Using Event-Based Triggers

You can configure workflows to start automatically when a specified event occurs.

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Event Types

Blink supports multiple event-based triggers, including:

You can configure triggers based on external vendor events, integrating third-party services into your automated workflows. This enables your workflows to respond dynamically to external system updates, ensuring seamless automation across your tech stack.

By combining Blink system events with external vendor events, you can create workflows that respond efficiently to the most critical updates, optimizing your automation processes.

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Blink Events

Blink offers built-in event triggers that help manage workflow execution and system monitoring. These include:

• Blink Error Event: Used for handling workflow failures, allowing you to trigger another workflow to respond to errors. The error event payload contains details about the failure, ensuring you can design an appropriate response.
• Tables - Used to trigger the workflow when the specified Blink table receives a new record or when an existing record is updated.
• Blink Runner Notification: Enables notifications for runner-related events:
  • Runner has been disconnected - triggered when the runner has been off line for more than 10 minutes.
  • Runner failed to upgrade - triggered when auto upgrade is enabled but failed
  • Runner outdated - triggered when auto upgrade is disabled and a new version is released

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External Event Triggers

Blink provides trigger events from external vendors, which are available in the list of event trigger options. These events are based on the cloud services offered by each vendor and cannot be modified.

Many vendors use polling to detect changes, while others support webhooks—or a combination of both.

Selecting the right event trigger allows your workflows to proactively handle errors, system changes, and third-party events, enhancing both efficiency and reliability.

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About Polling

For most predefined trigger events, Blink relies on polling to periodically check the external vendor system for updates at fixed intervals. This ensures that workflows stay up to date routinely. The polling interval defines how often Blink scans for new events, acting as a timer to ensure timely responses and efficient automation.

When Blink receives an event, it processes the event payload, which contains the data sent by the event source. Each payload includes:

• The event type
• The event source
• All relevant information about the event, such as timestamps, identifiers, and any other pertinent data fields provided by the external vendor system

This data is then used to trigger the configured workflow, allowing you to automate responses based on the specific details of the event.

If multiple new scans are detected in a single polling cycle, Blink treats each scan as an individual event, triggering the workflow separately for each one. This ensures that every detected scan is processed independently, preventing any data loss even when multiple scans are received at once.

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How Event-Based Triggers Work

Event-based triggers allow workflows to start automatically when a specified event occurs. These events can come from Blink’s internal system, third-party services, or custom webhooks. By configuring event-based triggers, you can automate responses to system changes, security alerts, or operational events in real time.

The following diagram illustrates how event-based triggers work, from event detection to workflow execution:

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Configure an Event-Based Trigger

To configure an event-based trigger using a vendor connection or a Blink Event:

1. Create a new workflow, and select Event-based Workflow when prompted.

   Once you click Create Workflow, the canvas loads with your initial configurations. The first part of the workflow is Trigger: Event-Based.

2. Click Click to select an event.
   The Trigger Setup popup opens.

3. Select an option from the list.

   The right panel opens with supported events for the selected connection.

   This example demonstrates a polling event. To configure webhook events, see Configuring Triggers with Webhooks for additional guidance.

4. From the right panel, select a supported out-of-the-box event (any event that is not a Webhook) and click Continue.

   The Trigger Setup popup loads all relevant parameters based on the event you chose.

5. Optionally click View next to Sample event.

   A popup opens with a sample event payload.

   Use the sample event payload to understand the data structure and fields available for your workflow.

6. From the Connection dropdown, select an existing connection or create a new connection.

7. Configure all mandatory parameters.

   Parameters are determined based on the source service and the event you selected. For assistance with any of the parameters, refer to the API documentation for the source service.

   For polling, the default interval is set to 5 minutes. This means the system checks for new events every 5 minutes. You can adjust the interval to poll for events between 1 and 60 minutes.

   Optionally:

   • Open the Advanced accordion to configure additional parameters

   • Toggle Add condition to define conditions for the trigger.

     See Condition Builder for more details.

8. Click Apply.

   The Trigger Setup popup closes and the trigger configuration is saved.

   Once you finish building the workflow and publish it, the workflow is triggered when the trigger event occurs and the conditions are met.

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