StartAt Activity

Purpose: Trigger execution at a specific time in the future. This activity schedules the workflow to start or resume at a specified date and time.

Input Properties

DateTime

The timestamp at which the workflow should be triggered.

Type: DateTimeOffset

Required: Yes

Note: Can be a literal DateTimeOffset, expression, or variable reference. Must be a future date/time.

Output Properties

This activity has no output properties.

Usage Example

Scenario: Schedule workflow to run tomorrow at 9 AM

Configuration:
- DateTime: "{{ DateTimeOffset.Now.AddDays(1).Date.AddHours(9) }}"
- Place StartAt as the first activity in the workflow

Result:
- Workflow is scheduled to trigger tomorrow at 9:00 AM
- StartAt activity creates a bookmark and suspends the workflow
- At the scheduled time, the workflow resumes and continues
Scenario: Schedule based on a variable

Configuration:
- DateTime: "{{ Variables.ScheduledTime }}"
- Where ScheduledTime is a DateTimeOffset variable

Result:
- Workflow is scheduled to trigger at the time specified in the variable
- Dynamic scheduling based on workflow state

Important Notes

  • StartAt is a trigger activity - it starts or resumes workflows
  • The DateTime must be in the future - past dates trigger immediately
  • StartAt should typically be placed at the start of the workflow
  • The workflow is suspended until the scheduled time
  • A bookmark is created to resume the workflow at the scheduled time
  • For recurring schedules, use Cron or Timer instead
  • For simple delays, use Delay activity instead
  • Schedules are persistent - if the server restarts, schedules resume

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