Nodes & Connections
Nodes & Connections
A workflow is a set of steps joined by arrows. Each step, called a node, does one job: send an email, look up a contact, decide which way to go. The arrows, called connections, decide the order those steps run in. Together they turn a list of separate actions into one automated process that runs on its own.
Nodes are the steps
Every node is a single building block with a clear purpose. Some nodes talk to outside services, some transform data, and some make decisions. You add a node, give it the settings it needs, and connect it to the rest of your workflow.
A few nodes have special roles:
- Start is where every run begins. It receives the information a run is given and hands it to the first step. See Starting a Workflow.
- End marks where a path finishes. A workflow can have more than one End if different paths wrap up in different ways.
Everything in between is up to you. Browse the full set in the Node Reference.
Connections set the order
A connection is an arrow from one node to the next. It says “when this step finishes, do that step next.” Because the arrows define the order, they also define what data is available at each point: a step can only use values produced by steps that run before it. See Variables & Data Flow for how that works.
A simple workflow is often just a straight line:
Branching, looping, and grouping
Not every workflow is a straight line. A few nodes change the shape of the run:
- Conditional is a fork in the road. It sends the run down different paths depending on the data, so high-value accounts and routine ones can be handled differently.
- For Each repeats a set of steps once for every item in a list, such as every contact in an uploaded file.
- Sub Graph tucks a whole workflow inside a single node, so you can reuse a sequence of steps and keep a large workflow readable.
Give each node a clear name that says what it does, like “Score applicant” or “Notify agent.” Names show up in run history and in the value picker, so good names make a workflow much easier to follow later.