# What are Event Sources?

Event sources turn any API into an event stream. They can also turn any event stream into a REST API.

Event sources run on Pipedream's infrastructure and collect data from services like Github, Stripe, the bitcoin blockchain, RSS feeds, and more. They emit new events produced by the service, which can trigger Pipedream workflows, or which you can consume using Pipedream's REST API or a private, real-time SSE stream.

You can see a list of all event sources by visiting https://pipedream.com/sources and clicking the New + button at the top right corner of the screen.

The code for sources is kept in the PipedreamHQ/pipedream repo. If you think a source can be improved, or you find a bug, please raise an issue or PR in that repo.

# Creating event sources

You can create event sources from the Pipedream UI or CLI.

# Creating a source from the UI

Visit https://pipedream.com/sources and click the New + button at the top right to create a new event source. You'll see a list of sources tied to apps (like Twitter and Github) and generic interfaces (like HTTP). Select your source, and you'll be asked to connect any necessary accounts (for example, the Twitter source requires you authorize Pipedream access to your Twitter account), and enter the values for any configuration settings tied to the source.

Once you've created a source, you can use it to trigger Pipedream workflows or consume its events using Pipedream's APIs.

# Creating a source from the CLI

Download the CLI and run:

pd deploy

This will bring up an interactive menu prompting you to select a source. Once selected, you'll be asked to connect any necessary accounts (for example, the Twitter source requires you authorize Pipedream access to your Twitter account), and enter the values for any configuration settings tied to the source.

Once you've created a source, you can use it to trigger Pipedream workflows or consume its events using Pipedream's APIs.

# Consuming events from sources

You can view the events for a source in the sources UI, under the EVENTS section of that source.

You can also trigger a Pipedream workflow every time your source emits a new event. This lets you run workflows for every new tweet, every new item in an RSS feed, and more.

Finally, you can consume events programmatically, outside the Pipedream platform, in a few different ways:

# Example: HTTP source

The simplest event source is an HTTP source.

When you create an HTTP source:

  • You get a unique HTTP endpoint that you can send any HTTP request to.
  • You can view the details of any HTTP request sent to your endpoint: its payload, headers, and more.
  • You can delete the source and its associated events once you're done.

HTTP sources are essentially request bins that can be managed via API.

HTTP sources are a good example of how you can turn an event stream into an API: the HTTP requests are the event stream, generated from your application, client browsers, webhooks, etc. Then, you can retrieve HTTP requests via Pipedream's REST API, or stream them directly to other apps using the SSE interface.

See the Github quickstart for more information on HTTP event sources.

# Example: Cron jobs

You can also use event sources to run any Node code on a schedule, allowing you to poll a service or API for data and emit that data as an event. The emitted events can trigger Pipedream workflows, and can be retrieved using Pipedream's REST API or SSE interface.

See the Github quickstart for more information and documentation.

# Example: RSS

You can run an event source that polls an RSS for new items and emits them in real time as formatted JSON.

Create an RSS event source here.

# Limits

Event sources are subject to the same limits as Pipedream workflows.

Still have questions?

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