Create a notification trigger
Last updated: August 16, 2026
A trigger is one notification: a firing condition, an optional message, and the destinations that receive it. You build it in the trigger drawer.
Set up your destinations first so you have somewhere to send the message — see manage notification destinations. For the full catalog of trigger types and merge fields, see the notification trigger reference.
Open the drawer
On the Triggers tab, select New Trigger to open a blank drawer titled "Create Trigger". Selecting an existing row opens the same drawer as "Edit Trigger".
Name it and turn it on
- Enabled — the switch in the header. A disabled trigger stays in your list but never fires.
- Name (required) — how the trigger appears in the list.
- Description — optional context for your team.
Choose what fires it
- Type (required) — a categorized selector grouped into Delivery, Driver, Status, Refund, and Order. Pick the event you want to react to, such as Delivery Status Transition or Dropoff Delayed - Dropoff ETA too far after specified dropoff time.
Note
The Order category is available only when the orders feature is enabled for your organization.
- Settings — once you pick a Type, its parameters appear here. This is the precise firing condition. For Delivery Status Transition, for example, you choose which status the delivery must transition to; other types ask for a threshold, a status, a zone, or a timing window. Some types take no parameters.
See notification trigger reference for what each type fires on.
Compose the message
- Send Message — turn this switch on to send a message when the condition is met. It reveals:
- Message — a text box. Type
{{to open the list of available merge fields (for example{{customer.first_name}},{{job_tracking_link}},{{dropoff_eta}}). Nash fills these in from the delivery when the message is sent. See the merge field reference. - Send To — pick one or more Destinations. Each one you add appears as
a collapsible block with per-destination overrides:
- Subject — for email destinations only.
- Message — a custom message just for this destination, overriding the one above.
- Only send once per job — send this destination at most once per delivery.
- Include system message in notification — when checked, Nash-generated details (like the error from a failed autodispatch) are appended to your message. On by default.
Leave Send Message off if the trigger only needs to flag the delivery or raise a custom event without messaging anyone.
Flag the delivery (optional)
- Flag Delivery — adds a flag to the delivery so you can spot and sort it on the delivery page.
- Auto-Resolve Flag — appears for the "Stuck" Status, Pickup Delayed, and Dropoff Delayed types. When on, the flag clears itself once the condition no longer holds.
Raise a custom event (optional)
- Add Custom Event — records a named custom event in the delivery's activity when the trigger fires, which you can then identify and sort on. Enter the event name when you enable it.
Narrow where it applies (Advanced)
Expand Advanced to scope the trigger:
- Only Selected Dispatch Strategies — limit it to deliveries on the chosen dispatch strategies.
- Only Selected Contracts — limit it to deliveries on the chosen contracts. (Available only when the orders feature is enabled.)
- Only Selected Conditions — limit it to deliveries whose metadata matches the conditions you build (a key, an operator, and a value).
Save
Select Save. When editing an existing trigger, the drawer also offers a Delete action (it asks you to confirm before removing the trigger). Whether a given message actually reaches a destination depends on that destination's channel setup and, for SMS, your sender configuration.
Related
- Manage notification destinations — where a trigger sends.
- Notification trigger reference — every trigger type and merge field.
- Set up customer notifications — the workspace overview.