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Getting Started with Activepieces

This guide will walk you through creating your first workflow in Activepieces. You’ll learn how to set up triggers, add actions, connect pieces, and publish your automation.

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Choose Your Path

You can get started with Activepieces in two ways:

Cloud (Recommended)

Sign up for a free account at cloud.activepieces.com and start building immediately.

Self-Hosted

Run Activepieces on your own infrastructure. See the deployment guide for instructions.

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Create Your First Workflow

1

Create an Account or Run Locally

Option 1: CloudVisit cloud.activepieces.com and sign up for a free account.Option 2: Local DevelopmentClone the repository and start the development environment:
git clone https://github.com/activepieces/activepieces.git
cd activepieces
npm install
npm start
The application will be available at http://localhost:4200
2

Create a New Flow

Once logged in, click the “Create Flow” button in your dashboard.Give your flow a descriptive name, such as “My First Automation” or “Webhook to Slack”.
Flows in Activepieces are called “flows” throughout the codebase and can be thought of as workflows or automations.
3

Set Up a Trigger

Every flow starts with a trigger. Triggers determine when your automation runs.For this example, let’s use a Webhook trigger:
  1. Click on the trigger step (the first step in your flow)
  2. Search for and select “Webhook”
  3. The webhook URL will be automatically generated
  4. Copy this URL - you’ll use it to test your flow
Other popular triggers include:
  • Schedule: Run on a cron schedule (every hour, daily, etc.)
  • App Events: Trigger from specific apps (new email, new row in Google Sheets, etc.)
  • MCP Tool: Expose your flow as an MCP server tool for AI assistants
4

Add Your First Action

Actions are the steps that execute when your trigger fires. Let’s add a simple action:
  1. Click the ”+” button below your trigger
  2. Search for “Data Mapper” or “HTTP Request”
  3. Configure the action:
Example: Send to SlackIf you want to send a message to Slack:
  1. Search for and select “Slack”
  2. Choose “Send Message to Channel”
  3. Connect your Slack account (click ”+ New Connection”)
  4. Select a channel
  5. Write your message - you can reference trigger data using {{trigger.body}}
Example: HTTP RequestOr make a simple HTTP request:
  1. Select “HTTP” piece
  2. Choose “Send Request” action
  3. Set method to POST
  4. Enter URL: https://httpbin.org/post
  5. Add body with trigger data: {{trigger}}
5

Connect a Piece (Integration)

Most pieces require authentication. Here’s how to connect them:
  1. When configuring an action that needs auth, you’ll see ”+ New Connection”
  2. Click it to open the authentication dialog
  3. Depending on the piece, you’ll either:
    • Enter an API key directly
    • Go through OAuth flow (for Google, Slack, etc.)
    • Provide connection details (for databases, etc.)
  4. Give your connection a name
  5. Click “Save”
Connections are securely stored and can be reused across multiple flows in your project.
6

Test Your Flow

Before publishing, test your flow:
  1. Click the “Test Flow” button in the top right
  2. For webhook triggers, use curl or a tool like Postman:
curl -X POST https://cloud.activepieces.com/api/v1/webhooks/YOUR_WEBHOOK_ID \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"message": "Hello from Activepieces!"}'
  1. Watch the execution in real-time
  2. Click on each step to see input/output data
  3. Fix any errors and test again
Test runs don’t count against your execution limits and help you debug before going live.
7

Publish Your Flow

Once testing is successful:
  1. Click “Publish” in the top right
  2. Your flow is now live and will execute automatically when triggered
  3. The flow status changes from DRAFT to ENABLED
You can monitor executions in the “Runs” tab to see:
  • Execution history
  • Success/failure status
  • Step-by-step execution logs
  • Input and output data

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Example: Complete Webhook to Slack Flow

Here’s a complete example of a flow that receives webhook data and sends it to Slack: 
// Flow Structure
{
  displayName: "Webhook to Slack Notification",
  trigger: {
    type: "WEBHOOK",
    settings: {
      inputSchema: [] // Accept any JSON payload
    }
  },
  actions: [
    {
      type: "PIECE",
      settings: {
        pieceName: "@activepieces/piece-slack",
        actionName: "send_message",
        input: {
          channel: "#notifications",
          text: "New webhook received: {{trigger.body.message}}"
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

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Understanding Flow Versions

Activepieces uses a versioning system for flows:
  • Draft: Work-in-progress version that hasn’t been published
  • Locked: Published version that’s actively running
When you make changes to a published flow:
  1. A new draft version is created
  2. The locked version continues running
  3. Publishing the draft replaces the locked version
This ensures your production flows aren’t disrupted while you’re making changes.

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Next Steps

Now that you’ve created your first flow, explore more advanced features:

Add Branches & Loops

Build complex logic with conditional routing

Use Code Steps

Write custom JavaScript with npm packages

Build AI Workflows

Create intelligent automations with AI

Create Custom Pieces

Build your own integrations in TypeScript

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Getting Help

If you run into issues:

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