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Event-Driven Automation: File Watchers and Webhooks in Flowork

#automation #webhooks #workflow #api

Event-driven automation removes the need to poll or wait. Instead of checking "has something changed?" on a schedule, you respond the moment it happens. Flowork offers two complementary ways to automate: Triggers for reactive work and Schedules for time-based work. Both use the same underlying engine.

Triggers: React When Something Happens

A trigger fires when an external event occurs—no clock required. To create one, hit ＋ New and choose a type.

File Watch

Fires whenever a file or folder changes. You specify which agent or group runs, what it should do, and where to deliver the result (for example, Telegram). This is useful for processing uploads, reacting to log changes, or monitoring a shared folder.

Webhook

Accepts an HTTP POST at a unique URL:

POST  http://your-host/api/triggers/hook/<id>?key=<secret>
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Anything that can make an HTTP request—a script, a camera, a web service, a third-party platform—can fire it. The key parameter keeps it private; without the correct secret, the webhook does nothing.

The workflow is straightforward: the outside world pokes Flowork → an agent does something → you get the answer. When the POST arrives, the trigger routes it to your chosen agent or group, which runs the task you defined and sends the result to your specified destination.

Trigger Controls

Each trigger appears as a card with these controls:

  • Enable/Disable — toggle it on or off without deleting it
  • ▷ Run — fire it manually right now
  • ✎ Edit — change the agent, task, or destination
  • ▸ History — review past executions
  • 🗑 Delete — remove it

For webhooks, the card also displays the full URL, making it easy to copy and paste into external systems.

Schedule: Recurring Work on the Clock

A schedule runs a job at fixed times using cron syntax. Hit ＋ New, pick an agent or group, write the task, and provide a cron expression (min hr dom mon dow)—for instance, 0 7 * * * runs daily at 7 AM. It can repeat indefinitely or fire only once.

Scheduled jobs use the same card layout: Enable/Disable, ▷ Run, ✎ Edit, ▸ History, and 🗑 Delete. The principle is simple: recurring work without babysitting.

Together, Schedule and Trigger form two halves of the same automation engine. Choose triggers for reactive, event-driven tasks and schedules for periodic, time-based ones. Use them together to build responsive, hands-off workflows.

Flowork is open source — both products:

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