Flow Basics

A workflow (or "flow") is a graph of nodes, where each node represents a single step. Execution begins at the initiator node and follows the connections between nodes based on each node's output. A flow runs once per conversation — a call, message, or other interaction — carrying its own set of variables from start to finish.

Anatomy of a flow

Every flow is built from three things:

• Nodes — the steps. Each node does one thing (send a message, branch on a condition, query data) and is configured through its fields.
• Exits — the labeled outputs on a node. A node like Condition has true and false exits; most action nodes have a single default exit. Each exit is a possible path the flow can take next.
• Connections (edges) — the wires from one node's exit to the next node's input. They define the order steps run in.

Adding nodes

There are multiple ways to add nodes:

• Click the + beside an exit that isn't connected yet. Search for a node, and it's added to the right of that node and connected to that exit.
• Add Node, at the left of the controls at the bottom of the canvas, searches for a node and adds it to the canvas unconnected. An empty workflow also shows Add Node in the middle of the canvas.
• Right-click the canvas to search and add a node by name.
• Press Cmd/Ctrl+P to open the Node Library and drag nodes onto the canvas.
• Drag from a node's exit handle onto empty canvas to create and connect a node in one step.
• Press Cmd/Ctrl+K to search and add from the keyboard.

Connecting nodes

Drag from a node's exit handle to another node's input to create a connection. Each exit represents a possible path the flow can take.

A single exit connects to exactly one next node, but many exits (from different nodes, or the different exits of one node) can point into the same node — that's how branches rejoin. To remove a connection, select the edge and press Delete or Backspace.

The initiator node

Every flow must have an initiator node to define where execution begins. Set any node as the initiator from its context menu.

Branching

Use Condition or Switch nodes to send the flow down different paths:

• Condition evaluates a true/false test (optionally combining several checks with AND/OR) and routes to a true or false exit.
• Switch matches a single value against many cases and routes to the exit for the first match — reach for it instead of chaining Conditions when one value selects among several outcomes.

A branch doesn't have to stay separate forever: wire two exits into the same downstream node to bring the paths back together once the branch-specific work is done.

A worked example

A simple after-hours voice flow ties these ideas together:

Next steps