# Triggers

Triggers are Valohai's native automation feature. They launch specific, pre-configured workloads when given conditions are met, no custom code required.

Triggers can launch executions, pipelines, fetch repository updates, and more.

## Why Use Triggers?

**Secure by default:** Built-in authentication with flexible options (HMAC, JWT, static tokens)

**No infrastructure needed:** No servers to maintain, no polling loops, no message queues

**Rate limiting included:** Protect against accidental runaway costs

**Visual configuration:** Set up complex automation through the Valohai UI

**Audit trail:** Every trigger launch is logged for debugging and compliance

## Three Types of Triggers

### Scheduled Triggers

Run workloads on a recurring calendar schedule or cron expression.

**Use cases:**

* Retrain models nightly with fresh data
* Generate weekly performance reports
* Run batch predictions every hour
* Archive old datasets on the first of each month

[**Learn about Scheduled Triggers →**](/automation-overview/triggers/scheduled-triggers.md)

***

### Notification Triggers

Launch workloads automatically when Valohai events occur.

**Use cases:**

* Process new dataset versions as soon as they're uploaded
* Deploy models immediately after approval
* Trigger validation when training completes

**Supported events:**

* Dataset version created
* Model latest approved version changes
* Execution/pipeline status changes
* And more...

[**Learn about Notification Triggers →**](/automation-overview/triggers/notification-triggers.md)

***

### Webhook Triggers

Receive HTTP requests from external services to launch workloads on demand.

**Use cases:**

* Trigger from Slack commands (`/train-model`)
* Auto-fetch and run when code is pushed to GitHub
* Process images when labeling is complete (V7, Label Studio)
* Respond to custom application events
* Integrate with CI/CD pipelines

**Supports industry-standard authentication:**

* Hash-based Message Authentication Code (HMAC)
* JSON Web Tokens (JWT)
* Static secret tokens
* Timestamp validation for replay attack protection

[**Learn about Webhook Triggers →**](/automation-overview/triggers/webhooks.md)

***

## How Triggers Work

Every trigger has two components:

### 1. Conditions (When to Launch)

Conditions validate whether the trigger should fire. All conditions must pass for the trigger to launch.

**Schedule conditions:**

* Cron expressions for flexible scheduling
* Simple recurring options (daily, weekdays, monthly)

**Webhook conditions:**

* Authentication (verify the request is legitimate)
* Timestamp validation (prevent replay attacks)
* Rate limiting (prevent excessive launches)
* Payload filtering (only trigger for specific events)

**Notification conditions:**

* Payload filtering (only trigger for specific datasets/models)

### 2. Actions (What to Launch)

Actions define what happens when all conditions pass.

**Available actions:**

* Run an execution
* Run a pipeline
* Copy a pipeline
* Fetch repository updates
* Return custom webhook responses

You can chain multiple actions in a single trigger.

***

## Common Patterns

### Pattern: Scheduled Training Pipeline

**Goal:** Retrain your model every night at 2 AM UTC

**Setup:**

1. Create trigger with type "Scheduled"
2. Add condition: Cron schedule `0 2 * * *`
3. Add action: Run pipeline "nightly-training"
4. Save trigger

**Result:** Pipeline launches automatically every night. No manual intervention needed.

***

### Pattern: Auto-Process New Data

**Goal:** When a dataset version is created, automatically run preprocessing

**Setup:**

1. Create trigger with type "Notification"
2. Add action: Run pipeline "data-preprocessing"
3. Configure payload input to receive dataset version URI
4. In notifications settings, route "dataset version created" events to this trigger
5. Save trigger

**Result:** Upload data → pipeline launches automatically → processed data ready for training.

***

### Pattern: Slack-Triggered Inference

**Goal:** Team members can trigger inference from Slack with `/predict <image-url>`

**Setup:**

1. Create Slack app with slash command
2. Create trigger with type "Webhook"
3. Add authentication condition (HMAC with Slack signing secret)
4. Add action: Run pipeline "inference"
5. Configure pipeline to receive image URL from Slack payload
6. Point Slack slash command URL to trigger webhook URL

**Result:** Type `/predict https://...` in Slack → inference runs → results posted back to Slack.

***

## Trigger Management

**Create triggers:** Project Settings → Triggers → Create Trigger

**Monitor trigger launches:** Project Settings → Triggers → ... menu → View Logs

**Debug failed triggers:** Check trigger logs for condition failures and action errors

**Disable temporarily:** Edit trigger and uncheck "Enabled"

{% hint style="info" %}
Triggers that repeatedly fail will auto-disable to prevent spam. Re-enable them after fixing the issue.
{% endhint %}

***

## Triggers vs. REST API

Not sure whether to use triggers or the REST API? Here's a quick comparison:

| Feature              | Triggers                  | REST API                  |
| -------------------- | ------------------------- | ------------------------- |
| **Setup complexity** | Visual UI configuration   | Write custom code         |
| **Authentication**   | Built-in options          | You implement it          |
| **Rate limiting**    | Included                  | You implement it          |
| **Event source**     | Valohai + webhooks        | Anywhere                  |
| **Flexibility**      | Pre-configured actions    | Full programmatic control |
| **Use when...**      | Standard automation needs | Custom integrations       |

{% hint style="info" %}
You can combine both! Use triggers for common patterns, and the REST API when you need custom logic that triggers don't support.
{% endhint %}

***

## Next Steps

1. **New to triggers?** Start with [Scheduled Triggers](/automation-overview/triggers/scheduled-triggers.md) for the simplest automation
2. **Need event-driven workflows?** Explore [Notification Triggers](/automation-overview/triggers/notification-triggers.md)
3. **Building integrations?** Check out [Webhook Triggers](/automation-overview/triggers/webhooks.md)


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