TriggerSendGridReal-timeUpdated May 2026
How do I trigger when a recipient opens a SendGrid email?
Short answer: Drop the "SendGrid → Email Opened" trigger on your workflow canvas, add filters if you want them, and publish. It fires within seconds of the event in SendGrid, not on a polling schedule.
Anatomy
What this trigger looks like in a workflow.
Drop it on the canvas. Configure a couple of fields. Publish.
In the builder
Trigger
Email Opened
When the matching event happens
when email openedwhen a recipient opens an email sent via sendgridwatch for email openedon email openednew email opened
What this trigger returns
for the curiousYou don’t need to read this. Tiny Command auto-maps every field into the visual picker so downstream nodes can pull values by clicking. We show it here for power users who want to know what’s on the wire.
{"email": "recipient@example.com","event": "open","timestamp": 1712839200,"useragent": "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7)","sg_message_id": "14c5d75ce93.dfd.64b469.filter0001.16648.5515E0B88.0"}
Output shape
Fields available to downstream nodes.
Every field below can be referenced by name in any action or filter that comes after this trigger.
| Field | Type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| string | "recipient@example.com" | |
| event | string | "open" |
| timestamp | number | 1712839200 |
| useragent | string | "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7)" |
| sg_message_id | string | "14c5d75ce93.dfd.64b469.filter0001.16648.5515E0B88.0" |
Pairs with
Drop these actions after Email Opened.
FAQ
Questions about Email Opened.
How does the Email Opened trigger work in SendGrid?
Fires when a recipient opens an email sent via SendGrid. Note that Apple Mail Privacy Protection prefetches images, so open events from Apple Mail users are unreliable.
Is the Email Opened trigger real-time?
Yes. Email Opened uses webhooks or push subscriptions, not polling. Your workflow fires within seconds of the event happening in SendGrid.
What data does Email Opened return?
The full event payload from SendGrid. The output shape table on this page lists every field, its type, and an example value so you can map fields into downstream nodes.
Can I filter Email Opened so only some events start a workflow?
Yes. Add a Filter node right after the trigger and match on any field, whether that's subject, sender, status, or anything else in the payload. Workflows only continue when the filter passes.
Do I need SendGrid admin permissions to use Email Opened?
For most SendGrid accounts a standard user can authorize the trigger. Some SendGrid plans require an admin to enable third-party webhooks. Check SendGrid's docs if the trigger fails to register.
More triggers
Other SendGrid triggers.
Trigger
Email Delivered
Fires when an email is successfully delivered to the recipient mail server via SendGrid. Use to reconcile sends or to advance a sequence once the previous mail has actually landed.
TriggerEmail Link Clicked
Fires when a recipient clicks a link in an email sent via SendGrid. Common use: lead-scoring, sales-rep alerts, or branch automation based on engagement.
Build a workflow on this trigger.
One trigger. 11+ downstream actions. Zero glue.
