ActionCircleCIUpdated June 2026

How do I trigger a CircleCI pipeline?

Short answer: Drop the "CircleCITrigger Pipeline" action anywhere in your workflow, map the inputs from upstream nodes, and publish.

Inputs

The fields this action accepts.

Every field can be mapped from an upstream trigger, AI step, table row, or hard-coded literal.

FieldTypeRequiredDescription
Project Slug
project_slug
stringRequiredFormat: gh/org/repo or bb/org/repo
Branch
branch
stringOptionalBranch to run the pipeline on
Tag
tag
stringOptionalGit tag to run the pipeline on (alternative to branch)
Pipeline Parameters (JSON)
parameters
stringOptionalCustom parameters defined in your .circleci/config.yml
Sample request
{
"project_slug": "e.g. gh/acme-corp/my-project",
"branch": "e.g. main",
"tag": "e.g. v1.2.3",
"parameters": "{\"deploy_env\": \"staging\"}"
}
Returns
{
"id": "abc-123-def",
"state": "created",
"number": 42,
"created_at": "2025-01-15T12:00:00.000Z"
}

Use these fields in downstream nodes for routing, logging, or error handling.

Triggered by

Apps that pair well as the trigger for Trigger Pipeline.

Any of these apps can fire this action as part of a workflow.

FAQ

Questions about Trigger Pipeline.

What does the Trigger Pipeline action do in CircleCI?
Starts a CI run with optional branch and parameter overrides. Useful for "Linear issue moved to deploy → trigger production pipeline" or "rollback requested → trigger pipeline with deploy_version=X parameter" patterns.
What inputs does Trigger Pipeline require?
Required: Project Slug. Every input accepts a static value or a variable from any upstream node in your workflow.
Can I use dynamic inputs from earlier workflow nodes?
Yes. Any field on this action can pull values from upstream nodes, whether that's a form response, a trigger payload, an AI output, or a lookup result.
What happens if CircleCI returns an error?
The workflow pauses on the failed node, the error message is captured in the run log, and you can retry the run with one click. Auto-retry policies are configurable per workflow with exponential backoff up to 5 attempts.
Does Trigger Pipeline support batch operations?
Yes. Run Trigger Pipeline inside a Loop node to process arrays. Tiny Command handles CircleCI's rate limits automatically so you don't have to throttle manually.
More actions

Other CircleCI actions.

Action
Cancel Workflow
Stops an in-flight workflow. Useful for "downstream check failed, short-circuit the rest of the pipeline" cascading workflows or for emergency stop on accidental production deploys.
Action
Get Pipeline
Returns a pipeline by ID with its workflows, jobs, and current state. The standard lookup for workflows that triggered a pipeline and need to poll for completion before proceeding.
Action
List Pipelines
Returns paginated pipelines for a project with state and branch filters. Useful for "what shipped this week" reports and for CI-health monitoring workflows.

Send trigger pipeline from your workflows.

Triggered by anything in the catalog. Free tier available. No credit card.