Nodes at a Glance
Every step a workflow can take is one of eleven node types. Start from what you want to happen, drag on the palette button named beside it, and open that node's page for the rest of its settings.
Which Node to Use#
Each palette button links to the page for the node it adds:
| You want to | Drag on | And set |
|---|---|---|
| Say something | Send | Message Type to Standard Text |
| Show an image | Send | Message Type to Image |
| Send a PDF, a price list or a ticket | Send | Message Type to File |
| Send the visitor to a page | Send | Message Type to Link or Redirect |
| Offer two or three short choices and carry on | Send | Quick replies (comma separated) on the same node |
| Offer a menu and branch on the answer | Menu | One option per branch, up to ten |
| Ask one open question | Wait | Wait For to User Response |
| Ask for one photo or file | Wait | Expect to A file or photo |
| Collect an email, a date or a file in labelled fields | Form | Field ids of name, email and phone |
| Pace a sequence of messages | Wait | Wait For to Time Delay, 60 seconds or less |
| Run something later, away from the live chat | Wait | Wait For to Time Delay, over 60 seconds |
| Send one message or another, on a value | Decision | Decision Type to Check a condition |
| Route one value to several outcomes | Decision | Decision Type to Match a value |
| Do different things per channel | Decision | Check variable to channel |
| Talk to another system | API | A method and a URL |
| Wait for another system to answer later | Webhook | A deadline, then wire Received and Timed out |
| Assemble one value out of others | Function | Operation Type to Update / Override Data |
| Convert or calculate a value in code | Function | Operation Type to Run Custom JS (ES5), covered in custom code in a workflow |
| Finish, and record what happened | End | Goal Tracking (Optional) |
Connect Every Port or the Run Ends Silently#
A node finishes by leaving through one of its ports. A port with nothing wired to it ends the run where it stands: whatever the workflow was going to do next never happens, nothing records a failure, and the run still counts as completed. If the workflow has said nothing in that turn, the assistant answers on its own and may tell the visitor the workflow finished.
The editor shows a Missing Connections badge when a node other than an End or an API Response has no outgoing connection at all, or when a Decision node has a port left unwired. A node with one port wired and another empty clears the badge, so an API Request with Success wired and Error empty raises nothing. Check those ports yourself. The badge does not block saving.
What Every Node Has in Common#
Eleven node types ship and nine of them are palette buttons. Every workflow is created with its Trigger node already on the canvas, and the API Response node, which answers an inbound webhook, has no button yet.
Every node carries a type, a label you set, and a settings panel behind the gear. The strip across the bottom of the card previews those settings: a condition on a Decision, a method and a path on an API Request, the message text with its variables drawn as pills. A node you have not configured says so there, reading "Not configured", "No options yet" on a Menu, or "No file set" on an image or file message.
The label becomes the variable namespace. Everything a node produces is named under its label, so Ask for details writes Ask_for_details.email. Renaming the node renames its variables, and every reference to the old name stops resolving. See variables in a workflow.
Most nodes have one input port and one or more output ports. A port dot is filled when something is connected to it and hollow when nothing is. The set is fixed per node type, with one exception: a Menu draws one port per option, so its card grows as options are added.
No model runs once a workflow starts. A Decision compares values and a Function runs your code, and neither of them reads meaning. Anything that depends on what the visitor meant has to be captured as a workflow parameter before the workflow starts, which the assistant fills from the conversation.
Common Questions#
Which Nodes Stop and Wait for the Visitor?#
Three of them: a Form, a Delay set to wait for a user response, and a Menu. None is reachable from a background job, so none can sit after a delay of more than sixty seconds. A Webhook node parks the run as well, though it waits on another system rather than on the visitor.
Why Does My Workflow Stop With Nothing Said?#
Open the execution log, find the last node that ran, and check the port it left by. A port with nothing connected to it ends the run silently.
Can a Workflow Loop Back on Itself?#
Yes. A connection may point at an earlier node, and the editor allows it while warning that a cycle exists. A run is capped at 100 executed nodes, so a loop that never resolves stops there. See execution limits.
How Many Nodes Can a Workflow Contain?#
There is no limit on the drawing. The limit is on execution: 100 nodes per run.
What Is the Difference Between a Function Node and a Workflow Parameter?#
A Function node works on values the workflow already has. A workflow parameter is filled by the assistant from the conversation before the workflow starts, so anything that requires the visitor's message to be read has to be a parameter.