External triggers

External triggers let an outside service fire a Pilla workflow. When something happens in Slack, Shopify, Google Calendar, or another connected app, Pilla can spin up a workflow run automatically. This page explains how to set one up.

When to use an external trigger

Use an external trigger when the event that should start the workflow happens outside Pilla. Common examples:

• Someone reacts with a specific emoji to a message in Slack, like a flag in #ops, and you want a "follow up on this" workflow to fire
• A Shopify order arrives and you want a "pack and ship" workflow created for the warehouse team
• A Google Calendar event starts and you want a setup checklist to appear on mobile for the team running the event
• A new lead lands in your CRM and you want a qualification workflow created

External triggers are a Pro and Enterprise feature. On lower plans, the Run from external trigger option in the kind picker is disabled and shows an Upgrade to Pro hint.

What you need first

Before you set up an external trigger you need an active integration connection for the service. If Slack is not connected to your Pilla account, you cannot fire a workflow from Slack. Connect the service on the Integrations page first.

You also need to be on the Pro or Enterprise plan. If you are on Free or Standard, contact us about upgrading.

Set up an external trigger

The external trigger is set up from the trigger node at the top of the canvas, the same as the other kinds.

1. Open the workflow template on the canvas
2. Click the trigger node
3. Click the kind picker and choose Run from external trigger. If this option is greyed out, your plan does not include external triggers
4. Pick a Service from the dropdown. Only services that have working external triggers in Pilla appear in the list
5. Write a prompt in the Tell Poppi when to fire textarea. Describe in plain English what should fire the workflow, for example "Fire when a user reacts with the :white_check_mark: emoji to a message in #sales"
6. Wait about a second and a half after you stop typing. Poppi compiles your prompt into a structured filter
7. Check the compiled preview that appears below the textarea -- it should match what you wrote
8. Publish the template

After publishing, Pilla registers the trigger with the outside service. The next time the event happens, a new workflow run is created automatically.

The fields on the external trigger

The field descriptions are:

• Service (dropdown, required) -- the outside service that fires the workflow. Only services with active external triggers in Pilla appear here
• Tell Poppi when to fire (textarea, required) -- a plain English description of what should fire the workflow. Poppi reads this and works out the exact rules
• Compiled preview (read-only) -- shows what Poppi understood from your prompt. Read this to check it matches what you meant

What the compiled preview tells you

After you stop typing, Poppi reads your prompt and works out the exact rules. The preview shows the result.

You will see one of four states under the textarea:

• A spinner with Compiling... -- Poppi is still working on your prompt
• A green tick with the trigger name and any filters, like New message in channel with channel = #sales -- Poppi understood the prompt clearly. The trigger is ready to save
• An amber sparkle with Couldn't pin down the trigger -- try rephrasing? -- Poppi was not confident enough to save the trigger. Reword your prompt to be more specific (name the channel, the emoji, the exact event)
• A red alert -- something went wrong with the compile. The error text explains what

If the tick is green, your trigger is set. If the icon is amber or red, fix the prompt and wait for the compile to run again.

Which services support external triggers

The services with fully working external triggers are listed in the Service dropdown. Right now the list is short and intentional -- we are rolling services out one at a time so each one is reliable before it ships.

Slack is the service we have validated end to end. Other services like Google Calendar and Shopify will be added once we have confirmed their external triggers work the same way. If a service is not in the dropdown yet, it is not gone -- it just is not finished.

Disconnected services

If you used to have a service connected and you set up an external trigger from it, then later disconnected the service, the trigger node will show a red "orphaned" border. The template still exists but it will not fire because there is no connection to listen on.

To fix it:

1. Open the Integrations page from the sidebar
2. Reconnect the service
3. Open the workflow template on the canvas
4. The orphaned border clears and the trigger fires again

If you intend to keep the service disconnected, change the trigger kind to manual or scheduled instead.

Tips

• Start by writing your prompt the way you would explain it to a teammate. Poppi is reading it like a person, not parsing keywords -- "fire when a customer leaves a 1-star review" is fine
• Be specific about the channel, emoji, or filter you mean. "Fire on a Slack reaction" is vague; "Fire when a user reacts with :rotating_light: in #ops" is clear
• If the green tick keeps refusing to appear, look at the compiled preview's amber hint -- it usually tells you which detail Poppi could not pin down
• External triggers run under the connecting user's identity. Posts back to Slack, calendar events, and anything else the workflow does in the outside service appear as the person who connected the integration, not as a Pilla bot
• One workflow template can have only one external trigger. If you need the same workflow to fire from both Slack and Shopify, build two templates with the same body