URL trigger
The URL Trigger allows you trigger a flow when new data is added to an API-backed URL that you've configured in it. In other words, Zoho Flow will send a GET request to a REST API endpoint, and the response data will be converted into usable data for subsequent actions in your flow.
Consider this: if you run a custom online store and have an API endpoint to push data about your remaining stock, you can input the URL for that endpoint into the URL trigger to retrieve inventory details in regular intervals. By adding filters and logic to the trigger and incorporating actions like "Send channel message" in Zoho Cliq or Slack, you can automate notifications to your inventory team to replenish stock when it drops below a certain limit.
Important note
- Ensure that the URL you use with the URL trigger is API-callable and delivers data in either JSON or XML. Preferably, this should be a list of dictionaries (an array of objects) arranged in reverse chronological order (newest first, oldest last). This, along with a unique key/identifier, such as date-time or GUID, helps identify newer data from old data.
- Both publicly accessible URLs and private URLs with authentication methods are configurable. For private URLs, use the header fields in the trigger configuration to pass credentials.
How to configure
- In the My Flows section of Zoho Flow, click +Create, then click Create flow.
- Enter the flow name, and optionally a description.
- Click Create.
- Click Configure in the URL Trigger box.
- Provide the Trigger URL. Also provide its authentication details (if any) as headers. Click Next.
- Click Fetch Response to make a URL request to pull the latest response data.
- Once the response data is retrieved, you can select the Data extraction path. Note that this path should contain the records that you wish to extract and use in your flow.
- Select a Unique key from the fields extracted from the specified path. In most cases, the unique key can be Record ID, Date/Time modified, and so on. Zoho Flow uses the value of this "key" to determine whether a record is new or not.
- After configuring, click Done and add actions to your workflow.
Using Filter Criteria with URL triggers
You can add filters to the URL trigger to configure it in such a way that your flow executes only when certain conditions are met. This avoids the extra step of adding a Decision logic following the trigger.
To set up a filter, click Filter criteria when configuring the trigger, and add the required test conditions. Learn more