System Event

Trigger desktopcomputer

trigger.system_event

Fires on macOS system events like sleep, wake, lock, network, volume, or Bluetooth device changes. This trigger lets you react to operating system-level events that affect your entire Mac.

Select the specific system event to monitor. Different events provide different output variables — for example, the dark mode event includes the current dark mode state, while network events include connection type and status.

Ports

Direction Name Data Type Description
Outlet Output Any Payload emitted when the system event occurs

Configuration

Field Type Default Description
Event Dropdown Wake System event type: Sleep, Wake, Screen Lock, Screen Unlock, Dark Mode Changed, Network Changed, Volume Mount, Volume Unmount, Bluetooth Device Connected, or Bluetooth Device Disconnected
Device Name Filter Text — Shown for Bluetooth Device Connected. Only fire when the device name contains this text (case-insensitive substring). Leave empty to fire for all devices.
Device Name Filter Text — Shown for Bluetooth Device Disconnected. Same case-insensitive substring match, applied independently of the connected filter.
Paired Devices Only Boolean On Shown for Bluetooth Device Connected. When on, only devices paired with this Mac fire — matching what the Bluetooth menu shows. Turn off to also catch unpaired devices (route them with a Condition on isPaired or transport).
Paired Devices Only Boolean On Shown for Bluetooth Device Disconnected. Same paired-only gate, applied independently of the connected toggle.
Custom Arguments Key-Value — Additional key-value pairs included in the output payload

Output Variables

Variable Type Description
event String Event type that fired
timestamp String ISO 8601 timestamp
isDarkMode Boolean Current dark mode state (dark_mode event)
networkType String Network type: wifi / cellular / wired / other (network_changed event)
isConnected Boolean Whether network is connected (network_changed event)
isExpensive Boolean Whether network is expensive/metered (network_changed event)
volumeName String Name of mounted/unmounted volume (volume events)
volumePath String Path of mounted/unmounted volume (volume events)
deviceName String Name of the Bluetooth device (bluetooth events)
deviceAddress String MAC address of the device, e.g. ac-88-fd-ee-30-66 (bluetooth events)
deviceKind String Device type: headphones, audio, keyboard, mouse, gamepad, phone, computer, or unknown (bluetooth events)
transport String Bluetooth transport: classic or ble (bluetooth events)
isPaired Boolean Whether the device is paired with this Mac (bluetooth events)
deviceClass Number Raw Bluetooth class-of-device integer; 0 for BLE devices (bluetooth events)
vendorID String HID vendor ID as a string; omitted when unavailable (bluetooth events)
productID String HID product ID as a string; omitted when unavailable (bluetooth events)

Bluetooth Event Behavior

  • Permission: the first time you arm a flow with a Bluetooth event, macOS shows a one-time Bluetooth permission prompt. If access is denied, the trigger stays unarmed until you enable it in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Bluetooth.
  • Disconnect debounce: disconnect events fire after a 3-second settle window. A device that reconnects within the window (AirPods auto-switching between your Apple devices) emits nothing; a genuine disconnect fires about 3 seconds after the device drops.
  • Wake and radio-on reconnects fire: devices that reconnect when your Mac wakes from sleep, or when Bluetooth is turned back on, emit real connect events on purpose — "when my AirPods connect, set the volume" should run on wake too. Use the Device Name Filter (or combine with the Wake event in a condition) if you want fewer fires.
  • Classic and BLE both supported: classic Bluetooth devices (AirPods, speakers, phones) and BLE devices (most modern keyboards and mice) both fire. BLE devices report deviceClass 0 and transport "ble".
  • Paired Devices Only (default on): some devices maintain a second, unpaired low-energy link alongside their main connection — AirPods, for example, briefly open one when stowed in their case, which would otherwise fire a phantom "connected" event under the same device name. The default suppresses these so events match what the Bluetooth menu shows. Turn the toggle off to observe every link — useful for "alert me when an unknown device connects" flows — and route with a Condition on isPaired or transport.
  • Device names: the OS-cached personalized name ("Greg's AirPods Pro") is used while connected; a disconnect may report the generic advertised name ("AirPods Pro") because the link is already torn down. Name filters match both (substring), but exact-match conditions should prefer deviceAddress.
  • deviceKind values: headphones, audio, keyboard, mouse, gamepad, phone, computer, or unknown — derived from the device class, with an HID fallback for BLE devices.

Example

Show a notification when dark mode is activated: