What are Workflows?
A workflow connects the software applications you use so that they can communicate and work in sync. For example, Shopify and Netsuite, two of hundreds of integrations you can build on Alloy, could be connected through a workflow so that you can send all new Shopify order data to your Netsuite ERP.
All workflows begin with what is called a trigger connector. This means that an event in one of your apps will trigger your workflow. Continuing from our previous example, a new order in Shopify would be the “trigger” for your workflow, as that is the event that would kick off the action of sending that data to your Netsuite ERP.
After the trigger connector, workflows can have any number of additional connectors that perform different actions, such as sending or retrieving data from other software apps.
There are two types of workflows in Alloy:
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Automatic: Automatic workflows will run each time the trigger is set off. Any utility or app trigger besides the Manual Workflow trigger would result in an automatic workflow.
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Manual: Unlike an automatic workflow, a manual workflow only runs when the user presses the “Run” button in order to trigger the workflow. Manual workflows can be beneficial for running workflows at your discretion as it requires user action for the workflow to be executed. Manual workflows require Manual Workflow as a trigger.
To recap:
| Automatic Workflow | Manual Workflow | |
|---|---|---|
| How does it run? | Select a connector trigger from the list of connectors in the workflow canvas | User must press the “Run” button in dashboard or workflow editor |
| When is it deployed? | Every time the specified event inside the trigger connector occurs | The workflow will run once every time the user presses the run button |