Besides starting a workflow from the Sample Dashboard, you can also start a workflow via API.

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Prerequisites

To start a workflow, you will require two things

  1. A SampleHC API key (see Authentication)

  2. The slug (unique identifier) of the workflow you want to start

    To find a workflow slug, from the workflow page, click the Edit button at the top right.

    On the edit page, next to the title of the workflow (e.g., Sample Workflow Template), you will see the slug (e.g., sample-workflow-template).

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Making a request

Below are examples of how to start a workflow with different types of request bodies. Remember to replace YOUR_API_KEY with your actual API key and <my-workflow-slug> with the slug of your workflow.

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Using application/json

If you want to send data as a JSON object, use the Content-Type: application/json header. The body should be a JSON object, optionally containing a startData field.

curl -X POST \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"startData": {"name": "First Workflow Instance", "priority": "high"}}' \
  https://api.samplehc.com/api/v2/workflows/<my-workflow-slug>/start

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Using multipart/form-data

If you need to include files or send data as form fields, use multipart/form-data. curl will set the Content-Type header automatically when you use the -F option. Any form fields you send will be collected into the startData. If you send files, they will be processed and their resulting identifiers or content will also be part of startData.

curl -X POST \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY' \
  -F 'customerName=Acme Corp' \
  -F 'orderId=12345' \
  -F 'attachmentFile=@/path/to/your/invoice.pdf' \
  https://api.samplehc.com/api/v2/workflows/<my-workflow-slug>/start