Trigger: On-demand

The On-Demand trigger is designed for workflows that require manual initiation by a user within Workflow Builder (WFB). Unlike automated triggers that rely on system events or fixed schedules, On-Demand workflows are ideal for ad-hoc business processes.

When to use On-Demand workflows:

• Non-predictable schedules: Processes that occur as part of a manual program rather than at set intervals.
• Human-initiated automation: Tasks that require a human to decide exactly when the logic should execute.
• Ad-hoc maintenance: One-off data updates, specialized reporting, or system syncs that aren't tied to a specific external event.

The future of on-demand variables

Currently, on-demand workflows can only be executed manually from within Workflow Builder. In the future however, these workflows will be exposed through a REST API, invocable over MCP, and will be embeddable within other workflows.

In addition, today inputs and outputs are provided as raw JSON. In the future inputs and outputs will be collected and displayed in a more human-friendly and structured manner.

Inputs

When a user executes an On-Demand workflow, WFB prompts them to provide data based on the inputs defined by the workflow creator. This data is provided via a JSON data structure.

Supported Data Types

WFB validates inputs based on the following types:

Data type	Description
String	Textual data. To ensure higher data quality, Strings support several sub-types for added validation: Plain Text, Email, URL, Phone Number, Selection (Drop-down choices), Date, Time, Timestamp
Number	Integer or decimal values.
Boolean	True/False values.
Object	Non-scalar values, typically presented as an associative array (key-value pairs) in JSON.
Array	A list of values or objects.

Outputs

Outputs can be defined similarly to inputs by clicking on the End node. The defined outputs will then be included in the workflows structured output layer allowing you to easily extract the data you require.

Execution

Executing an on-demand workflow is done from the workflow listing screen. One can click the "Run" button when hovering over an on-demand workflow.

1. Trigger: A user manually selects the workflow from the WFB interface.
2. Data Entry: WFB prompts the user for the required inputs. The user provides these via the UI, which compiles them into the necessary JSON format.
3. Processing: The workflow runs the defined logic using the provided inputs.
4. Review: Upon completion, the user can view the JSON output and metadata directly in the WFB execution history to verify the results.

Sample execution output

{
    "flowStatus": "Success",
    "startTime": "2026-02-10T20:18:27.934528058Z",
    "endTime": "2026-02-10T20:18:27.939644824Z",
    "response":
    {
        "FullName": "Byrne Reese"
    },
    "rcEvent":
    {
        "uuid": "b81dec03-c55b-4465-a366-f12f1f66ccdd",
        "event": "ManualTrigger",
        "timestamp": "2026-02-10T20:18:27.932927262Z",
        "body":
        {
            "CustomerID": "82828282"
        }
    },
    "triggerById": "1589010021",
    "nodeResults": [
    {
        "id": "trigger",
        "type": "trigger",
        "subType": "inputVariable",
        "detail":
        {
            "canHandle": true,
            "rulesPassed": true
        },
        "duration": 0
    },
    {
        "id": "action-1770751293728",
        "type": "action",
        "subType": "setVariable",
        "detail":
        {
            "success": true,
            "parameter":
            {
                "variables":
                {
                    "custom.variable1770751285304": "Byrne Reese"
                }
            }
        },
        "duration": 4
    },
    {
        "id": "action-exit-1770751124589",
        "type": "action",
        "subType": "exit",
        "detail":
        {
            "success": true
        },
        "duration": 0
    }]
}

Executing on-demand workflows

Trigger variables

Trigger variable	Type	Description
Sender's phone number	Phone number	The phone number that sent the SMS message that was received.
Sender's name	String	If the sender exists in your address book, this variable will contain the name stored in your address book.
Recipient's phone number	Phone number	The phone number that received the SMS.
Message text	String	The exact text of the received message.
Is image attached	boolean	True if the received SMS contained an image.
Message received date	date	The date the message was received, in the format of YYYY-MM-DD.
Message received time	time	The time the message was received, in the format of HH:MM:SS (AM
Message received day of week	day of the week