Triggers

A trigger is a moment in time when the user enters the workflow. For example, workflow can start once they join a segment or perform a custom event.

• Once the user joins the workflow, it doesn’t matter whether they meet that criteria any longer: they’ve already started moving forward.
• Depending on the workflow type, the user can only enter a workflow once (for one-off workflows) or multiple times (for repeatable workflows).
• Once the user is inside the workflow, they cannot start it again until they exit the current workflow.
• See what happens in different edge cases in Workflows FAQ.

How to add a trigger

To add a trigger to your workflow, drag the Trigger node into the top of the workflow, and double-click to edit it.

Supported triggers

Below you’ll find a list of triggers supported in Userlist workflows.

User-level triggers

• User performs an event
• User is first seen in Userlist
• User joins a segment
• User leaves a segment
• User joins a company
• User leaves a company
• User submits a form
• User matches a condition

Company-level triggers

• Company performs an event
• Company is first seen in Userlist
• Company joins a segment
• Company leaves a segment

Applying triggers to users in a company

For company-level triggers, you can choose whether the workflow will be started for all users in the company, or for certain users only (based on specific conditions).

Here’s a trigger applied to all users of the company:

Here’s the same trigger applied only to admins (users with a specific relationship property):

Existing users vs new users

Company-level triggers start workflows only for those users who currently belong to this company. Users who join the company later will not be included.

Here’s how you can deliver the same content to new users:

1. Create a second trigger (e.g. user joins company) in the same workflow that could add new users after they join.
2. Optional: add a Teleport node to fast-forward such “late users” into the desired point in the middle of the workflow.

User joins (leaves) company

You can trigger Userlist workflows when someone joins or leaves their company. This is perfect for orchestrating individual user journeys in bigger teams.

For example, you can trigger a dedicated workflow for new admins joining an account:

Or a dedicated onboarding workflow for new users joining existing paying accounts (so they only need basic training):

Using multiple triggers

A workflow can have more than one trigger. In this case, the workflow will start as soon as any of these triggers happen. To add another trigger, just drag a trigger from the menu next to the existing one.

What trigger should I use?

With triggers, there are multiple ways to achieve similar results. For example, you can start a user onboarding workflow using any of these triggers:

• User joins a segment Trials (you need to set up this segment first)
• User performs an event trial_started (if you’re tracking this event)
• User matches a condition billing_state = trial (in this case, we’ll also start this workflow for existing users who match this condition)
• Any of the above triggers, but on the company level (company joins segment, performs an event, etc) if you’re sending company-level data
• User joins company (great for personal onboarding flows)

All of these triggers would be technically correct. The details depend on your use case and what user data you track.

Learn more about the nuances of behavior triggers in this guide.