# Trigger Lifecycle Events

When a customer deploys or deletes an instance of your integration, you often need to do something in a third-party system - register a webhook, create a folder, or tear down resources. Prismatic lifecycle functions let you hook into those moments.

## The three lifecycle hooks[​](#the-three-lifecycle-hooks "Direct link to The three lifecycle hooks")

**`onInstanceDeploy`** runs synchronously each time an instance is deployed (including re-deployments). Use it for short setup tasks like creating folders or custom record types. It must complete within 30 seconds.

**`webhookLifecycleHandlers.create`** also runs on deploy, but is specifically for registering webhooks in third-party apps. It also runs when you enter [listening mode](https://prismatic.io/docs/integrations/triggers/listening-mode.md) in the integration designer, making it easy to test webhook-driven flows without a full deployment. You can also trigger it manually from the **Test Runner** drawer using **Test Deploy**.

**`onInstanceDelete`** and **`webhookLifecycleHandlers.delete`** are the mirrors of their deploy counterparts - they run when an instance is deleted (or when you exit listening mode) so you can clean up whatever was created.

For longer-running setup tasks (like an initial data sync), use an [Instance Deployed management trigger](https://prismatic.io/docs/integrations/triggers/management.md#instance-deploy-trigger) instead. Management triggers run as full flow executions and aren't subject to the 30-second limit.

note

`webhookLifecycleHandlers` functions don't have access to flow-scoped persisted data. Store any state you need (like a webhook ID) in `crossFlowState`, using the flow's stable ID to keep keys unique across flows.

Write idempotent lifecycle functions

Lifecycle functions run every time an instance is deployed - not just the first time. Make sure they can run multiple times safely.

## Learn more[​](#learn-more "Direct link to Learn more")

See [Instance lifecycle](https://prismatic.io/docs/integrations/lifecycle.md) for the full execution order, code examples, and an FAQ on when to use each hook.