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Create a Trigger

Set up automatic workflow execution using cron schedule triggers. Triggers fire on a recurring schedule and start a new workflow run each time.

Prerequisites​

  • A workflow with at least one stage and agent assignments (see Add Stages)
  • The workflow must not have "Awaits User Input" enabled (triggers cannot prompt for input)

Steps​

1. Open the Runs & Triggers tab​

Navigate to your workflow and click the Runs & Triggers tab (tab 2). The top section shows trigger cards; the bottom section shows run history.

Runs & Triggers tab

2. Click "New Trigger"​

Click the New Trigger button. A new trigger card appears with a form to configure the schedule.

3. Name the trigger​

Give the trigger a descriptive name that reflects its schedule purpose (e.g., "Daily Morning Run", "Weekly Report", "Hourly Check").

4. Enter a schedule​

Type a schedule in the Schedule field. You can use either format:

Natural language:

  • every day at 9am
  • every Monday at 2:30pm
  • every 6 hours
  • first day of the month at midnight

Cron expressions:

  • 0 9 * * * (daily at 9:00 AM)
  • 0 14 * * 1 (Mondays at 2:00 PM)
  • 0 */6 * * * (every 6 hours)
  • 0 0 1 * * (first of the month at midnight)

ORQO uses the Fugit parser, which understands both natural language descriptions and standard cron syntax.

tip

Natural language schedules are converted to cron expressions automatically. The original description is preserved and displayed alongside the cron expression for readability.

5. Set the timezone​

Select a timezone from the dropdown. The trigger fires according to the selected timezone. Defaults to UTC if not specified.

6. Set optional date bounds​

You can constrain when the trigger is active:

  • Starts at -- The trigger does not fire before this date/time
  • Ends at -- The trigger stops firing after this date/time

Leave both blank for an indefinitely recurring trigger.

7. Enable the trigger​

Toggle the Enabled switch to activate the trigger. Disabled triggers are saved but do not fire.

info

Enabling a trigger on a workflow that has "Awaits User Input" turned on will fail validation. Disable user input prompting on the workflow first, or use manual runs for workflows that need task descriptions.

8. Save the trigger​

Click Save. The trigger card updates to show the human-readable schedule, timezone, next fire time, and enabled status.

9. View the trigger in the Visual Builder​

Switch to the Visual tab. Trigger nodes appear at the top of the canvas as rectangular cards with a clock icon, the trigger name, and a green or gray status dot indicating enabled/disabled state. A dashed link connects each trigger to the first stage.

10. Create a trigger via drag-and-drop (alternative)​

In the Visual Builder, drag a Cron Schedule card from the Triggers section of the sidebar palette onto the canvas. This creates a new trigger and opens the trigger drawer for configuration.

11. Common schedule patterns​

ScheduleCronUse case
every day at 9am0 9 * * *Daily reports, morning digests
every hour0 * * * *Monitoring, polling checks
every Monday at 8am0 8 * * 1Weekly summaries
every 15 minutes*/15 * * * *Frequent data syncs
first day of the month0 0 1 * *Monthly aggregations

What's next​

Learn more​