Workflow Triggers Deep Dive
Last updated: May 20, 2026
The full taxonomy of what can start a workflow run.
Trigger categories
Category | What it fires on | Examples |
|---|---|---|
Entity event | A content/task event happens | Content created, content scheduled, status changed |
Entity field change | A specific field on an entity changes | Caption edited, scheduled time set, platform added |
Comment | A comment is created | Comment with @mention, comment on specific entity |
Approval | An approval event | Approval requested, approval given, approval denied |
Share email | A share email is interacted with | Reviewer opens email, reviewer comments, reviewer approves |
Schedule | Time-based | Every Monday at 9am; first of the month |
Manual | A user manually runs the workflow | "Run this workflow on this content now" |
Social link | An anonymous social-link flow completes | Partner uploads media via tokenized link |
Created vs Updated
For entity triggers there's an important distinction:
Created triggers fire only when a new entity is created. Filters are limited — you can filter by status at creation time, but not by tag, platform, assignee, or auto-publish (because those typically aren't set at creation).
Updated triggers fire when a specific field changes on an existing entity. Filters include the field being changed and its from/to values. Use these for "when content moves to APPROVED" or "when Instagram is added as a platform."
Example: "When Instagram content is created" should be an Updated trigger on the content's platforms, not a Created trigger filtered by platform — at creation time, the content typically has no platforms yet.
Trigger filters
Most triggers support filtering to narrow when they fire:
Status filter — only fire when the entity is in / moves to a specific status
Platform filter — only for content with specific platforms
Tag filter — only for entities with specific tags
Project filter — only for entities in specific projects
Assignee filter — only for entities assigned to specific users
Multiple filters AND together.
Trigger configuration
Triggers have a configuration panel that varies by type:
Entity-change triggers: pick the field and the from/to values
Schedule triggers: pick the recurring cadence (cron-style or human-readable)
Comment triggers: pick the entity scope (any type or a specific type)
Trigger locking
When a workflow is active, its trigger configuration is locked to prevent breaking active runs. To edit the trigger, deactivate the workflow first.
Recurring triggers vs recurring jobs
There's overlap that confuses people:
Recurring trigger — starts a workflow on a schedule (cron-like). The workflow does whatever phases you configure.
Recurring job — a separate platform-level feature that runs scheduled, often-simpler actions (e.g. "send a daily recap email"). Recurring jobs aren't workflows.
If your need fits "do this whole multi-step process on a schedule," use a recurring trigger. If it's "send this digest every morning," use a recurring job. See the Recurring Jobs article.
Manual triggers
A workflow can be manually run on a target content item or task — from a button on the item's detail page, or by asking Ella. The target item is passed to the workflow's phases as context. Manual triggers are useful for workflows you want available on demand without a fixed event firing them.
Trigger feasibility gate
Before activating a workflow, Rella validates that the trigger configuration makes sense (no impossible filter combinations, and so on). Infeasible configurations block activation with an error message.
AI-assisted trigger authoring
In the workflow builder, Ella can draft a trigger from a plain-English description ("when a Reel is approved on Instagram"). Ella picks the correct trigger type (entity-change vs created), the right field, and the right filters. You can edit it afterward.