Input
Triggerarrow.right.circle
trigger.input
Manual trigger that provides user-defined input when run. Unlike other triggers that fire automatically based on events, the Input trigger requires you to manually start it, providing data each time.
Choose between text, JSON, file, or Prompt at Run input modes. This is ideal for testing workflows, building interactive tools, or creating workflows that process user-provided data on demand.
In Prompt at Run mode the trigger pops a dialog each time you run the flow from the canvas, collects what you type, and emits it as the trigger payload (under text and data) — so a downstream node can reference it with {{text}}. Cancelling the dialog aborts the run. Headless runs (the menu bar, the agent/MCP tools) can't show a dialog, so they fall back to the configured Default Value instead of prompting.
Because an Input flow has no watcher to arm, it's always active — its status dot reflects the health of its recent runs (green, orange, or red) rather than an on/off state, and the Enabled switch is shown turned on but inert. A flow that mixes Input with an event trigger (a file watcher, a schedule, …) still arms normally.
Ports
| Direction | Name | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlet | Output | Any | Payload emitted when the workflow is manually run |
Configuration
| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input Type | Dropdown |
Text | Type of input: Text, JSON, File, or Prompt at Run |
| Text | Text Area |
— | Free-form text input Visible when Input Type is Text |
| JSON | JSON Editor |
— | Structured JSON input with validation Visible when Input Type is JSON |
| File | File Picker |
— | Path to a file to process Visible when Input Type is File |
| Prompt Title | Text |
— | Title shown on the run-time input dialog Visible when Input Type is Prompt at Run |
| Prompt Message | Text |
— | Message / instructions shown on the dialog Visible when Input Type is Prompt at Run |
| Default Value | Text |
— | Pre-filled dialog value; also the fallback used by headless runs that can't show a dialog Visible when Input Type is Prompt at Run |
| Custom Arguments | Key-Value |
— | Additional key-value pairs included in the output payload |
Output Variables
| Variable | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
text |
String | Text representation of the input |
contentType |
String | Input type (text / json / file) |
data |
Any | Parsed input data (text string, JSON object, or file path) |
filePath |
String | File path (when input type is file) |
timestamp |
String | ISO 8601 timestamp of the run |
Example
Manually provide JSON data, format an auth header, and post to an API endpoint: