily brief.
```
### Multi-Step Automation
```text theme={null}
1. Morning (7 AM): Gather overnight data
2. Midday (12 PM): Create progress update
3. Afternoon (4 PM): Prepare end-of-day summary
4. Evening (6 PM): Send comprehensive daily report
```
## Summary
You've successfully learned how to:
Understand the two types of triggers (schedule and event-based)
Create and configure scheduled triggers with precise timing
Set appropriate time zones for accurate execution
Write effective instructions for automated worker execution
Manage, edit, pause, and delete triggers as needed
Apply best practices for reliable automation
Troubleshoot common trigger issues
Triggers transform your Utari workers from on-demand assistants into fully automated team members that work around the clock, executing tasks precisely when needed without any manual intervention.
## Next Steps
Optimize workers for trigger-based execution
Connect apps for more powerful triggered workflows
Combine triggers with task management for complex workflows
Organize outputs from triggered executions