Triggers
Starter
Manually initiate workflow execution with input parameters
The Starter block allows manual workflow execution with two input modes: structured parameters or conversational chat.
Execution Modes
Choose your input method from the dropdown:
- Structured inputs: Define specific parameters (text, number, boolean, JSON, file, date)
- Form interface: Users fill out a form with predefined fields
- API friendly: Perfect for programmatic execution
Configure input parameters that will be available when deploying as an API endpoint.
- Natural language: Users type questions or requests
- start.input variable: Captures all user input as
<start.input>
- start.conversationId: Access conversation ID as
<start.conversationId>
- Conversational: Ideal for AI-powered workflows
Chat with your workflow and access both input text and conversation ID for context-aware responses.
Using Chat Variables
In Chat mode, access user input and conversation context through special variables:
# Reference the chat input and conversation ID in your workflow
user_message: "<start.input>"
conversation_id: "<start.conversationId>"
<start.input>
- Contains the user's message text<start.conversationId>
- Unique identifier for the conversation thread
API Execution
curl -X POST "https://api.sim.dev/v1/workflows/{id}/start" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer {api-key}" \
-d '{"parameters": {"userId": "123", "action": "process"}}'
curl -X POST "https://api.sim.dev/v1/workflows/{id}/start" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer {api-key}" \
-d '{"input": "Analyze Q4 sales data"}'
Starter blocks are ideal for testing workflows and user-initiated tasks. For automated execution, use Schedule or Webhook triggers.