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Max Katz for Okta Workflows

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How to Trigger a Flow – 6 Ways to Run a Flow

Okta Workflows how-to guides are questions and answers from weekly community office hours, MacAdmins Workflows Slack channel, and other places.

Read all the other how-to guides ⤵️

On to the question.

How do you trigger a flow?

There are six ways to trigger a flow. They are:

  • Schedule (flow runs periodically)
  • Event (flow is called when a particular event is fired)
  • Manual (clicking the Test button)
  • API endpoint (another system invokes a flow via an API endpoint)
  • Helper flow (flow calling another flow)
  • Delegated flow (let someone else in your organization invoke it)

Schedule (flow runs periodically)

A flow can be scheduled to run periodically. For example, you can schedule a flow to run every hour, every day or once a week (there are other options also).

To schedule a flow, add the Schedule event:

Events to trigger a flow

Events to trigger a flow

To configure the schedule, click the 🕔 in the bottom of the card:

A flow that runs on schedule

A flow that runs on schedule

Options to configure when to run a flow:

Flow schedule options

Flow schedule options

Event (flow is called when a particular event is fired)

Another way to trigger a flow is when a particular event occurs in an organization. For example, this flow will run when a user is added to a group:

Trigger a flow when a user is added to a group

Trigger a flow when a user is added to a group

Every connector supports different events:

Events available from the Okta connector

Events available from the Okta connector

Manual (clicking the Test button)

If you have a flow that needs to run manually, infrequently or just once, use the Test button to trigger a flow. Even though it says Test , it’s a perfectly fine way to run a flow.

Running a flow via the Test button

Running a flow via the Test button

When manually running a flow you don’t need to have an event card set (1st card).

As API endpoint (another system invokes a flow via an API endpoint)

It is possible to trigger a flow from an external system via an API endpoint. For example, an event occurs in an external system which in turn makes a call to an API endpoint which triggers a flow.

To trigger a flow via an API endpoint, use the API Endpoint event card:

Triggered a flow via an API endpoint

Triggered a flow via an API endpoint

The API endpoint information is available by clicking the </> icon at the bottom of the card.

API endpoint settings

API endpoint settings

To test an API endpoint use a service such as Postman.

Helper flow (flow calling another flow)

A helper flow is a flow that is called from another flow. A helper flow is usually used when there is a list of objects (users, groups, etc.) and you need to iterate over each item in a list to perform an action.

In this example, a flow named Check last login will be called for each user found via List Users with Search card:

Calling a helper flow

Calling a helper flow

Helper flow is called for each item in a list:

Helper flow

Helper flow

A flow becomes a helper flow when using On Demand – Helper Flow event card:

Flow trigger event cards

Flow trigger event cards

Flow chart view of the main flow and helper flow:

Main flow and helper flow

Main flow and helper flow

Delegated Flow (let someone else in your organization invoke it)

Delegated Flow is when you delegate to another user to run a flow. That person might not be an administrator but needs to be able to trigger a particular flow.

To make a delegated flow, add Delegated Flow event card:

Note: as of this writing Delegated Flow is an Early Access feature.

Delegated flow event card

Delegated flow event card

A delegated flow event card can define one or more inputs. In the screenshot below the flow has to inputs: Name and ID.

Delegated flow

Delegated flow

Flow execution is delegated to another user within an organization. In the screenshot below, the user stella.green can run this flow:

A flow delegated to a user to run

A flow delegated to a user to run

When Stella invokes the flow, Stella will need to enter flow inputs:

Delegated flow inputs

Delegated flow inputs

Looking at flow history after Stella triggered the flow:

Delegated flow history

Delegated flow history

In this How-To Guide you learned six different ways to trigger flow. Here are a few more resources to help you learn about Workflows:

📺 Short how-to Workflows videos to help you become a better automation builder.

🔮 A collection of helpful Workflows tips.

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