---
title: "Triggers and connections"
description: "Start workflows automatically and connect external services."
canonical: https://ocho.bot/docs/flows/triggers-and-connections
last_updated: 2026-07-12
---

# Triggers and connections

> Start workflows automatically and connect external services.

## Triggers

Triggers are managed from the **Triggers** button in the editor toolbar. It opens a dialog titled **Triggers** — "Run this flow automatically when a record changes. Triggers arm on publish."

1. Click **Add trigger** (the dialog shows "No triggers yet." until you do). 2. Pick a **Source**:

- **Data Manager record** — choose the **Table** and the **On** event:

**Any change**, **Created**, **Updated**, or **Deleted**.

- **Library document** — choose a **Document type**: **Any**, **Document**,

or **Transcript**. The trigger fires when a matching library document      record is created or updated — library document triggers do not fire on      delete. 3. Click **Save triggers**.

Saved triggers only start firing once the workflow is **published** — that is what "Triggers arm on publish" means.

The Triggers dialog edits record-event triggers only. Other ways a workflow can start:

- **Manual run** — the **Run** button in the editor toolbar.
- **Schedule, webhook, and chat** triggers exist on the platform but have no

setup UI yet — they can only be added via the Copilot or the API. For   schedules, the cron expression is validated when you publish, and the   timezone defaults to UTC unless one is set in the trigger config.

## Connections

The **Connections** tab manages the external services Integration Call blocks can use.

> Who can do this: creating and managing connections requires the integration administrator role. Everyone can view them.

1. Click **New connection**. A **Choose a source** dialog lists the available    sources (Microsoft SharePoint, Notion, Google Drive, GitHub, Custom API —    scroll for the full list). 2. Synced sources (SharePoint, Notion, Google Drive, GitHub): the **Connect**    step shows a **Connection name** field prefilled with the source name —    adjust it if you like and click **Create**. No sign-in happens in this    wizard; connect the account afterwards with **Reconnect** on the    connection's detail page (or via the Integrations area). 3. **Custom API**: the **New Custom API connection** form asks for a    **Connection name**, the **Base URL** (the root URL of the API — requests    are made relative to it), an **Authentication** method (**None**, **Basic    (username / password)**, **API key**, or **Bearer token**) with the    matching credential fields, and an **OpenAPI spec** you upload or paste    (.json, .yaml, .yml) — Ocho reads the available operations from it.    **Create** stays disabled until name, URL, and spec are filled in; after    creation the dialog offers a **Test connection** button to confirm it    works.

Each connection card shows its verification status — **Verified**, **Error**, or **Unverified** — plus sync info where relevant. Click a card for its detail page: sync status tiles, a **See full sync history** link, and **Sync History** / **Synced Documents** tabs. Integration administrators also see **Test connection**, **Sync now**, **Reconnect**, and **Delete** buttons there. More detail in [Integrations](/docs/administration/integrations).

## Good to know

- Record-event triggers cover Data Manager records and library documents

(documents and transcripts) only. Data Manager triggers fire on created,   updated, and deleted; library document triggers fire on created and updated   only. The Triggers dialog cannot filter on a document state, but a state   filter (`on_state`, e.g. `indexed`) can be set via the Copilot or API.

- Triggers arm on publish: editing and saving triggers has no effect until

the workflow is published.

- Scheduled workflows run in UTC unless a timezone was set in the trigger

config — check this when results appear at unexpected hours.

All docs: https://ocho.bot/docs

---

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