The photolysis of N‐aryltriazoles and N‐arylbenzotriazoles leads to indoles and carbazoles, respectively. Because libraries of triazoles can be accessed rapidly, for example by the copper‐catalyzed [3+2] cycloaddition reaction between alkynes and azides, this reaction allows the preparation of indoles in a single operation, by the simultaneous photolysis of the precursor library. As an example of such a synthesis of carbazoles, we prepared for the first time clausenawalline D, an antimalarial alkaloid that was recently isolated.

The title compound, C13H12F3NO3, is almost planar if one excludes the F atoms of the –CF3 group [maximum deviation for the other hetero atoms = 0.069 (1) Å], and the dihedral angle between the pyrrole and benzene ring of the indole system is 2.54 (8)°. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked by N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming chains propagating along the a-axis direction. These chains are linked via C—H⋯O and C—H⋯F hydrogen bonds, forming a three-dimensional network.