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Integration Trigger

Start workflows automatically when events occur in your connected applications.

Overview

The Integration Trigger connects your workflows to real-time events from your connected applications. When something happens in Slack, your CRM, your inbox, or any other integrated service, your workflow springs into action automatically.

When to Use Integration Trigger

Perfect for:

  • New Slack or Microsoft Teams messages in specific channels
  • Emails received in Gmail or Outlook
  • Calendar events created or starting soon
  • New files or folders added in Google Drive
  • CRM record changes (new leads, deals, contacts)
  • Project management updates (new Jira issues, Planner tasks)

Not ideal for:

  • Custom API integrations (use Webhook Trigger)
  • Scheduled recurring tasks (use Scheduled Trigger)
  • User-submitted forms (use Form Trigger)

Configuration

Step 1: Select Integration

Choose from your workspace's connected integrations. The following integrations support event-based triggers:

  • Communication: Slack, Microsoft Teams, Gmail, Outlook Email
  • Productivity: Notion, Jira, Confluence, Microsoft Planner
  • Storage: Google Drive
  • CRM: Salesforce, HubSpot
  • Calendar: Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar, Calendly
  • Developer: GitHub
  • Other: Stripe, Ashby, Microsoft Power BI

Step 2: Choose Event Type

Each integration offers specific trigger events:

Slack

  • New message in channel
  • New message in conversations (DMs and group chats)
  • New message matching a search
  • New reaction in channel

Microsoft Teams

  • New channel message
  • New chat message
  • New channel mention
  • New meeting transcript

Gmail

  • New email
  • New email matching search
  • Label changed on email

Outlook Email

  • New email
  • New email matching search
  • New email in specific folder
  • New email in shared inbox
  • New email in shared mailbox folder

Google Calendar / Outlook Calendar

  • New event
  • New event matching search
  • Event start (Google Calendar only)

Google Drive

  • New file
  • Updated file
  • New folder

Salesforce

  • New lead
  • New contact
  • New account
  • New opportunity

HubSpot

  • New deal
  • New form submission
  • New note
  • Contact added to list

Jira

  • New issue
  • Updated issue

GitHub

  • New pull request
  • Pull request merged
  • New issue
  • New commit
  • New release
  • Changes in path

Stripe

  • Payment succeeded
  • Payment failed
  • New subscription
  • Subscription canceled
  • New invoice

Step 3: Configure Event Filters

Narrow down which events trigger your workflow:

For Slack:

  • Specific channels or conversations
  • Messages matching a search query
  • Specific reaction emoji

For Email (Gmail / Outlook):

  • Search criteria (sender, subject, content)
  • Specific labels (Gmail) or folders (Outlook)

For Calendar:

  • Specific calendar
  • Events matching a search

For Drive:

  • Specific parent folder
  • File type filters

Step 4: Configure Trigger Parameters

Some triggers require additional parameters to function correctly. These parameters vary depending on the specific trigger you've selected.

Common parameter types:

  • Channel/folder selection: Specify which channel, folder, or container to monitor
  • Filter criteria: Keywords, labels, or categories to filter events
  • Polling intervals: How frequently to check for new events (for polling-based triggers)

The required parameters are displayed in the trigger configuration panel after you select an event type.

Step 5: Connect Account

Some integrations require an authenticated connection to access your data. When an integration requires a connection, you'll need to:

  1. Click "Connect Account"
  2. Authorize ajan to access the integration
  3. Select the specific account (if multiple)
  4. Grant necessary permissions

Example Use Cases

Slack → Ticket Creation

text
Integration Trigger (New message in #support channel)
→ Agent: Extract issue details from message
→ Action: Create JIRA ticket
→ Action: Reply in Slack thread with ticket number

CRM → Lead Processing

text
Integration Trigger (New lead in Salesforce)
→ HTTP Request: Enrich lead data from external API
→ Agent: Score lead quality
→ Condition: Check score
  → High: Notify sales team
  → Low: Add to nurture campaign
→ Action: Update lead with score and status

Gmail → Document Processing

text
Integration Trigger (New email with attachment)
→ Agent: Extract and summarize document content
→ Action: Save summary to Google Drive
→ Action: Create task in project management tool
→ Action: Reply to email confirming receipt

Calendar → Meeting Prep

text
Integration Trigger (Event starting in 1 hour)
→ HTTP Request: Fetch meeting context from CRM
→ Agent: Generate meeting brief
→ Action: Send Slack message to attendees
→ Action: Create Google Doc with meeting notes template

Drive → Content Approval

text
Integration Trigger (New file in "Pending Approval" folder)
→ Agent: Review content against guidelines
→ Condition: Check approval recommendation
  → Approved: Move to "Published" folder
  → Needs Changes: Send feedback to creator
→ Notification: Alert stakeholders of decision

Accessing Integration Data

Use the trigger variable to access event data:

Example: Gmail Event Data

handlebars
Subject: {{trigger.output.subject}}
From: {{trigger.output.from}}
Body: {{trigger.output.body}}
Has Attachments: {{trigger.output.has_attachments}}
Labels: {{trigger.output.labels}}

Testing Integration Triggers

Test Panel

  1. Click on the Integration Trigger node
  2. Click "Test" in the toolbar
  3. View recent events from the integration
  4. Select an event to test with
  5. Run the workflow with that event's data

Trigger Real Events

The best way to test:

  1. Manually create the event in the integration
    • Send a Slack message
    • Send yourself an email
    • Create a calendar event
  2. Wait for the event to trigger (usually within seconds)
  3. Check the Runs tab for execution
  4. Review the workflow results

Common Integration Patterns

Bidirectional Sync

text
Integration Trigger (HubSpot deal updated)
→ Code: Transform data
→ HTTP Request: Update external system
→ Condition: Check if update successful
  → Success: Update note on the deal
  → Failure: Notify admin

Best Practices

Use integration filters to only trigger on relevant events. Processing every Slack message is expensive and slow.

Some integrations may send duplicate events. Add logic to detect and skip duplicates using unique IDs.

Integration permissions can expire. Set up alerts for authentication failures.

Don't just use test data - trigger real events in the integration and verify your workflow handles them correctly.

If an integration event happens frequently (e.g., many Slack messages), consider adding conditions to prevent overwhelming your workflow.

Store original event data early in the workflow in case you need to reference it later.

Next Steps