> For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL.
> For a complete documentation index, see https://docs.meetgail.com/platform/workflows/node-reference/logic-and-flow/start/llms.txt.
> For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://docs.meetgail.com/_mcp/server.

# Start

> The entry point of every workflow, where a run begins and receives its incoming information.

The Start node is where every workflow begins. Each workflow has exactly one,
and it defines two things: how the workflow is triggered and what information it
accepts when it runs. The Start node does no work of its own, it simply hands
the incoming data to the steps that follow.

## When to use it

* Every workflow needs one, so this is where you decide how a run gets kicked
  off: manually, on a schedule, by an incoming webhook, or by a JotForm
  submission, a Google Form response, or a Facebook lead.
* You want to collect specific fields at the start (a customer name, a policy
  number) so later steps can read them.
* You want to accept a file, such as a signed application, when the workflow
  starts.

## Inputs

| Field               | What it's for                                                                                                       | Example                                 |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| Schedule            | Run the workflow automatically on a repeating schedule.                                                             | Every weekday at 9:00 AM                |
| Webhook             | Let another system start the workflow by sending it a request.                                                      | A form tool posts a new submission      |
| JotForm submissions | Start the workflow from a JotForm submission. Needs the webhook on.                                                 | A quote request arrives on your JotForm |
| Google Forms        | Copy a ready-made Apps Script that sends each Google Form response to this workflow. Shown while the webhook is on. | A prospect answers your referral form   |
| Meta lead forms     | Start the workflow when someone submits the Facebook lead form you pick.                                            | A lead from your auto-insurance ad      |
| Input Schema        | The fields the workflow collects when it starts. Each becomes available to later steps.                             | `customer_name`, `risk_score`           |
| Expose as Tool      | Make the workflow available for an AI agent to run, using the input schema as its parameters.                       | A Gail agent triggers a quote workflow  |
| Accept File Uploads | Allow files to be attached when the workflow starts, so later steps can work with them.                             | Upload the signed contract PDF          |

You can leave everything off. A Start node with no schedule and no webhook is a
valid manual-trigger entry point that you run by hand. For how to set up each
form and lead trigger, see
[Triggers & Webhooks](/platform/workflows/core-concepts/triggers-webhooks).

## Outputs

| Field         | What you get back                                                             |
| ------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Incoming data | The information the workflow was started with, available to every later step. |

## Example

An agency runs an underwriting workflow whenever a new quote request arrives.
The Start node is set up with an input schema that collects the applicant's name
and a risk score, and it accepts a single PDF upload for the signed
application. When Sarah Chen's request comes in, later steps read her name and
score straight from the Start node and pull the uploaded document into a
document-analysis step.

![The Start node configuration panel, showing schedule, webhook, input schema, and file-upload options.](/_fern-img/a8f4d2496d476f5bb330e3cf9b91a51e04351009bddc34bdcfa89d041333c2c8.webp)

> **Note**
>
> The fields you define in the input schema are the contract for starting the
> workflow. If a later step reads a field that was never collected, the run will
> fail, so make sure every field a step depends on is listed here.

## Related nodes

#### [End](/platform/workflows/node-reference/logic-and-flow/end)

Marks where a run finishes.

#### [Data Transform](/platform/workflows/node-reference/logic-and-flow/data-transform)

Reshape the incoming data into tidy variables for later steps.

> Documentation for Gail, the AI platform for financial services. Learn how to set up GailGPT and Gail Agent to automate customer communications for insurance, banking, and finance.