HelixML

Configure triggers

Extend an agent app beyond the chat UI. Respond in Slack, Teams, Discord, on a schedule, or via webhook.

By default, an agent app is only reachable through the Helix chat UI. Triggers let the agent respond in external channels or run on a schedule.

Configure triggers in your agent app under the Triggers tab.

Cron (scheduled)

Run the agent on a schedule with a fixed input:

Schedule: 0 9 * * 1-5
Input: Generate a summary of open issues assigned to the team.

Standard 5-field cron syntax, UTC. The agent runs the input prompt at each scheduled time and sends the result to the channel where the trigger is configured (Slack, email, webhook) — or stores it if no output channel is set.

Useful for: daily standup summaries, weekly reports, monitoring alerts.

Slack

  1. In the Triggers tab, click Add Trigger → Slack.
  2. Click Connect to Slack and authorise the Helix Slack app in your workspace.
  3. Choose the channels to monitor.

The agent responds to:

  • Direct messages to the bot
  • @-mentions in the configured channels
  • (Optionally) all messages in the channel

The agent replies in the same thread. Conversation history within a thread is preserved as context.

Store the bot token as a secret if you need to configure it manually:

SLACK_BOT_TOKEN: xoxb-...

Microsoft Teams

  1. Click Add Trigger → Teams.
  2. Follow the OAuth flow to authorise the Helix Teams app.
  3. Choose the team and channels to monitor.

The agent responds to @-mentions and direct messages. Replies appear in the same thread.

Discord

  1. Click Add Trigger → Discord.
  2. Provide the Discord bot token (stored as a secret).
  3. List the server and channel names to monitor.

The agent responds to messages that @-mention the bot or are posted in configured channels.

Webhook

Webhooks let any external system trigger the agent with a POST request.

  1. Click Add Trigger → Webhook.
  2. Helix generates a unique URL. Copy it.

Call it with a JSON body:

curl -X POST https://app.helix.ml/api/v1/sessions/webhook/<id> \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <your-api-key>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"input": "Summarise the latest deployment status"}'

The response body is the agent's reply. Use ?stream=true to stream tokens as they are generated.

Webhooks are useful for integrating with CI/CD pipelines, incident management tools, or any system that can make an HTTP request.

Azure DevOps

The Azure DevOps trigger fires when work items are created or updated.

  1. Click Add Trigger → Azure DevOps.
  2. Enter your Azure DevOps organisation URL and a personal access token (store it as a secret).
  3. Choose the event types (work item created, updated, commented, etc.).

The agent receives the work item payload and can comment back on the item, update fields, or route it to another system using API skills.

Crisp (live chat)

Connect the agent to a Crisp live chat inbox:

  1. Click Add Trigger → Crisp.
  2. Provide your Crisp website ID and API credentials (store as secrets).
  3. Choose whether the agent responds automatically or assists a human agent.

The agent sees the full conversation history in the Crisp inbox and can reply to customer messages directly.

Combining triggers

An agent can have multiple triggers — for example, a Slack trigger for team use and a webhook for CI/CD integration. Each trigger fires independently; the agent handles them the same way regardless of source.