How to Trigger a Flow – 6 Ways to Run a Flow
Tags: nocode, workflows, ipaas, okta
Published: 2022-08-30 18:17:10

---
title: How to Trigger a Flow – 6 Ways to Run a Flow
published: true
date: 2022-08-30 05:21:11 UTC
tags: NoCode,Workflows, ipaas, okta
canonical_url: https://maxkatz.net/2022/06/28/how-to-trigger-a-flow-6-ways-to-run-a-flow/
---

[Okta Workflows](https://www.okta.com/platform/workflows/) how-to guides are questions and answers from weekly community [office hours](https://calendly.com/oktaworkflows/group-office-hours-okta-workflows), MacAdmins [Workflows Slack channel](https://www.macadmins.org/), and other places. 

Read all the other how-to guides ⤵️
{% embed https://dev.to/oktaworkflows/all-okta-workflows-how-to-guides-4nl9 %}


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](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_addevent.png?w=968)](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_addevent.png)
<figcaption>Events to trigger a flow</figcaption>

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

[![A flow that runs on schedule](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_schedule2.png?w=1024)](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_schedule2.png)
<figcaption>A flow that runs on schedule</figcaption>

Options to configure when to run a flow:

[![Flow schedule options](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_schedule1.png?w=1024)](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_schedule1.png)
<figcaption>Flow schedule options</figcaption>

## 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](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_useraddedgroup.png?w=1024)](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_useraddedgroup.png)
<figcaption>Trigger a flow when a user is added to a group</figcaption>

Every connector supports different events:

[![Events available from the Okta connector](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_connector_events.png?w=1024)](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_connector_events.png)
<figcaption>Events available from the Okta connector</figcaption>

## 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](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_test_button.png?w=1024)](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_test_button.png)
<figcaption>Running a flow via the Test button</figcaption>

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](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_api1.png?w=1024)](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_api1.png)
<figcaption>Triggered a flow via an API endpoint</figcaption>

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

[![API endpoint settings](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_api2.png?w=906)](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_api2.png)
<figcaption>API endpoint settings</figcaption>

To test an API endpoint use a service such as [Postman](http://postman.com).

## 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](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_mainflow-1.png?w=1024)](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_mainflow-1.png)
<figcaption>Calling a helper flow</figcaption>

Helper flow is called for each item in a list:

[![Helper flow](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_helperflow.png?w=1024)](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_helperflow.png)
<figcaption>Helper flow</figcaption>

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

[![Flow trigger event cards](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_addevent.png?w=782)](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_addevent.png)
<figcaption>Flow trigger event cards</figcaption>

Flow chart view of the main flow and helper flow:

[![Main flow and helper flow](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_flowchart_helper2.png?w=1024)](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_flowchart_helper2.png)
<figcaption>Main flow and helper flow</figcaption>

## 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](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_addevent.png?w=782)](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_addevent.png)
<figcaption>Delegated flow event card</figcaption>

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](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_delegated1.png?w=1024)](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_delegated1.png)
<figcaption>Delegated flow</figcaption>

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](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_delegated3-1.png?w=1024)](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_delegated3-1.png)
<figcaption>A flow delegated to a user to run</figcaption>

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

[![Delegated flow inputs](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_delegated4.png?w=1024)](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_delegated4.png)
<figcaption>Delegated flow inputs</figcaption>

Looking at flow history after Stella triggered the flow:

[![Delegated flow history](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_delegated2.png?w=1024)](https://katzmax.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/workflows_howto_runflow_delegated2.png)
<figcaption>Delegated flow history</figcaption>

In this [How-To Guide](https://dev.to/oktaworkflows/all-okta-workflows-how-to-guides-4nl9) 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](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIid085fSVdvyK8F4xuk49EchBPmAVNHG) to help you become a better automation builder.

🔮 A collection of helpful [Workflows tips](https://maxkatz.net/okta-workflows-tips/).