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An external trigger listens for events from another service, such as a new Gmail message, a Google Forms response, a Microsoft Outlook message, or a TidyCal booking. The trigger’s account and settings describe the event source. When the provider sends an event, WorkflowDog converts it into one or more workflow runs.

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Configure an external trigger

1

Choose the trigger

Create a workflow and choose the provider event that should start it.
2

Connect an account

Open Configure Trigger, select a healthy integration account, and approve any required permissions.
3

Set the event filters

Choose the mailbox, label, form, or other trigger-specific source. See that trigger’s reference page for its exact fields.
4

Save and verify the source

Wait for the trigger configuration to finish updating. WorkflowDog creates or adopts the required provider subscription during configuration.
5

Enable and test

Set the workflow Live, send a new provider event, and inspect the resulting run.
External event sources are configured even while the workflow is Paused. Live or Paused controls run eligibility; it is not the switch that creates or removes the provider subscription.

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How subscriptions are reused

WorkflowDog creates a deterministic identity for each logical event source. If multiple workflows need the same underlying source, they can share one provider subscription instead of creating duplicates. For example, two workflows can listen to different event types delivered by the same account-backed provider subscription. WorkflowDog tracks which workflow and trigger type should receive each event. This sharing affects cleanup:
  • Changing one workflow removes only the source relationship it no longer needs.
  • If another workflow still uses the source, the provider subscription stays active.
  • If no workflow uses it, WorkflowDog cleans up the external resource and deletes the source.

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Change trigger configuration

Saving a new trigger configuration performs a reconciliation:
  1. WorkflowDog derives the event sources required by the new settings.
  2. It creates or adopts those sources.
  3. It removes obsolete relationships from the workflow.
  4. It tears down an obsolete provider subscription only when nothing else uses it.
This is why account and source changes should be made through Configure Trigger instead of by editing raw workflow data. After a material change, send a new event that matches the new configuration. Changing the source does not replay events that occurred under the old configuration.

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Pause without removing the subscription

When a workflow is Paused, external subscriptions continue receiving events. Each attempted run is recorded as Failed with The workflow is paused and is not queued for later. Use Paused for temporary execution control. If you need the provider subscription itself removed, change the trigger configuration, disconnect the account, or delete the workflow. Read Enable and pause workflows for scheduled run behavior and other pause caveats.

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Reconnect an account-backed trigger

Provider credentials can expire, be revoked, or lose permissions. WorkflowDog marks an account unhealthy when it can no longer use it and notifies Editors of projects linked to that account. Reconnecting updates the credentials and starts best-effort background recovery for account-backed event sources. A source that needs fresh setup is torn down and recreated while preserving the workflows and event types that used it.
Recovery is asynchronous and is not a guarantee that events missed during an account or provider outage will be replayed. After reconnecting, verify the trigger and send a new event.
If a provider renewal worker exhausts its retries, the event source is marked unhealthy. A later setup or account-recovery cycle can rebuild it from scratch.

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Disconnect an account

Disconnecting an account from a project clears matching account values from trigger configurations. WorkflowDog processes those trigger updates normally, so obsolete event-source links and unused provider subscriptions are cleaned up. Before disconnecting:
  1. Connect the replacement account.
  2. Pause workflows that can cause side effects.
  3. Reconfigure every trigger that uses the old account.
  4. Send a test event through the replacement.
  5. Disconnect the old account.
The Integrations page’s Swap Accounts tool does not update trigger configurations. See Integrations.

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Delete workflows and projects

Deleting a workflow removes its event-source relationships. Shared sources stay active for other workflows; unshared sources are cleaned up. Deleting a project cleans up event sources for its workflows before the project and its data are deleted.

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Operate triggers reliably

  • Use a dedicated service account when employee access may change.
  • Grant every permission required by the trigger, not only by its downstream actions.
  • Treat a Needs Reconnecting badge as an operational incident.
  • Send a new test event after changing an account or event filter.
  • Inspect run history for Paused, billing, or node errors before assuming the provider subscription is broken.
  • Do not rely on automatic backfill unless the individual trigger reference explicitly documents it.

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Troubleshooting

Confirm the workflow is Live, then inspect history for a Paused or billing failure. Check the integration account for Needs Reconnecting, review the trigger filters, and send a new event after correcting the issue.
This is expected. Pausing rejects new runs but keeps the provider subscription configured. Reconfigure or disconnect the trigger source when you need the external subscription removed.
Accounts are project resources, and disconnecting an account clears its references across the project. Reconfigure affected workflows with a replacement account before disconnecting.
Open and save the trigger configuration to run source reconciliation, then send a new matching event. Also verify provider-side filters and permissions. If the issue continues, reconnect the account.