ChatTrigger NodeTypeCode: chat-trigger

When to Use

• Quick manager confirmation via chat: Rather than a full approval form, send a manager a direct message asking "Do you approve Sarah's overtime request? Reply YES or NO." The workflow suspends until the reply arrives, then routes based on the response text.
• Collecting a missing piece of information mid-workflow: A customer onboarding workflow discovers a required field is missing. The ChatTrigger sends a message to the assigned account manager asking for the missing detail, then resumes once they reply.
• Escalation acknowledgment: When a critical alert fires, the ChatTrigger messages the on-call engineer asking them to acknowledge the alert. The workflow records the acknowledgment time and replier identity for SLA tracking.
• Lightweight survey or feedback collection: After a support ticket is resolved, send the customer a chat message asking to rate their experience (1–5). The reply value routes to satisfaction scoring and CRM update nodes.
• Deadline confirmation: Send a project manager a chat message asking to confirm a delivery date before an automated PO is raised. The workflow waits for the confirmed date in the reply before proceeding.

Two-Phase Execution

Configuration

Output Ports

Output Fields

These fields are available on the success port after a reply is received:

Sample Configuration

{
  "nodeType": "chat-trigger",
  "settings": {
    "message": "Hi {{ $output.managerLookup.managerFirstName }}, please confirm approval for the overtime request submitted by {{ $output.formNode.form_data.employeeName }}. Reply APPROVED or REJECTED with any comments.",
    "assigned_to": "user:{{ $output.managerLookup.managerUserId }}",
    "timeout_minutes": 240
  }
}

Sample Output

Success Port — Reply Received

{
  "messageId": "msg_trigger_abc789",
  "channelId": "channel_support",
  "channelName": "support-general",
  "text": "!ticket I need help with invoice #45921",
  "from": {
    "userId": "usr_customer_001",
    "name": "Alice Chen",
    "email": "alice@acmecorp.com"
  },
  "timestamp": "2025-03-15T09:22:00Z",
  "threadId": null,
  "attachments": [],
  "metadata": {
    "platform": "bizfirst_chat",
    "workspaceId": "ws_001"
  }
}

Expression Reference

Node Policies & GuardRails

Pattern Examples

Pattern 1 — Manager Overtime Confirmation via Chat

A workflow sends the direct manager a quick chat message asking to approve or reject an overtime request. Reply parsing routes the workflow to approval or rejection branches.

// ChatTrigger settings
{
  "message": "Overtime request from {{ $output.empLookup.employeeName }} ({{ $output.formNode.form_data.overtureHours }} hours on {{ $output.formNode.form_data.overtureDate }}). Reply APPROVE or REJECT with comments.",
  "assigned_to": "user:{{ $output.empLookup.managerId }}",
  "timeout_minutes": 480
}

// Downstream CodeExecute on 'success' port — normalize reply
var reply = reply_text.trim().toUpperCase();
var approved = reply.startsWith("APPROVE");
var comments = reply_text.substring(reply_text.indexOf(" ") + 1);
result = { approved: approved, comments: comments };

// Downstream IfCondition: route on approved === true

Pattern 2 — On-Call Engineer Acknowledgment for Incident

When a critical service alert fires, the workflow messages the on-call engineer asking for an acknowledgment. Timeout after 15 minutes triggers escalation to the secondary on-call.

// ChatTrigger settings
{
  "message": "CRITICAL ALERT: {{ $output.alertNode.serviceName }} is DOWN (since {{ $output.alertNode.detectedAt }}). Reply ACK to acknowledge. Timeout in 15 minutes — auto-escalating to secondary on-call.",
  "assigned_to": "user:{{ $var.primaryOnCallUserId }}",
  "timeout_minutes": 15
}

// On 'success' port: record acknowledgment time
{
  "VariableName": "ackTime",
  "ValueExpression": "{{ $output.chatTrigger.replied_at }}"
}

// On 'error' port (timeout): assign to secondary on-call and repeat ChatTrigger