> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.hiredata.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Set up a trigger

> Create a Custom App trigger in HireData, describe the payload it receives, test it with sample data, and use it to build fully custom recruitment automations.

A trigger is a web address your other tool sends data to. This article walks through the trigger page from top to bottom: creating the trigger, describing its fields, testing it, and connecting automations.

If you haven't created a custom app yet, start with the [introduction](/apps/custom-apps/introduction).

## Create a trigger

On your app's edit page, click **Create Trigger**. Name it after the data it will receive, for example "New application" or "Candidate updated".

The trigger opens in its editor. At the top you'll find:

* The trigger's **name** and its **address bar** with the request method
* **Try It** to send a test request
* **Automate This** to create an automation from the trigger
* The **Activate** or **Pause** button

## Choose the method and share the address

Click **Copy address** and paste the address into the tool that will send the data.

The request method tells HireData what kind of request to expect:

| Method           | How data is read                            |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| `POST` (default) | From the request body, as JSON or form data |
| `GET`            | From the address's query parameters         |

Requests with a different method than the one configured are rejected.

## Describe the fields you'll receive

The **Fields we receive** list tells HireData what's inside the data, so you can use it in automations and as [variables](/variables/introduction). Each field has:

* **Label**: a readable name, like "Contact: First Name"
* **Key**: the identifier in the data, with dots for nested values, like `contact.firstName`
* **Type**: what kind of value to expect, like text, a number, or a date

There are three ways to build the list:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Paste a sample">
    While the trigger has no fields yet, click **Upload Sample Object** and paste or upload a JSON example of the data you'll send. HireData creates the fields for you and detects emails, phone numbers, dates, and URLs automatically.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Send a request">
    While the trigger has no fields yet, any request sent to its address is stored as the sample and mapped into fields automatically. This also works while the trigger is paused, so it's a safe way to map real data from the other tool.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Add fields manually">
    Click **New Field** to add fields one by one with the same field editor used across HireData. This includes AI fields, which generate a value with AI every time data arrives.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

<Note>
  Once a trigger has fields, new requests no longer change them. Edit the list
  manually or clear it before uploading a new sample.
</Note>

## Test it with Try It

Click **Try It** in the trigger's header to send a request without leaving HireData:

1. The form is pre-filled with example values based on your fields. Adjust anything you like.
2. Click **Send**.
3. Check the request on the left and the response on the right.

The **Mode** switch above the form chooses how the request is handled:

* **Test** (default): creates a test event and runs your automations in a safe sandbox. You can follow every step and its outcome, but nothing is created, changed, or sent.
* **Live**: sends a real request, exactly as your other tool would.

Test events and their runs show a Test label in the **Events** tab.

## Hand it to your developer

If someone else manages the tool that will send the data, the **Request Examples** at the bottom of the trigger give them everything they need. You can copy:

* **cURL**: a ready-to-run example request for the command line
* **JSON**: an example of the data the trigger expects
* **OpenAPI**: a schema that imports into tools like Postman
* **Copy for LLMs**: a single document describing the trigger, made to paste into an AI assistant that's building the integration for you

<Tip>
  Selecting fields first limits the copies to just those fields.
</Tip>

### Sending test requests

Any request can be marked as a test by adding a header:

```
X-HireData-Test: true
```

Test requests behave exactly like Try It's Test mode: automations run in a safe sandbox that doesn't create, change, or send anything, and the event shows a Test label in the **Events** tab. Useful while the other tool's integration is still being built.

## Sync people

If the incoming data describes a person, like a candidate or a contact, the **People** section maps it onto person records in HireData:

1. Click **Add Person** and map the fields.
2. Every request to the trigger now syncs that person automatically.
3. Automations using the trigger can use the person directly, for example as the receiver of an email, without mapping fields again.

Remove all people to stop syncing.

## Turn it into automations

Click **Automate This** in the trigger's header to create a draft automation that starts whenever the trigger receives data. You can configure its steps right after.

The trigger's tabs show everything it does in one place:

* **Automations**: the automations connected to this trigger, with bulk activate, pause, duplicate, and delete
* **Events**: every request the trigger received
* **Runs**: the automation runs those events started
* **Tasks**: the individual tasks those runs executed

## How requests are handled

A quick reference for when something doesn't behave as expected:

1. The request method must match the trigger's configured method, otherwise it's rejected.
2. Every valid request is stored as an event, even while the app or trigger is paused. You'll always see it in the **Events** tab.
3. Automations only run when both the app and the trigger are active. If nothing happens, check those two switches first, then the automation's own status and start filters.
4. Requests with the `X-HireData-Test: true` header are stored as test events and run automations in a sandbox, without live changes.
5. While a trigger has no fields, its first request is used to create them automatically.

### Still need help?

If a trigger isn't behaving as expected, contact our team at [support@hiredata.com](mailto:support@hiredata.com) and include:

* A link to the trigger
* The event, from the **Events** tab
* The automation you expected to run


## Related topics

- [Create a Vincere automation in HireData](/apps/vincere/create-a-vincere-automation-in-hiredata.md)
- [Create a Carerix automation in HireData](/apps/carerix/create-a-carerix-automation-in-hiredata.md)
- [Create an OTYS automation in HireData](/apps/otys/create-an-otys-automation-in-hiredata.md)
- [Logging WhatsApp conversations in Carerix with HireData](/apps/carerix/logging-whatsapp-conversations-in-carerix-with-hiredata.md)
- [Logging Email Messages on Carerix with HireData](/apps/carerix/logging-email-messages-on-carerix-with-hiredata.md)