Triggers

Triggers define the event that starts a rule execution. Every rule must have exactly one trigger. TinyOps supports three trigger types: schedule, webhook, and poll.

Trigger Types

Type	Description	Use Case
`schedule`	Runs on a cron schedule	Recurring checks (daily reports, hourly cost monitoring)
`webhook`	Fires on an incoming event	React to GitHub events, deploys, or custom webhooks
`poll`	Checks at a fixed interval	Lightweight periodic monitoring

Schedule

Schedule triggers use cron expressions to run rules at specific times.

Schema

schedule-trigger.yaml


trigger:
  type: schedule
  cron: "string"  # standard cron expression (5 fields)

Field	Type	Required	Description
`type`	string	Yes	Must be `schedule`
`cron`	string	Yes	Standard 5-field cron expression

Cron Format


┌───────────── minute (0-59)
│ ┌───────────── hour (0-23)
│ │ ┌───────────── day of month (1-31)
│ │ │ ┌───────────── month (1-12)
│ │ │ │ ┌───────────── day of week (0-7, 0 and 7 = Sunday)
│ │ │ │ │
* * * * *

Examples

Weekday morning

weekday-9am.yaml


name: stale-pr-alert
 
trigger:
  type: schedule
  cron: "0 9 * * 1-5"
 
condition:
  provider: github
  check: pr.age
  operator: gt
  value: 3
  repo: acme/webapp
 
action:
  provider: slack
  method: send_message
  params:
    channel: "#engineering"
    text: "Stale PRs detected (age: {{condition.result}} days)"

Every 6 hours

every-6h-cost-check.yaml


name: vercel-cost-spike
 
trigger:
  type: schedule
  cron: "0 */6 * * *"
 
condition:
  provider: vercel
  check: billing.mtd
  operator: gt
  value: 50
 
action:
  provider: slack
  method: send_message
  params:
    channel: "#billing"
    text: "Vercel MTD spend has exceeded $50. Current: ${{condition.result}}"

Weekly Monday

weekly-monday.yaml


name: weekly-repo-summary
 
trigger:
  type: schedule
  cron: "0 9 * * 1"
 
condition:
  provider: github
  check: repo.open_prs
  operator: gt
  value: 0
  repo: acme/webapp
 
action:
  provider: email
  method: send
  params:
    to: "{{org.owner.email}}"
    subject: "Weekly repo summary for {{rule.name}}"
    body: "You have {{condition.result}} open PRs as of {{now}}."

All cron times are evaluated in UTC. Wrap cron expressions in quotes to avoid YAML parsing issues with special characters.

Webhook

Webhook triggers fire when TinyOps receives an incoming event from a connected source.

Schema

webhook-trigger.yaml


trigger:
  type: webhook
  event: "string"              # event identifier
  source: github | generic     # optional, defaults to generic

Field	Type	Required	Description
`type`	string	Yes	Must be `webhook`
`event`	string	Yes	The event name to listen for
`source`	string	No	`github` or `generic`. Defaults to `generic`.

GitHub Webhook Events

When source is github, the event string follows the format github.<event_type>.<action>:

Event	Description
`github.pull_request.opened`	A new pull request is opened
`github.pull_request.closed`	A pull request is closed or merged
`github.workflow_run.completed`	A GitHub Actions workflow finishes
`github.push`	Code is pushed to a branch

Generic Webhook Events

When source is generic (or omitted), you define your own event name. TinyOps matches incoming webhook payloads by event name.

Examples

GitHub PR opened

large-pr-warning.yaml


name: large-pr-warning
 
trigger:
  type: webhook
  event: github.pull_request.opened
  source: github
 
condition:
  provider: github
  check: pr.lines_changed
  operator: gt
  value: 500
 
action:
  provider: github
  method: pr_comment
  params:
    body: "This PR has {{condition.result}} lines changed. Consider breaking it into smaller PRs."

Workflow completed

deploy-rollback.yaml


name: deploy-rollback
 
trigger:
  type: webhook
  event: github.workflow_run.completed
  source: github
 
action:
  provider: vercel
  method: rollback
  params: {}

Generic event

release-notification.yaml


name: release-notification
 
trigger:
  type: webhook
  event: release
  source: generic
 
action:
  provider: slack
  method: send_message
  params:
    channel: "#releases"
    text: "New release at {{now}}. Details: {{trigger.data}}"

Webhook rules without a condition will fire on every matching event. Add a condition if you only want to act under specific circumstances.

Poll

Poll triggers check at a fixed interval. They are simpler than cron schedules and ideal for lightweight periodic monitoring.

Schema

poll-trigger.yaml


trigger:
  type: poll
  interval: "string"  # duration: number + unit (m, h, d)

Field	Type	Required	Description
`type`	string	Yes	Must be `poll`
`interval`	string	Yes	Duration string like `"5m"`, `"1h"`, or `"1d"`

Interval Format

The interval must match the pattern: a positive integer followed by a unit.

Unit	Meaning	Example	Minimum
`m`	minutes	`5m` = every 5 minutes	`1m`
`h`	hours	`1h` = every hour	-
`d`	days	`1d` = every day	-

The minimum poll interval is 1 minute (1m). Values like 0m or 30s are not valid.

Examples

poll-db-size.yaml


name: db-size-monitor
 
trigger:
  type: poll
  interval: "1h"
 
condition:
  provider: supabase
  check: db.size
  operator: gt
  value: 500
 
action:
  provider: slack
  method: send_message
  params:
    channel: "#infra"
    text: "Database size is {{condition.result}}MB, exceeding 500MB threshold."

poll-row-count.yaml


name: table-growth-alert
 
trigger:
  type: poll
  interval: "30m"
 
condition:
  provider: supabase
  check: table.row_count
  operator: gt
  value: 100000
 
action:
  provider: email
  method: send
  params:
    to: "{{org.owner.email}}"
    subject: "Table row count alert"
    body: "Row count has reached {{condition.result}}. Time: {{now}}"

Choosing a Trigger Type

Scenario	Recommended Trigger
Run a report at a specific time	`schedule` with cron
React to a GitHub event in real-time	`webhook` with source `github`
React to external service events	`webhook` with source `generic`
Simple periodic check without complex timing	`poll` with interval

Next Steps

Conditions to filter when actions should run
Actions for what to do when a rule fires
YAML Syntax for full schema reference