When Started

The When Started node is the “ignition switch” for your workflows. It watches for specific conditions and automatically starts your workflow when those conditions are met - like visiting a certain website, clicking a button, or at scheduled times.

Think of it as setting up automatic rules that say “when this happens, start doing that workflow.” It’s the bridge between the real world and your automation.

How it works

The node continuously monitors for your specified conditions. When a condition is met, it immediately starts your workflow and passes any relevant information to the next nodes.

graph LR
  Monitor[Monitor Conditions] --> Check{Condition Met?}
  Check -->|Yes| Start[Start Workflow]
  Check -->|No| Monitor
  style Start fill:#6d28d9,stroke:#fff,color:#fff

Setup guide

1. Choose Your Trigger Type: Decide what should start your workflow - page visits, manual clicks, or scheduled times.

2. Set the Conditions: Define exactly when the trigger should fire, like specific website URLs or time intervals.

3. Add Timing Controls: Set delays or cooldown periods to prevent the workflow from running too frequently.

4. Test Your Trigger: Visit the target pages or wait for scheduled times to make sure it works as expected.

Practical example: News article monitoring

Let’s create a workflow that automatically extracts key information whenever you visit any news article.

Let’s create a workflow that automatically extracts key information whenever you visit any news article.

Option 1: Automatic Page Load

• Trigger: When page finishes loading.
• Where: Any URL matching https://*.com/article/*.
• Timing: Wait 3 seconds after load, then run. But wait at least 10 seconds before running again (cooldown).

Option 2: Manual Button

• Trigger: You click a button in the browser extension popup.
• Button Text: “Extract Article Data”.
• Where: Works on any page (*).

Option 3: Regular Schedule

• Trigger: Runs automatically in the background.
• Timing: Every 30 minutes, but only during business hours (9-5).

Common trigger types

Trigger Type	When to Use	Example Setup
Page Load	Start when visiting specific websites	Monitor news sites, e-commerce pages, social media
Manual Button	Start when you click a browser button	On-demand data extraction, manual processing
Scheduled	Start automatically at regular intervals	Daily reports, periodic monitoring, maintenance tasks
URL Change	Start when the page URL changes	Single-page applications, dynamic content updates

URL pattern examples

Pattern	What It Matches	Use Case
*	Any page	Universal manual triggers
*.example.com/*	Any page on example.com	Site-specific automation
https://news.*.com/article/*	News articles from any news site	Content monitoring
https://shop.example.com/product/*	Product pages on specific shop	Price monitoring

Start specific, then expand

Begin with very specific URL patterns to test your workflow. You can always make them broader once you’re confident everything works correctly.

Timing controls

Setting	Purpose	Recommended Value
Delay	Wait time after trigger before starting workflow	2-5 seconds for page loads
Cooldown Period	Minimum time between workflow executions	10-30 seconds to prevent spam
Max Executions	Limit total number of times workflow can run	Set based on your needs
Active Hours	Only trigger during specific time periods	Business hours for work-related tasks

Troubleshooting

• Trigger not firing: Check that your URL pattern exactly matches the pages you’re visiting. Use browser developer tools to see the actual URLs.
• Firing too often: Add a cooldown period or make your URL pattern more specific to reduce unwanted triggers.
• Missing page content: Increase the delay setting to give pages more time to fully load before the workflow starts.
• Browser slowdown: Reduce the number of active triggers or increase cooldown periods to improve performance.