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

# Triggers

> Automate your help desk with ordered rules that run when tickets are created or updated, setting statuses, routing work, and adding notes for you.

## Introduction

Triggers are automation rules for your help desk. Each trigger watches for tickets that are **created** or **updated**, checks them against the conditions you define, and runs the actions you choose - like setting a status, assigning a team or agent, or adding an internal note - without anyone lifting a finger.

The mental model is simple: **WHEN** a ticket matches your conditions, **THEN** run these actions.

Triggers run **in order, top to bottom**, and **every matching trigger fires**. This lets you stack rules - one to route billing questions, another to prioritize angry customers - and they all apply to the same ticket in the order you set.

You configure triggers from **Help desk settings → Triggers**.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/chatbase/XFP5f4YsqhVtBOe3/user-guides/images/help-desk/triggers/triggers-settings.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=XFP5f4YsqhVtBOe3&q=85&s=fc88b0e0975722b2245cce1e9e555e16" alt="Triggers settings page listing existing triggers" width="2934" height="1580" data-path="user-guides/images/help-desk/triggers/triggers-settings.png" />
</Frame>

<Info>
  Triggers require the Help Desk to be enabled for your agent. If you haven't set it up yet, see the [Help Desk overview](/docs/user-guides/chatbot/help-desk/help-desk-overview).
</Info>

## How a Trigger Works

Every trigger is made of four parts:

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Details" icon="pen">
    A **name** and optional **description** so your team knows what the rule does and why.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Conditions (WHEN)" icon="filter">
    The rules that decide whether a ticket matches - based on its status, channel, assignee, team, subject, and more.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Actions (THEN)" icon="bolt">
    What happens when a ticket matches - set a status, assign work, or add a note. Actions run in order.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Status" icon="toggle-on">
    Whether the trigger is **Active** or **Paused**. Only active triggers run.
  </Card>
</Columns>

## How Triggers Run (Cycles)

Triggers don't just run once from top to bottom - they run in **cycles**. This lets one trigger's action feed into another trigger's conditions, so your rules can build on each other.

Here's what happens each time a ticket is created or updated:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Scan from the top">
    Chatbase checks every active trigger in order, top to bottom, against the ticket.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Matching triggers fire">
    Each trigger whose conditions match runs its actions.
  </Step>

  <Step title="A change restarts the scan">
    If any trigger changes the ticket (for example, it sets a new status or assigns a team), the scan **starts over from the top**. Triggers that hadn't matched before now get another chance, because they're re-checked against the ticket's updated state.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Repeat until nothing changes">
    The cycle keeps restarting until a full pass makes no further change. At that point the ticket is done and the final result is saved.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  Ordering still matters. Put the trigger that sets the foundational value (like status or team) **above** the triggers that react to it, so the reaction gets picked up when the scan restarts.
</Tip>

## Creating a Trigger

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Triggers">
    Go to **Help desk settings → Triggers** and click **New trigger**. A panel opens from the right.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Name your trigger">
    Give it a clear **Name** (for example, "Route billing tickets") and an optional **Description** explaining what it does.

    <Frame>
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/chatbase/XFP5f4YsqhVtBOe3/user-guides/images/help-desk/triggers/create-triggers-naming.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=XFP5f4YsqhVtBOe3&q=85&s=38b731d73e8efcc7a959e6036eda1cbb" alt="New trigger panel with name, conditions, and actions" width="2936" height="1596" data-path="user-guides/images/help-desk/triggers/create-triggers-naming.png" />
    </Frame>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the conditions (WHEN)">
    Add the conditions that decide when the trigger should run. See [Conditions](#conditions) below for every available field and operator.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add the actions (THEN)">
    Add at least one action to perform when a ticket matches. See [Actions](#actions) below for the full list.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Activate and save">
    Use the **Active / Paused** toggle to decide whether the trigger runs, then click **Create trigger**. New triggers are active by default.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Conditions

Conditions decide which tickets a trigger applies to. They're organized into two groups:

* **Match ALL of** - every condition in this group must match.
* **Match ANY of** - at least one condition in this group must match. This group is optional and is combined with the ALL group using **AND**.

<Tip>
  Use **Match ALL of** for the rules that must always be true (for example, "Status category is New") and **Match ANY of** for a set of alternatives (for example, subject contains "refund" **or** "chargeback").
</Tip>

### When does a trigger run?

Add a **Ticket is Created** or **Ticket is Updated** condition to control when a trigger fires. If you don't add one, the trigger runs on **both** create and update.

### Condition fields

| Field               | What it matches                                                                                                                                                                             | Operators                                               |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Ticket**          | Whether the ticket was just **Created** or **Updated**. Use this to scope when the trigger runs.                                                                                            | `is`                                                    |
| **Status category** | The ticket's category: **New**, **On you**, **On customer**, **On hold**, **Closed**, or **Cancelled**.                                                                                     | `is`, `is not`, `changed`, `changed to`, `changed from` |
| **Status**          | A specific ticket status you've configured (see [Ticket statuses](/docs/user-guides/chatbot/help-desk/ticket-statuses)).                                                                         | `is`, `is not`, `changed`, `changed to`, `changed from` |
| **Channel**         | The channel the ticket came in on - **Help desk**, **Chat bubble**, **Email**, **WhatsApp**, **API**, **Messenger**, **Instagram**, **Center stage**, or **Phone**. Select several at once. | `is any of`                                             |
| **Assignee**        | Who the ticket is assigned to, including **Unassigned**.                                                                                                                                    | `is`, `is not`, `changed`, `changed to`, `changed from` |
| **Team**            | Which team the ticket belongs to, including **No team**.                                                                                                                                    | `is`, `is not`, `changed`, `changed to`, `changed from` |
| **Subject**         | Keywords in the ticket subject. Add one or more keywords; matching is case-insensitive.                                                                                                     | `contains any of`                                       |
| **Description**     | Keywords in the ticket description. Add one or more keywords; matching is case-insensitive.                                                                                                 | `contains any of`                                       |

### About operators

| Operator                      | What it does                                                                                                                          |
| ----------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `is` / `is not`               | Compares the ticket's **current** value. For example, "Status category **is** New."                                                   |
| `changed`                     | Matches when the field changed at all during this update, regardless of the new value. Takes no value.                                |
| `changed to` / `changed from` | Matches the specific transition in this update - for example, "Assignee **changed to** Unassigned" or "Status **changed from** Open." |
| `is any of`                   | Matches when the field is any one of several selected values (used for **Channel**).                                                  |
| `contains any of`             | Matches when the text contains any of the keywords you list (used for **Subject** and **Description**).                               |

## Actions

Actions are what the trigger does when a ticket matches. Add at least one; they run **in order**, top to bottom.

| Action                  | What it does                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| ----------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Set status**          | Move the ticket to a specific ticket status you've configured.                                                                                                                                                               |
| **Set status category** | Move the ticket to a category. This applies the category's **default status**. Tickets already in that category are left unchanged.                                                                                          |
| **Assign team**         | Assign the ticket to a team. Optionally check **Auto-assign an agent using the team's strategy** to also route it to an agent based on that team's [assignment method](/docs/user-guides/chatbot/help-desk/assignment-algorithm). |
| **Assign agent**        | Assign the ticket to a specific agent, or choose **Unassign** to clear the assignee.                                                                                                                                         |
| **Add internal note**   | Add an internal note to the ticket. Notes are visible to your team only, never to the customer.                                                                                                                              |

## Managing Triggers

### Ordering

Triggers run in the order they appear in the list. Drag the handle on the left of any trigger to reorder it. Because **every matching trigger fires**, the order matters when two triggers touch the same field - the later one wins.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/chatbase/XFP5f4YsqhVtBOe3/user-guides/images/help-desk/triggers/reorder-triggers.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=XFP5f4YsqhVtBOe3&q=85&s=d8fe6f8ff6bc34d2b677aaec9feb2e7d" alt="Dragging to reorder triggers in the list" width="2553" height="1294" data-path="user-guides/images/help-desk/triggers/reorder-triggers.png" />
</Frame>

### Activate or pause

Use the switch on each trigger row to turn it **Active** or **Paused**. Paused triggers stay in your list but don't run, so you can temporarily disable a rule without deleting it.

### Edit or delete

Open a trigger to edit its name, conditions, or actions at any time. To remove a trigger, use the delete control and confirm - deleted triggers stop running on new and updated tickets, and this can't be undone.

### Needs attention

If a trigger references something that no longer exists - a deleted team, an archived status, or a removed agent - it's flagged with a **Needs attention** badge. Open the trigger and update the affected condition or action to fix it.

## Good to Know

* **Every matching trigger fires.** Triggers aren't exclusive - all rules whose conditions match will run, in order. Use ordering to control which action takes precedence.
* **Triggers run after the ticket is saved.** They apply once a create or update is committed, so they never block or fail the underlying ticket change.
* **Only active triggers run.** Pause a trigger to disable it without losing its configuration.
* **You can add up to 1000 triggers** per agent.