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Triggers

⚡ Event-driven agents that connect your workflow to external systems.

✨ Philosophy

Workflows are powerful when they react to real-world events. Instead of waiting for user queries, Triggers let your stack act proactively—fetching, listening, and responding to signals from the outside world.

Think of a Trigger as the higher-order block that watches external systems (like Gmail, Slack, or APIs), then activates downstream workflows. Triggers bridge INTELLITHING’s reasoning with real-time events, turning passive apps into active, autonomous agents.

🔑 Key Definitions

  • Trigger – An agent block that detects events from an external system and initiates actions inside INTELLITHING.
  • Tool – A specific connector inside a Trigger (e.g., Gmail tool, Slack tool). Tools are what Triggers use to fetch data and perform actions.
  • Event – A condition in the external system (e.g., email_received, message_posted) that the Trigger listens for.
  • Capability – The set of actions the Trigger's tools can perform once an event is caught (e.g., save_artifacts, set_variable).
  • Variables – Data exposed by the Trigger's tools that can be reused throughout the workflow.

⚙️ Trigger Configuration

  1. Head to the block editor and drop a Trigger block.
  2. Click on the Trigger block to open the main configuration panel.
  3. Name the Trigger.
  4. Add tools by typing @ in the field labeled Type @ to get tools....
  5. A list of tools will appear—choose the one you want to add.
  6. A new entry with the triggers's name will be created.
  7. Click on the new entry to open the Extension Window, where you can configure the tool (e.g., by assigning a unique name, entering access tokens, etc.).

    ℹ️ Note: The name in the main prompt screen will now match the tool's configured name. This is essential for distinguishing between multiple tools with the same base type, as each tool requires a unique name.

  8. Save the tool configuration and either continue adding more tools or save the agent.

⚙️ How Triggers Work

When you add a Trigger to your workflow, INTELLITHING will:

  1. Discover the Trigger, given tools and their supported events.
  2. Poll or listen to the external system at intervals.
  3. Expose variables (like email subject, sender, or Slack message text).
  4. Activate actions when an event matches your workflow configuration.
  5. Emit outputs that can flow into downstream connectors connected via bridges.

🧩 Example Scenarios

Example 1 – Gmail as a tool in a Trigger block

  • Trigger: Gmail
  • Event: email_received
  • Workflow: Save attachments from certain senders and route them to Slack.

Flow:

Gmail Trigger (email_received)  
  → Bridge → SQL Agent  
  → Bridge → Slack Connector

Example 2 – Slack as a Trigger

  • Trigger: Slack
  • Event: message_posted
  • Workflow: Listen for #incident channel messages and launch a RAG search.

Flow:

Slack Trigger (message_posted)  
  → Bridge → RAG Block  
  → Bridge → Notion Connector

🛠️ Key Concepts in Practice

  • Events drive actions: Every Trigger starts with an external event.
  • Variables are reusable: Outputs (like {subject}, {filepath}, {from}) can be passed into any block.
  • Tools do the work: A Trigger may use multiple tools under the hood, but as a user, you only interact with the Trigger’s unified interface.
  • Bridges customize flow: You can forward Trigger outputs into any block, with optional formatting or business logic.

🔗 Relation to DSL

Triggers are configured with DSL rules that define when they activate and what actions they perform.

For details on writing and customizing Trigger rules, see: 👉 DSL Documentation

🧩 Parsing (Beta)

Every tool in INTELLITHING comes with its own capabilities, variables, types, and hints. To make working with them easier, the parser at the bottom of the tool’s rule configuration lets you create rules using natural language instead of learning the full syntax.

Here’s how it works:

  1. Review the tool’s documentation to understand its capabilities and variables.
  2. Type your desired rule in plain natural language.
  3. Click Parse.
  4. The system will generate a fully executable rule for you.

This means you don’t need to memorize each tool’s syntax. Instead, you can write naturally, and the parser will convert it into a valid, execution-ready rule.

💡 Tip: Use the parser to get started quickly, then fine-tune the generated rule if you need more control.

🛡️ Best Practices

  • Use Triggers for real-time responsiveness (e.g., alerts, monitoring, pipelines).
  • Keep Trigger rules focused and minimal — avoid unnecessary complexity.
  • Chain Triggers with Bridges for layered intelligence (e.g., Gmail → Slack → RAG).
  • Test Triggers with simulation mode before running them in production.
  • Prefer specific event filters (like sender = "ops\@...") to reduce noise.

📌 Summary

Triggers elevate workflows from reactive to proactive. They connect external systems to INTELLITHING, listen for events, and automatically activate downstream actions. With Triggers, you can:

  • Capture events (emails, messages, API updates).
  • Transform and enrich data using INTELLITHING agents.
  • Act instantly by routing outputs to Slack, Notion, GitHub, or any connected tool.

They are the heartbeat of automation in INTELLITHING—always on, always listening.