# Actions, triggers and workflows

Before learning how to create a contract in Data Mover, it's important to understand that each contract must have one or more associated **actions**. These actions define contract details such as the folder in the data producer's Virtual File System (VFS) from which Data Mover will retrieve files, the types of files to be retrieved or sent, the timing of when the action should be performed, the email address to which confirmation messages should be sent, and so on. 

**Actions are triggered by events**, such as:

1. the arrival of a file
2. a specific time
3. an on-demand trigger via API 

Contract actions are implemented by workflows, which define the [trigger](/data-mover-1.21/workflow-templates/triggers.md), the logic, and the single steps that will be executed.

Data Mover offers a variety of **workflow templates** that guide you on which actions to take following an event. 

Workflow templates are explained in detail in the [Workflow Templates](/data-mover-1.21/workflow-templates/what-is-a-workflow-template.md) section. To get started, keep in mind the following key points:

* For **input and output contracts**, you must use one of the **System workflow templates provided by Primeur**.
* For **mediation contracts**, you must design a **Workflow template**.

There are additional workflow template types available, but for now, let's concentrate on these two types.

This diagram summarizes the above concepts. Input, mediation, and output contracts can each have multiple actions, and each action must have its own [trigger type](/data-mover-1.21/workflow-templates/triggers.md), [workflow template](/data-mover-1.21/workflow-templates/what-is-a-workflow-template.md), and [variables](/data-mover-1.21/workflow-templates/variables.md). 

<figure><img src="/files/kEVe7QuNROdkkpxzRqTc" alt="" width="393"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>


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