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# Start Campaign

> Puts an existing Gail campaign into a running state.

The Start Campaign node starts an existing campaign by its ID, moving it into a running
state so it begins reaching out. It returns the campaign's current details once started.

## When to use it

* You have created or prepared a campaign and now want it to begin.
* You want to hold a campaign until a condition is met earlier in the run, then start it.
* You enroll contacts first and start the campaign only once everyone is in.

## Inputs

| Field    | What it's for                                                                                                                                                | Example                                |
| -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------- |
| Campaign | The campaign to start, given by its ID. Often the ID returned by an earlier [Create Campaign](/platform/workflows/node-reference/gail/create-campaign) step. | `019e3a1c-8b2f-7890-abcd-1234567890ab` |

The Campaign field can be a fixed ID or an [expression](/platform/workflows/core-concepts/expressions/using-expressions-in-nodes)
that reads the ID from an earlier step or the trigger.

## Outputs

| Field            | What you get back                                                                                                                        |
| ---------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Outcome          | Whether the campaign was started.                                                                                                        |
| Campaign details | On success, the campaign's name, description, status after starting, its sequences, its attached contact lists, and when it was created. |

## Example

A workflow clones a campaign, enrolls that quarter's renewal prospects into it, and only
then calls Start Campaign with the new campaign's ID so outreach begins once everyone is
enrolled. Starting last avoids reaching out to a half-populated campaign.

![The Start Campaign node configuration panel, showing the campaign ID field.](https://fdr-prod-docs-files-public.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/gail.docs.buildwithfern.com/9a27d2adbc8c030836153ca57de0dccb12db498c147673dafd9643a8bb32aa2d/docs/pages/platform/workflows/assets/gail-start-campaign.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA6KXJSKKNFOCF7G4B%2F20260823%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20260823T232925Z&X-Amz-Expires=604800&X-Amz-Signature=b781ff32fc31331f0f14fd989d7240d9b2608b39af9d981faa2a8ab5e971a15b&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject)

Enroll your contacts before you start the campaign. Starting first means the campaign
begins reaching out while you are still adding people, so the earliest contacts get
different timing than the rest.

## Related nodes

#### [Create Campaign](/platform/workflows/node-reference/gail/create-campaign)

Clone a campaign from a template before starting it.

#### [Add Contacts to Campaign (Bulk)](/platform/workflows/node-reference/gail/add-contacts-to-campaign-bulk)

Enroll contacts into the campaign before you start it.

#### [Add Contact to Campaign](/platform/workflows/node-reference/gail/add-contact-to-campaign)

Enroll a single contact into the campaign.