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Trigger nodes are special nodes responsible for executing workflows in response to specific conditions. Trigger nodes are activated when the current workflow is updated or activated, or when a digital expert instance is started or restarted. You can use trigger nodes to notify when these events occur.

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The role of triggers in workflows

Triggers determine “who” sends input into the Digital Expert workflow and “when” it happens. A single Digital Expert can bind different types of triggers to cover different business entry points. Typical entry points include:
  • Chat Trigger: User input from the in-platform chat interface.
  • Lark Trigger: Input from Lark message events.
  • Schedule Trigger: System input from Cron-based scheduled tasks.
After receiving input, triggers inject data into workflow state, and then downstream nodes (Agent, tool invocation, knowledge retrieval, etc.) continue processing.

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Trigger lifecycle

Triggers typically include three phases:
  1. validate: Check whether trigger configuration is complete and valid.
  2. publish: Register trigger capabilities when publishing or activating a workflow (such as registering callbacks or creating scheduled jobs).
  3. stop: Release resources when disabling a workflow (such as deleting scheduled jobs or unbinding external integrations).
Recovery strategy after system restart may vary by trigger type:
  • replay_publish: Replay publish logic to restore trigger capability automatically.
  • skip: Skip auto-recovery and continue through runtime events or external systems.

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Chat Trigger Node

When building AI workflows for chatbots and other chat interfaces, use the chat trigger node.

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Node Parameters

A list of parameters for defining a pre-input form for the digital expert conversation interface, allowing users to enter necessary information before starting the conversation.
  • How a Digital Expert connects to different conversation channels via triggers: Chat Channels
  • Trigger plugin implementation details (including Lark and Schedule): Plugin Trigger