Start a workflow from an app trigger
Kick off a SAMI OS workflow when something happens in a connected app like Notion, Slack, or HubSpot.
Apps that expose triggers — like Notion, Slack, or HubSpot — can start a workflow the moment an event happens inside them. When a new row lands in Notion or a message posts in Slack, SAMI OS catches it and runs your automation.
App triggers vs. native SAMI triggers
Every workflow begins with one trigger: the event that starts it. SAMI OS ships native triggers for things that happen inside your CRM — Call Analyzed after a call wraps, Sami Bot when one of your SAMI Bots enrolls a contact, or events like SMS Received and Contact Created. Those need no outside connection.
An App Trigger is different: it listens to an event in a third-party app. Instead of polling, the app pushes the event to SAMI OS over a webhook, so your workflow fires within seconds of the event happening.
The older Email Parser trigger is no longer supported. To turn forwarded lead emails into contacts, use a parser source in Settings instead — see the related guide on parsing new-lead emails.
Set up an app trigger
Open a workflow from Workflows and select the trigger node at the top of the canvas to start.
Open the trigger picker
With the trigger node selected, click Change in the Overview panel to open the app picker. Choose the app you want — say Notion or HubSpot.
Pick the trigger event
Select the event that should start the workflow, such as a new database item or an updated record. SAMI OS pulls the live list of available triggers straight from the app.
Choose the connected account
Under Required setup, open the Account list and pick which connected account this trigger listens on. If you've only connected one account for that app, SAMI OS selects it for you. No account yet? Click Log in to [app] to connect one.
Fill any setup fields
Some triggers ask for details — a specific Notion database, a Slack channel — in the setup fields. Required fields are badged, so fill those before moving on.
Continue building
Click Continue to add the actions that should run each time the event fires.
App trigger webhooks can't reach a local or private URL. SAMI OS provisions the subscription against your live app address, so trigger setup is only available on a deployed environment, not a localhost preview.
How SAMI OS receives the event
When you pick an app trigger, SAMI OS provisions a webhook subscription on your behalf — you don't paste any URLs or secrets. The app sends each matching event to a single signed SAMI OS endpoint, which verifies the signature and routes it to the right workflow by connected account. SAMI OS also watches for the connected account expiring or the trigger being disabled, so a lapsed login surfaces as something you can fix.
Map the event into your steps
Open the Test data section on the trigger to see what each event actually contains. SAMI OS shows recent events received from the app, or example data when none have arrived yet.
- Click Find new records to pull the latest events from the connected app.
- When more than one event is listed, select a record to preview its fields.
- Click any field to copy its reference — like
{{trigger.email}}— and paste it into a downstream step.
This is how you wire the event into your actions: copy the fields you need from the sample, then drop them into a Contacts step, a message, or any action that follows. Mapping against real sample data means your workflow lands the right values on the first live run.
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Last updated 2026-06-21