Setting up an Event-based Trigger

Event-based triggers allow you to automatically run actions when specific database events occur. In this tutorial, we'll create an executor that sends a Slack notification when a Project's status changes to "COMPLETED".

• To follow along with this tutorial, first complete the SDK Quickstart and the Data Schema Basics tutorial.

Tutorial Steps

To create an event-based trigger, you'll need to:

1. Configure the Executor service
2. Create the executor with a record updated trigger
3. Enable PublishRecordEvents setting on the Project type
4. Deploy the changes
5. Verify the trigger

1. Configure the Executor Service

Update your tailor.config.ts to include the executor service:

import { defineConfig } from "@tailor-platform/sdk";

export default defineConfig({
  name: "project-management",
  db: {
    "main-db": {
      files: ["db/**/*.ts"],
    },
  },
  executor: {
    files: ["executor/**/*.ts"],
  },
});

This configures the SDK to load executor definitions from the executor/ directory.

2. Create the Executor with Record Updated Trigger

Create a new file executor/notify-project-completion.ts:

import { createExecutor, recordUpdatedTrigger } from "@tailor-platform/sdk";
import { project } from "../db/project";
import { getDB } from "../generated/tailordb";

export default createExecutor({
  name: "notify-project-completion",
  description: "Send Slack notification when project is completed",
  trigger: recordUpdatedTrigger({
    type: project,
    condition: ({ newRecord, oldRecord }) =>
      newRecord.status === "COMPLETED" && oldRecord.status !== "COMPLETED",
  }),
  operation: {
    kind: "webhook",
    url: () => "https://hooks.slack.com/services/YOUR_WEBHOOK_URL",
    headers: {
      "Content-Type": "application/json",
    },
    requestBody: async ({ newRecord }) => {
      const db = getDB("main-db");

      // Count tasks for summary
      const taskStats = await db
        .selectFrom("Task")
        .select(({ fn }) => [
          fn.count<number>("id").as("total"),
          fn.countAll<number>().filterWhere("status", "=", "DONE").as("completed"),
        ])
        .where("projectId", "=", newRecord.id)
        .executeTakeFirst();

      return {
        text: `🎉 Project Completed: ${newRecord.name}`,
        blocks: [
          {
            type: "section",
            text: {
              type: "mrkdwn",
              text: `*Project:* ${newRecord.name}\n*Status:* ${newRecord.status}\n*Tasks:* ${taskStats?.completed}/${taskStats?.total} completed`,
            },
          },
        ],
      };
    },
  },
});

Key Components:

1. Trigger: recordUpdatedTrigger() fires when a Project record is updated

   • type: project: Specifies which type to monitor
   • condition: Only triggers when status changes TO "COMPLETED" (not already completed)

2. Operation: webhook sends HTTP POST request to Slack

   • url: Your Slack webhook URL (replace with actual URL from Slack)
   • requestBody: Constructs the Slack message with project details and task statistics

3. Database Query: Uses Kysely to query task completion statistics before sending the notification

3. Enable PublishRecordEvents Setting

To ensure the executor triggers when Project records are updated, enable PublishRecordEvents in your Project type definition.

Update your db/project.ts file:

import { db } from "@tailor-platform/sdk";

export const project = db
  .type("Project", {
    name: db.string().description("Project name"),
    description: db.string().optional().description("Project description"),
    status: db
      .enum(["planning", "active", "completed", "archived"])
      .description("Current project status"),
    startDate: db.string().optional().description("Project start date"),
    endDate: db.string().optional().description("Project end date"),
    createdAt: db.string().description("Creation timestamp"),
    updatedAt: db.string().description("Last update timestamp"),
  })
  .settings({
    publishRecordEvents: true,
  });

The .settings({ publishRecordEvents: true }) configuration enables the platform to publish events when Project records are created, updated, or deleted. Without this setting, the executor trigger will not fire.

4. Deploy the Changes

Before deploying, make sure you have:

1. Created a Slack webhook URL (see Slack Incoming Webhooks)
2. Replaced YOUR_WEBHOOK_URL in the executor code with your actual webhook URL
3. Generated Kysely types: npm run generate (if using Kysely type generator)

Deploy your application:

npm run deploy -- --workspace-id <your-workspace-id>

The SDK will deploy both the updated Project type with publishRecordEvents enabled and the new executor.

5. Verify the Trigger

Open the Console and navigate to your workspace. Select Executors to view the created executor.

Test the Executor:

1. Create a test project: In the GraphQL Playground, create a project with some tasks:

mutation {
  createProject(
    input: {
      name: "Website Redesign"
      description: "Complete redesign of company website"
      status: "active"
      createdAt: "2026-02-09T10:00:00Z"
      updatedAt: "2026-02-09T10:00:00Z"
    }
  ) {
    id
  }
}

2. Create some tasks for the project (use the project ID from above):

mutation {
  createTask(
    input: {
      title: "Design homepage"
      projectId: "<project-id>"
      status: "DONE"
      createdAt: "2026-02-09T10:00:00Z"
      updatedAt: "2026-02-09T10:00:00Z"
    }
  ) {
    id
  }
}

3. Update the project status to COMPLETED:

mutation {
  updateProject(
    id: "<project-id>"
    input: { status: "COMPLETED", updatedAt: "2026-02-09T11:00:00Z" }
  ) {
    id
    status
  }
}

4. Check Slack: You should receive a notification in your Slack channel with the project name and task completion statistics.

5. View executor logs: In the Console, select the Jobs tab to see the executor execution history.

Clicking View Attempts displays details of job execution attempts. The Tailor Platform automatically retries failed webhook calls (non-2xx status codes), except for configuration or script errors.

Troubleshooting:

• No notification received: Verify your Slack webhook URL is correct
• Executor not triggering: Ensure publishRecordEvents: true is set on the Project type
• Error in logs: Check the executor logs in the Console for detailed error messages

Next Steps

Learn more about executors:

• Executor Service - Complete executor documentation
• Trigger Types - All available trigger types
• Operation Types - Different operation kinds
• Schedule Triggers - Create cron-based executors