# Session Start

<!-- meta: type=event-onSessionStart; location=Joomla Events › Session Events; category=Trigger; platforms=Joomla -->

## Overview

Session Start is a **Trigger** in **Joomla Events › Session Events**. When a new PHP session is started for a visitor.

Session ID is created; very early in the request lifecycle.

Each run also includes who was logged in at the time and what kind of item was involved — see audit_user and audit_type in Payload Fields below.

This trigger is intentionally disabled — session events are not run for performance and privacy reasons.

When this trigger fires, JOrchestrator starts the flow and passes the incoming event or request data to the next connected step. Configure filtering, payload shape, and security on the **Design** tab.

## Why use this node

Session Start is a **trigger** in the **Joomla Events › Session Events** group. Triggers start a flow. They listen for an external signal — a CMS event, inbound HTTP call, payment notification, or schedule — and pass the incoming data to the first downstream step.

Typical reasons teams add **Session Start** to a flow:

- Automate backend work when Joomla fires `SessionStart`
- Notify administrators or sync external systems on this CMS lifecycle event
- Enrich or validate CMS data before it is persisted
- Audit user, content, or extension activity without custom plugins

## When it runs

When a new PHP session is started for a visitor.

## Example workflows

Common patterns on the canvas:

1. **Session Start** → **Send Notification** (admin alert)
2. **Session Start** → **Insert Row** (audit log)
3. **Session Start** → **If** → **Send Email** / **Update Article**

## Properties panel

The designer shows these tabs for this node:

| Tab | Purpose |
|-----|---------|
| **Info** | Plain-language description and output payload fields for downstream steps |
| **Design** | Trigger configuration and payload schema |

### System (automatic — not edited by the user)

These fields are managed by the designer or runtime — you do not type into them directly:

| Property key | Label | Type | Required | Visible when | Notes |
|--------------|-------|------|----------|--------------|-------|
| `_nodeId` | Node ID | `node-id` | No | — | — |

### User-configured — General tab

| Property key | Label | Type | Required | Visible when | Notes |
|--------------|-------|------|----------|--------------|-------|
| `label` | Label | `text` | No | — | Node label |

### CMS site configuration (not on this node's properties panel)

Credentials, API keys, mailers, SMTP, and integration defaults are configured in the CMS plugin under **Node Configuration**, not per step on this node. Link the flow to a domain before testing CMS-backed fields.

## Output payload fields

After this step runs, later nodes can reference these fields using placeholders such as
`{{session_start.session}}`.

| Field key | Type | Description |
|-----------|------|-------------|
| `session` | object | Nested object from this node's output. |
| `audit_user.id` | number | Nested field "audit_user.id" from this node's output payload. |
| `audit_user.username` | string | Nested field "audit_user.username" from this node's output payload. |
| `audit_user.email` | string | Nested field "audit_user.email" from this node's output payload. |
| `audit_user.name` | string | Nested field "audit_user.name" from this node's output payload. |
| `audit_user.guest` | boolean | Nested field "audit_user.guest" from this node's output payload. |
| `audit_user.client` | string | Nested field "audit_user.client" from this node's output payload. |
| `audit_type` | string | What kind of item triggered the event — for example article, category, or user. |

## Related nodes

Other steps in the same area of the palette:

- **Session End** (`event-onSessionEnd`) — Joomla Events › Session Events
- **Session Garbage Collection** (`event-onSessionGc`) — Joomla Events › Session Events