# Triggers

> The five ways an automation can start, and what each one hands to the first step.


Every automation needs a trigger, and it is always the first node. Some triggers hand accounts to the flow, others start it empty and leave the choosing to a **Select accounts** step.

An automation can have more than one trigger. When it does, **Run now** asks which one you want to start from.

## Schedule

Runs on a recurring schedule: every day at a time, weekly on chosen days, or a custom five-field cron expression for anything else.

Schedules run in the timezone you pick on the node, so a plan set to 09:00 stays at 09:00 for you regardless of where the servers are.

This trigger starts the run with no accounts, so the flow needs a **Select accounts** step to decide what it operates on.

## Manual start

Runs only when you press **Run now**. Useful while building, and for flows you want on standby rather than on a timer.

Like the schedule trigger, it starts with no accounts.

## New account added

Starts when accounts are added to your workspace, and hands those accounts straight to the flow. This is the one for onboarding: refresh details, check bans, tag them, tell yourself when they are ready.

Accounts added within 15 seconds of each other are collected into a single run, so importing a CSV of 200 accounts is one run, not 200. Larger imports are split into runs of at most 1,000 accounts.

## FarmLabs drop received

Starts when a linked FarmLabs reports that a weekly drop is ready to claim, with the affected accounts already selected.

## FarmLabs drop claimed

Starts when a linked FarmLabs bot claims a drop into its inventory, again with those accounts selected. **Drop type** narrows it to weekly drops or armory items, or leave it on all drops.

Both FarmLabs triggers only count bots synced to accounts in this workspace, and both need an active FarmLabs link. Drops reported within 60 seconds of each other are collected into one run, split at 1,000 accounts.

> [!NOTE]
> The three event triggers pass their accounts into the flow. If you add a **Select accounts** step after one of them, it replaces that selection with its own, and the builder warns you on the node. Leave it out to act on exactly the accounts the trigger delivered.