Automation triggers in Files.com define when an automation should run. After selecting the automation type, such as Copy Files, Move Files, Import Files, or Run Sync, you choose a trigger to determine how the automation starts. Triggers provide flexibility to schedule file operations, respond to real-time file activity, run manual workflows, or integrate with third-party systems. Files.com supports a variety of trigger types that support both scheduled and event-based use cases.

Scheduled Triggers

Scheduled triggers allow automations to run at specific times without requiring user action or file system events. These are commonly used for time-based workflows such as moving or copying files at pre-defined intervals, importing data from external sources, syncing with remote systems, archiving folders, or deleting outdated files.

Interval-Based Triggers

Interval triggers run automations on a recurring schedule such as daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly. These triggers typically run at midnight UTC and are well suited for routine tasks. For example, an organization might use an interval-based Move Files automation every Sunday to archive the previous week's files or a Delete Files automation once a month to remove content past its retention period. This type of schedule works well when tasks are consistent and do not require complex timing.

Custom Scheduled Triggers

Custom schedules offer more control over when automations execute. You can specify the exact time of day, choose which days of the week or month to run the task, and configure multiple runs per day. These are helpful when workflows need to align with business hours or specific shift times. A team might configure an Import Files automation to pull data every weekday at 6 AM and again at 3 PM, or run a sync task after each production shift ends. Custom scheduling supports workflows that depend on precise execution windows.

File Action-Based Triggers

File action-based triggers start automations when specific file events happen inside Files.com folders. These include file uploads, renames, modifications, or deletions. They are useful for real-time workflows such as immediately moving an uploaded file into a processing folder, renaming files on arrival, or copying new files to a secondary location.

This type of trigger is especially effective for workflows that involve file uploads via Share Links, Inboxes, or APIs. As soon as the file appears in a monitored folder, the automation executes without delay. It is important to note that file action triggers only apply to Files.com folders. Activity in remote-mounted directories is not monitored by these triggers unless files are first synced into Files.com.

Inbound Webhook Triggers

Webhook triggers allow external systems to activate automations by sending an HTTP request to a unique URL generated by Files.com. Both GET and POST methods are supported, and the contents of the request body are ignored. This makes the trigger easy to integrate with CRMs, ERPs, SaaS platforms, and automation tools that can send outbound webhooks.

For example, a webhook can be used to trigger a file import as soon as a third-party application completes an export process. Since webhook URLs can be used to trigger automated activity on your site, treat them as confidential and secure them accordingly.

Run Now (Manual Trigger)

The Run Now option allows Site Administrators and Folder Administrators to manually start an automation immediately. This is helpful for testing during configuration or for executing on-demand workflows without waiting for a schedule or event.

After creating an automation, you can use Run Now to verify that everything works as expected. You might also use it to trigger a one-time import or file cleanup task. Run Now is only available for automations that are currently enabled.

Triggering Automations on Remote Servers

Files.com does not poll Remote Servers used in our Remote Server Mount feature for the purpose of firing Realtime and File Action-based triggers. Consider using our Remote Server Sync capability for realtime interoperability between Automations and Remote Servers.

To address this, use a Run Sync automation to pull files from the remote server into Files.com on a defined schedule. Once the files arrive in a Files.com folder, you can can trigger additional automations such as Move Files or Copy Files using any trigger type. For example, a partner may upload invoices to a remote SFTP location. Files.com syncs those files every ten minutes using Remote Server Sync or at a defined schedule using Run Sync automation, and once received locally, a Move Files automation can route them to the appropriate processing folder.

Controlling Run Order with Serialize Jobs

Automations triggered by file actions or webhooks are designed to run as soon as the event occurs. By default, multiple automation runs triggered close together may run at the same time. This parallel execution improves performance but may cause issues when working with remote mounts or shared destinations.

To avoid conflicts, you can enable the Always Serialize Jobs setting, which is available only for automations that are not triggered by a schedule. You will see this option when configuring file-triggered or webhook-triggered Copy Files, Move Files, Delete Files, Import Files, and Run Sync automations where a destination is involved. This setting ensures that automation runs execute one at a time in the order they are triggered. It helps prevent race conditions, overlapping writes, and inconsistent file states, especially when automations interact with remote storage locations that do not support simultaneous access.