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Multi-Trigger Actions

A single Sensor can trigger multiple independent actions from one event. This fan-out pattern enables parallel processing, notifications, and coordinated responses. For the complete trigger reference, see the official Triggers documentation.

Fan-Out Pattern

Multiple triggers execute in parallel when an event matches:

flowchart LR
    A[Event] --> B[Sensor]
    B --> C[Trigger 1: Deploy]
    B --> D[Trigger 2: Notify]
    B --> E[Trigger 3: Audit]

    %% Ghostty Hardcore Theme
    style A fill:#65d9ef,color:#1b1d1e
    style B fill:#f92572,color:#1b1d1e
    style C fill:#a7e22e,color:#1b1d1e
    style D fill:#a7e22e,color:#1b1d1e
    style E fill:#a7e22e,color:#1b1d1e

Multiple Triggers Configuration

Define multiple triggers in a single Sensor:

apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
kind: Sensor
metadata:
  name: multi-action-sensor
spec:
  dependencies:
    - name: image-push
      eventSourceName: registry
      eventName: push

  triggers:
    # Trigger 1: Start deployment workflow
    - template:
        name: deploy-workflow
        argoWorkflow:
          operation: submit
          source:
            resource:
              apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
              kind: Workflow
              metadata:
                generateName: deploy-
              spec:
                workflowTemplateRef:
                  name: deployment-workflow
                arguments:
                  parameters:
                    - name: image
                      value: ""

    # Trigger 2: Send Slack notification
    - template:
        name: slack-notify
        http:
          url: https://hooks.slack.com/services/XXX/YYY/ZZZ
          method: POST
          payload:
            - src:
                dependencyName: image-push
                dataKey: body.repository
              dest: text

    # Trigger 3: Create audit log entry
    - template:
        name: audit-log
        k8s:
          operation: create
          source:
            resource:
              apiVersion: v1
              kind: ConfigMap
              metadata:
                generateName: audit-
              data:
                event: ""

All three triggers fire simultaneously when an image push event arrives.

Trigger Types

Different actions for different purposes:

Trigger Type Purpose Argo Docs
argoWorkflow Submit Argo Workflows Argo Workflow Trigger
http HTTP/webhook requests HTTP Trigger
k8s Create/patch K8s resources Kubernetes Trigger
awsLambda Invoke Lambda functions AWS Lambda Trigger
kafka Publish to Kafka topics Kafka Trigger
slack Send Slack messages Slack Trigger

Conditional Triggers

Apply conditions to individual triggers:

triggers:
  - template:
      name: prod-deploy
      conditions: prod-only
      argoWorkflow:
        # Only fires if condition matches
        operation: submit
        source:
          resource:
            # ...

  - template:
      name: staging-deploy
      conditions: staging-only
      argoWorkflow:
        # Different condition
        operation: submit
        source:
          resource:
            # ...

  conditions:
    prod-only:
      - expr: body.tag matches "^v[0-9]+"
    staging-only:
      - expr: body.tag matches "^staging-"

Different triggers fire based on which condition matches the event.

Parameter Injection

Pass event data to each trigger:

triggers:
  - template:
      name: deploy-workflow
      argoWorkflow:
        operation: submit
        parameters:
          - src:
              dependencyName: image-push
              dataKey: body.repository
            dest: spec.arguments.parameters.0.value
          - src:
              dependencyName: image-push
              dataKey: body.tag
            dest: spec.arguments.parameters.1.value
        source:
          resource:
            apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
            kind: Workflow
            spec:
              arguments:
                parameters:
                  - name: image
                    value: ""
                  - name: tag
                    value: ""

The parameters section extracts data from the event and injects it into the trigger resource.

Trigger Independence

Each trigger is independent:

  • Parallel execution: All triggers start simultaneously
  • Independent failure: One trigger failing doesn't affect others
  • No ordering: No guaranteed execution order between triggers

If you need sequential execution, use a single workflow trigger that handles the orchestration internally.

Keep Triggers Simple

Each trigger should do one thing. Complex orchestration belongs in workflows, not in Sensor trigger definitions. Sensors route and fan-out; workflows orchestrate.

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