Triggers

Triggers automatically invoke functions when specific events occur, such as HTTP requests, scheduled times, or custom events.

registerTrigger()

const trigger = iii.registerTrigger(config)

config

RegisterTriggerInput

required

Trigger configuration

Show RegisterTriggerInput properties

type

string

required

Trigger type (e.g., 'http', 'cron', 'functions_available')

function_id

string

required

ID of the function to invoke

config

unknown

required

Type-specific trigger configuration

trigger

Trigger

Trigger reference with unregister method

Show Trigger properties

unregister

() => void

Function to unregister this trigger

HTTP Triggers

Expose functions as HTTP endpoints.

Basic HTTP Endpoint

import { init, type HttpRequest, type ApiResponse } from 'iii-sdk'

const iii = init('ws://localhost:49199')

// Register function
iii.registerFunction(
  { id: 'api::hello' },
  async (req: HttpRequest): Promise<ApiResponse> => {
    return {
      status_code: 200,
      body: { message: 'Hello, World!' }
    }
  }
)

// Register HTTP trigger
const trigger = iii.registerTrigger({
  type: 'http',
  function_id: 'api::hello',
  config: {
    api_path: 'hello',
    http_method: 'GET'
  }
})

Endpoint available at: http://localhost:3199/hello

HTTP Request Types

HttpRequest

object

HTTP request object passed to function handlers

Show HttpRequest properties

path_params

Record<string, string>

Path parameters extracted from route (e.g., :id)

query_params

Record<string, string | string[]>

Query string parameters

body

unknown

Parsed request body (JSON for application/json)

headers

Record<string, string | string[]>

HTTP request headers

method

string

HTTP method (GET, POST, etc.)

request_body

ChannelReader

Streaming request body reader

ApiResponse

object

JSON response format

Show ApiResponse properties

status_code

number

required

HTTP status code (e.g., 200, 404, 500)

headers

Record<string, string>

Response headers

body

string | Buffer | Record<string, unknown>

Response body (automatically JSON-stringified for objects)

Path Parameters

iii.registerFunction(
  { id: 'api::get_user' },
  async (req: HttpRequest): Promise<ApiResponse> => {
    const userId = req.path_params.id
    
    return {
      status_code: 200,
      body: { id: userId, name: 'John Doe' }
    }
  }
)

iii.registerTrigger({
  type: 'http',
  function_id: 'api::get_user',
  config: {
    api_path: 'users/:id',
    http_method: 'GET'
  }
})

// GET /users/123 → { id: "123", name: "John Doe" }

Query Parameters

iii.registerFunction(
  { id: 'api::search' },
  async (req: HttpRequest): Promise<ApiResponse> => {
    const query = req.query_params.q as string
    const limit = parseInt(req.query_params.limit as string || '10')
    
    return {
      status_code: 200,
      body: { query, limit, results: [] }
    }
  }
)

iii.registerTrigger({
  type: 'http',
  function_id: 'api::search',
  config: {
    api_path: 'search',
    http_method: 'GET'
  }
})

// GET /search?q=hello&limit=20

Request Body

iii.registerFunction(
  { id: 'api::create_post' },
  async (req: HttpRequest): Promise<ApiResponse> => {
    const body = req.body as { title: string; content: string }
    
    const post = {
      id: crypto.randomUUID(),
      title: body.title,
      content: body.content,
      created_at: new Date().toISOString()
    }
    
    return {
      status_code: 201,
      body: post
    }
  }
)

iii.registerTrigger({
  type: 'http',
  function_id: 'api::create_post',
  config: {
    api_path: 'posts',
    http_method: 'POST'
  }
})

Streaming HTTP Responses

For streaming responses (SSE, file downloads, etc.), use the http() helper:

import { init, http, type HttpRequest, type HttpResponse } from 'iii-sdk'
import * as fs from 'node:fs'
import { pipeline } from 'node:stream/promises'

const iii = init('ws://localhost:49199')

// File download
iii.registerFunction(
  { id: 'api::download' },
  http(async (req: HttpRequest, response: HttpResponse) => {
    const fileStream = fs.createReadStream('./report.pdf')
    
    response.status(200)
    response.headers({
      'Content-Type': 'application/pdf',
      'Content-Disposition': 'attachment; filename="report.pdf"'
    })
    
    await pipeline(fileStream, response.stream)
  })
)

iii.registerTrigger({
  type: 'http',
  function_id: 'api::download',
  config: {
    api_path: 'download/report',
    http_method: 'GET'
  }
})

Server-Sent Events (SSE)

iii.registerFunction(
  { id: 'api::events' },
  http(async (req: HttpRequest, response: HttpResponse) => {
    response.status(200)
    response.headers({
      'Content-Type': 'text/event-stream',
      'Cache-Control': 'no-cache',
      'Connection': 'keep-alive'
    })
    
    // Send events
    for (let i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
      const event = `data: ${JSON.stringify({ count: i })}\n\n`
      response.stream.write(Buffer.from(event))
      await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 1000))
    }
    
    response.stream.end()
  })
)

iii.registerTrigger({
  type: 'http',
  function_id: 'api::events',
  config: {
    api_path: 'events',
    http_method: 'GET'
  }
})

Streaming Request Body

iii.registerFunction(
  { id: 'api::upload' },
  http(async (req: HttpRequest, response: HttpResponse) => {
    const chunks: Buffer[] = []
    
    // Read streaming request body
    for await (const chunk of req.request_body.stream) {
      chunks.push(Buffer.isBuffer(chunk) ? chunk : Buffer.from(chunk))
    }
    
    const totalSize = chunks.reduce((sum, buf) => sum + buf.length, 0)
    
    response.status(200)
    response.headers({ 'Content-Type': 'application/json' })
    response.stream.end(
      Buffer.from(JSON.stringify({ uploaded_bytes: totalSize }))
    )
  })
)

iii.registerTrigger({
  type: 'http',
  function_id: 'api::upload',
  config: {
    api_path: 'upload',
    http_method: 'POST'
  }
})

Custom Trigger Types

Create custom trigger types for your own event sources.

registerTriggerType()

iii.registerTriggerType<TConfig>(triggerType, handler)

triggerType

RegisterTriggerTypeMessage

required

Trigger type definition

Show Properties

string

required

Unique trigger type ID

description

string

required

Human-readable description

handler

TriggerHandler<TConfig>

required

Handler for registering/unregistering triggers

interface TriggerHandler<TConfig> {
  registerTrigger(config: {
    id: string
    function_id: string
    config: TConfig
  }): Promise<void>
  
  unregisterTrigger(config: {
    id: string
    function_id: string
    config: TConfig
  }): Promise<void>
}

Example: Custom Webhook Trigger

interface WebhookConfig {
  url: string
  secret: string
}

const webhooks = new Map<string, WebhookConfig>()

iii.registerTriggerType<WebhookConfig>(
  {
    id: 'webhook',
    description: 'Trigger function via webhook'
  },
  {
    async registerTrigger({ id, function_id, config }) {
      webhooks.set(id, config)
      
      // Subscribe to webhook service
      await fetch(config.url, {
        method: 'POST',
        headers: { 'X-Secret': config.secret },
        body: JSON.stringify({
          action: 'subscribe',
          callback: `http://engine:3199/webhooks/${id}`
        })
      })
    },
    
    async unregisterTrigger({ id, config }) {
      const webhook = webhooks.get(id)
      if (webhook) {
        // Unsubscribe from webhook service
        await fetch(config.url, {
          method: 'POST',
          headers: { 'X-Secret': config.secret },
          body: JSON.stringify({ action: 'unsubscribe' })
        })
        
        webhooks.delete(id)
      }
    }
  }
)

// Use the custom trigger type
iii.registerTrigger({
  type: 'webhook',
  function_id: 'handlers::webhook',
  config: {
    url: 'https://webhook-service.com/subscribe',
    secret: process.env.WEBHOOK_SECRET!
  }
})

unregisterTriggerType()

Remove a custom trigger type:

iii.unregisterTriggerType({
  id: 'webhook',
  description: 'Webhook trigger'
})

Engine Built-in Triggers

The III Engine provides built-in trigger types:

functions_available

Triggers when new functions are registered or unregistered.

iii.onFunctionsAvailable((functions) => {
  console.log('Functions updated:', functions.length)
  functions.forEach(fn => {
    console.log(`- ${fn.function_id}`)
  })
})

See onFunctionsAvailable for details.

Best Practices

Use descriptive API paths

// Good
api_path: 'users/:id/orders'
api_path: 'products/search'

// Avoid
api_path: 'u/:id/o'
api_path: 'psearch'

Return appropriate status codes

// 200 OK - Successful GET/PUT/PATCH
// 201 Created - Successful POST
// 204 No Content - Successful DELETE
// 400 Bad Request - Invalid input
// 404 Not Found - Resource not found
// 500 Internal Server Error - Server error

return {
  status_code: 404,
  body: { error: 'User not found' }
}

Clean up triggers on shutdown

const triggers: Trigger[] = []

triggers.push(iii.registerTrigger({ /* ... */ }))

process.on('SIGTERM', () => {
  triggers.forEach(t => t.unregister())
})

Getting Started

Core APIs

Advanced

registerTrigger()

HTTP Triggers

Basic HTTP Endpoint

HTTP Request Types

Path Parameters

Query Parameters

Request Body

Streaming HTTP Responses

Server-Sent Events (SSE)

Streaming Request Body

Custom Trigger Types

registerTriggerType()

Example: Custom Webhook Trigger

unregisterTriggerType()

Engine Built-in Triggers

functions_available

Best Practices

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Getting Started

Core APIs

Advanced

Documentation Index

​registerTrigger()

​HTTP Triggers

​Basic HTTP Endpoint

​HTTP Request Types

​Path Parameters

​Query Parameters

​Request Body

​Streaming HTTP Responses

​Server-Sent Events (SSE)

​Streaming Request Body

​Custom Trigger Types

​registerTriggerType()

​Example: Custom Webhook Trigger

​unregisterTriggerType()

​Engine Built-in Triggers

​functions_available

​Best Practices

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

registerTrigger()

HTTP Triggers

Basic HTTP Endpoint

HTTP Request Types

Path Parameters

Query Parameters

Request Body

Streaming HTTP Responses

Server-Sent Events (SSE)

Streaming Request Body

Custom Trigger Types

registerTriggerType()

Example: Custom Webhook Trigger

unregisterTriggerType()

Engine Built-in Triggers

functions_available

Best Practices