When a Trigger Fires: Understanding the Agentic Workflow Lifecycle

In the world of automation, the "if this, then that" model is a familiar starting point. But modern business processes are rarely that simple. A new order isn't just a single event; it's the start of a cascade involving inventory checks, fulfillment logistics, customer notifications, and financial reconciliation. To manage this complexity, you need more than a simple webhook receiver—you need an orchestration platform.

At Triggers.do, we believe that an event is just the beginning. The real power lies in what happens next. A trigger isn't just a switch; it's the intelligent entry point to a sophisticated, automated lifecycle.

So, what exactly happens when a trigger fires? Let's break down the journey from a single event to a fully-orchestrated agentic workflow.

The Anatomy of a Trigger

Before we dive into the lifecycle, let's quickly recap what a trigger is in the Triggers.do ecosystem. It’s not just a URL endpoint; it's a declarative object that defines the precise conditions for starting a process. This "Business-as-Code" approach gives you clarity and control.

A trigger consists of a few key parts:

• event & source: The specific event you're listening for (e.g., order.created) and where it comes from (e.g., stripe-webhook).
• filter: The crucial conditional logic that decides if the event is significant enough to act upon.
• handler: The function that runs when the event passes the filter, responsible for initiating the subsequent workflow.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

import { Trigger } from 'triggers.do';

const newOrderTrigger = new Trigger({
  name: 'New High-Value Order',
  description: 'Triggers a fulfillment workflow for new orders over $100.',
  event: 'order.created',
  source: 'stripe-webhook',
  filter: {
    condition: 'event.data.amount > 100',
    priority: 'high'
  },
  handler: async (event) => {
    // Initiate the 'order-processing' workflow with event data
    console.log(`Starting workflow for order: ${event.data.orderId}`);
    return {
      workflow: 'order-processing',
      input: event.data
    };
  }
});

This trigger doesn't just fire on any new order. It specifically looks for high-value orders, demonstrating the immediate power of declarative logic.

The Lifecycle: LISTEN. FILTER. EXECUTE.

When an event matching the source and event name arrives, it kicks off a three-phase lifecycle. This structured process is the core of our reliable event-driven automation platform.

Phase 1: LISTEN (Event Ingestion)

This is the frontline. An event occurs somewhere in your digital ecosystem. It could be:

• A webhook notification from a third-party service like Stripe or GitHub.
• A direct API call to a Triggers.do endpoint.
• A message arriving in a message queue like Kafka or RabbitMQ.
• A scheduled cron job firing at a specific time.

Triggers.do's robust ingestion layer listens for these signals, securely receives the payload, and prepares it for the next stage. This separation ensures that even during massive traffic spikes, no event is lost.

Phase 2: FILTER (Applying Intelligent Logic)

This is where Triggers.do truly shines and differentiates itself from simple webhook handlers. The ingested event isn't immediately acted upon. Instead, it’s passed through the declarative filter you defined.

Using the example above, the filter event.data.amount > 100 is evaluated.

• If the condition is met (the order amount is, say, $150), the event proceeds to the next phase.
• If the condition is not met (the order is $50), the process stops here. The event is acknowledged and logged, but no workflow is wastefully executed.

This filtering step is critical for Business Process Automation. It prevents system noise, reduces operational costs, and ensures your complex, resource-intensive workflows only run when they absolutely need to. You can create highly specific rules, checking customer tiers, product SKUs, geolocations, or any other data in the event payload.

Phase 3: EXECUTE (Workflow Initiation)

Once an event passes the filter, the trigger officially "fires." This invokes the handler function.

The handler's primary job is not to perform the business logic, but to orchestrate it. It acts as a bridge, preparing the necessary data and formally initiating one or more agentic workflows.

As seen in our example code, the handler returns an object specifying which workflow to run (order-processing) and what data to pass to it (input: event.data). This handoff is the final step in the trigger's lifecycle and the first step in the workflow's journey.

Beyond the Trigger: The Agentic Workflow Takes Over

The trigger's job is done, but the automation has just begun. The order-processing workflow is now active and managed by the Triggers.do orchestration engine.

This agentic workflow can now perform a series of complex, stateful operations:

1. Check product inventory in a database.
2. Call a shipping provider's API to get a label.
3. Send a branded confirmation email to the customer via an email service.
4. Update the order status in your CRM.
5. If an error occurs at any step, trigger a built-in retry mechanism or alert a human operator.

By decoupling the triggering logic from the workflow logic, you gain immense flexibility, maintainability, and observability over your entire business process.

Start Building Your Event-Driven Future

Understanding the trigger lifecycle reveals the power of a true orchestration platform. It’s a move from reactive, brittle webhook scripts to a proactive, reliable system for event-driven automation. You define the rules, and Triggers.do handles the complex orchestration of listening, filtering, and executing.

Ready to move beyond simple API triggers and empower your business with intelligent, automated workflows?

Explore Triggers.do and see how a declarative, code-first approach to event orchestration can transform your business processes.