Node Reference

Every automation is a graph of connected nodes. This page describes every available node type, what it does, and how to configure it. Nodes are organized into six categories:

Category	Nodes
Core	Trigger, Action
Logic	Filter, IfElse, Router, Split, ForEach, Set Variable, Transform, Code, Python Code
Flow Control	Wait, Approval, Sub-flow, Merge, Error Handler
AI	AI Prompt, AI Agent, MCP
Data	Data Store
Utility	Sticky Note

Core nodes

Trigger

Starts the automation when a specific event occurs. Every automation has exactly one trigger node.

Config field	Description
Trigger type	Collabase Event, Schedule, Webhook, Manual, or External Service Event
Event (Collabase Event only)	The specific event to listen for (e.g. `task.created`)
Cron expression (Schedule only)	The timer schedule in cron syntax
Timezone (Schedule only)	The timezone to evaluate the cron in (default: UTC)
Secret (Webhook only)	Optional header secret to verify incoming requests

The trigger passes its output fields to all downstream nodes. Reference them with {payload.fieldName}. → Full trigger documentation

Action

Calls a connector to perform an operation — send a message, create a record, call an external service, and so on.

Config field	Description
Node ID	A short name for this node, used in `{stepOutputs.nodeId.field}` references
Connector	The connector to use (e.g. Slack, GitHub, Collabase built-in)
Operation	The specific action to perform (e.g. Send Message, Create Issue)
Connection	The saved credential set to use for this connector
Input fields	Operation-specific fields; support variable syntax
Retry policy	No retry, linear backoff, or exponential backoff; set max attempts and wait interval

Output fields from this node are available downstream as {stepOutputs.nodeId.fieldName}. → Full actions documentation

Logic nodes

Filter

Evaluates one or more conditions. If all conditions pass (AND) or any condition passes (OR), execution continues. If the evaluation fails, the branch stops silently — no downstream nodes run and no error is recorded.

Config field	Description
Conditions	One or more rules: field → operator → value
Combinator	All (AND) — every rule must pass; Any (OR) — at least one must pass

Use Filter when you want the automation to do nothing if the data does not match. → Conditions and operators

IfElse

Evaluates conditions and routes execution to one of two paths: true or false. Unlike Filter, both paths always continue — the automation never stops at an IfElse node.

Config field	Description
Conditions	One or more rules: field → operator → value
Combinator	All (AND) or Any (OR)
True path	Nodes connected to the true output run when conditions pass
False path	Nodes connected to the false output run when conditions fail

Use IfElse when you want different actions depending on the outcome (for example, send an urgent alert for HIGH priority, send a normal notification for everything else).

Router

Routes execution to one of N paths based on conditions. The first matching route runs; subsequent routes are not evaluated. A default route runs if no other route matches.

Config field	Description
Routes	An ordered list of named routes, each with its own conditions
Default route	Optional path that runs when no route conditions match

Use Router instead of chaining multiple IfElse nodes when you have three or more distinct outcomes.

Split

Partitions an input array into multiple filtered subsets. Each subset is a separate output path containing only the items that match that path’s filter.

Config field	Description
Source array	The array to partition (e.g. `{stepOutputs.search.results}`)
Paths	Named paths, each with a filter condition on array item fields

Useful when a search action returns a mixed list and you need to handle different item types separately.

ForEach

Iterates over every item in an array and runs the connected nodes once per item. The current item is available inside the loop as {item.fieldName}.

Config field	Description
Source array	The array to iterate over (e.g. `{stepOutputs.listTasks.tasks}`)
Nodes inside loop	Any nodes connected to the ForEach output; run once per array item

Inside the loop body, reference the current item with {item.fieldName} — for example, {item.title}, {item.id}, {item.status}.

ForEach loops run sequentially by default. Large arrays with slow actions may push against the 5-minute execution limit. Consider using Filter or Split to reduce the array before the loop.

Set Variable

Stores a value under a named key so downstream nodes can reference it by name instead of a long {stepOutputs...} path.

Config field	Description
Variable name	The key to store the value under
Value	A static value or a variable expression (e.g. `{payload.taskTitle}`)

After this node runs, the value is available anywhere downstream as {variableName}. Example:

Variable name: taskLink
Value: https://app.example.com/tasks/{payload.taskKey}

Downstream: {taskLink} → https://app.example.com/tasks/PROJ-42

Transform

Reshapes data between nodes using built-in operations. No external service is called.

Config field	Description
Operation	Format Date, Filter Array, JSON Pick (select specific fields from an object), or Merge Objects
Input	The data to transform
Operation-specific fields	Depend on the chosen operation

Format Date — converts an ISO date to a human-readable format. Set a locale (e.g. de-CH) and a format style (short, long, relative). Filter Array — returns only array items where a given field matches a value. JSON Pick — returns a new object containing only the fields you specify. Use this to clean up large action outputs before passing them forward.

Code

Runs a JavaScript snippet in a secure sandbox and returns the result. Use this for logic that cannot be expressed with the built-in nodes.

Config field	Description
Code	JavaScript to execute. Must `return` a value.

Inside the code, these objects are available:

payload — the trigger payload
stepOutputs — outputs from all named upstream nodes
variables — all values set with Set Variable nodes

Example:

const price = stepOutputs.getProduct.price;
const tax = 0.077; // Swiss VAT
return { total: (price * (1 + tax)).toFixed(2) };

The returned value is available downstream as {stepOutputs.nodeId.fieldName}.

Code runs in an isolated sandbox with no access to the file system, network, or external services. To call external services from custom code, use an HTTP action node instead.

Python Code

Runs a Python snippet in a secure sandbox. Equivalent to the Code node but uses Python syntax.

Config field	Description
Code	Python to execute. Must assign the result to a variable named `result`.

The payload, step_outputs, and variables dictionaries are available as inputs. Example:

items = step_outputs["search"]["results"]
high_priority = [i for i in items if i["priority"] == "HIGH"]
result = {"count": len(high_priority), "items": high_priority}

Flow Control nodes

Wait

Pauses the automation for a set duration or until a specific date and time, then resumes automatically.

Config field	Description
Type	Duration — pause for a fixed amount of time; Until date — pause until a specific date/time
Duration	Number and unit: seconds, minutes, hours, or days
Until date	A date/time value or variable (e.g. `{payload.scheduledAt}`)

The automation status shows as PARTIAL while waiting. No resources are consumed during the pause.

Approval

Pauses the automation until a designated person approves or rejects it. When the node runs, it sends a notification to the approver with an approve/reject link.

Config field	Description
Approver	The user to notify and request approval from
Message	Optional instructions shown to the approver
Timeout	How long to wait for a response (default: 72 hours)
On approve	Nodes connected to the approved output
On reject	Nodes connected to the rejected output
On timeout	Nodes connected to the timeout output

Approval states:

State	Description
`PENDING`	Waiting for the approver to respond
`APPROVED`	The approver clicked Approve — execution continues on the approved path
`REJECTED`	The approver clicked Reject — execution continues on the rejected path
`TIMED_OUT`	The timeout elapsed without a response — execution continues on the timeout path

The automation status shows as PARTIAL while approval is pending.

Sub-flow

Calls another automation as a child workflow and optionally waits for it to complete before continuing.

Config field	Description
Automation	The automation to call
Input mapping	Key-value pairs to pass into the child automation as its payload
Wait for completion	If enabled, the parent automation pauses until the child finishes

The child automation receives the mapped inputs as its {payload.*}. Its outputs (if any) are returned to the parent and available via {stepOutputs.nodeId.fieldName}. Use Sub-flow to modularize complex workflows — define reusable building blocks as separate automations and call them from multiple places.

Merge

Combines multiple incoming branches into a single outgoing path. Execution continues only after all connected branches have completed.

Config field	Description
Inputs	The branches to wait for (configured automatically by the connections you draw)

Use Merge after a Router or IfElse node when you want to run a shared set of actions regardless of which path was taken.

Error Handler

Catches errors thrown by any upstream node in the same branch and routes them to a recovery path instead of failing the execution.

Config field	Description
Error output fields	`{error.message}`, `{error.nodeId}`, `{error.code}` are available downstream

Connect the Error Handler to the node whose failures you want to catch. Downstream nodes on the error path can log the failure, send an alert, or attempt a fallback action. Without an Error Handler, an action failure marks the execution as FAILED and stops the branch. With one, you control what happens next.

AI nodes

AI Prompt

Makes a single call to a language model with a prompt you define. Use this for text generation, summarization, classification, or extraction tasks within a workflow.

Config field	Description
Model	The AI model to use (configured via your Collabase AI settings)
System prompt	Instructions that define the model’s role and behavior
User prompt	The main input, typically including variable references
Temperature	Controls randomness: 0 = deterministic, 1 = creative
Max tokens	Maximum length of the response

Output: {stepOutputs.nodeId.content} contains the model’s response text. Example:

System: You are a concise technical writer.
User: Summarize this bug report in one sentence: {payload.description}

AI Agent

Runs a language model in an iterative loop with access to tools (connector actions). The agent reasons about a goal, calls tools as needed, and continues until it reaches an answer or hits the iteration limit.

Config field	Description
Model	The AI model to use
System prompt	The agent’s goal and constraints
Tools	The connector actions the agent is allowed to call
Max iterations	Maximum number of reasoning steps before the agent stops (prevents infinite loops)

Use AI Agent for open-ended tasks where the number of steps is not known in advance — for example, “find all overdue tasks in this project and assign them to the backup user.”

Each iteration counts against your execution time limit. Set a conservative Max Iterations value and test with small datasets before running on production data.

MCP

Calls a tool registered on an external Model Context Protocol (MCP) server. MCP servers extend the automation engine with domain-specific capabilities beyond the built-in connectors.

Config field	Description
MCP server	The registered MCP server to connect to
Tool	The specific tool to invoke on that server
Input fields	The tool’s required inputs; support variable syntax

MCP servers are registered in Admin Settings → Automation → MCP Servers. Each server exposes a list of tools; the node picker shows them automatically once the server is registered.

Data nodes

Data Store

Reads and writes persistent key-value data that survives across automation runs. Use this to share state between executions — for example, to track a counter, cache a lookup result, or remember the last processed record.

Operation	Description
Get	Read a value by key. Returns the stored value or empty if the key does not exist.
Set	Write a value to a key. Overwrites any existing value.
Delete	Remove a key and its value.
Increment	Add a number to an existing numeric value (or start from 0 if the key does not exist).

Config field	Description
Operation	Get, Set, Delete, or Increment
Key	The name of the data slot to read or write (supports variable syntax)
Value (Set/Increment only)	The value to store or add
Scope	Automation — private to this automation; Space — shared across all automations in the Space

Utility nodes

Sticky Note

Adds a text note directly on the canvas. Does not affect execution.

Config field	Description
Text	The content of the note
Color	Background color for visual organization

Use sticky notes to document complex branching logic, explain why a particular node is configured a certain way, or leave instructions for other team members editing the automation.

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Core Concepts

Collabase Apps

Administration

Nodes

Node Reference

Core nodes

Trigger

Action

Logic nodes

Filter

IfElse

Router

Split

ForEach

Set Variable

Transform

Code

Python Code

Flow Control nodes

Wait

Approval

Sub-flow

Merge

Error Handler

AI nodes

AI Prompt

AI Agent

MCP

Data nodes

Data Store

Utility nodes

Sticky Note

​Node Reference

​Core nodes

​Trigger

​Action

​Logic nodes

​Filter

​IfElse

​Router

​Split

​ForEach

​Set Variable

​Transform

​Code

​Python Code

​Flow Control nodes

​Wait

​Approval

​Sub-flow

​Merge

​Error Handler

​AI nodes

​AI Prompt

​AI Agent

​MCP

​Data nodes

​Data Store

​Utility nodes

​Sticky Note

Node Reference

Core nodes

Trigger

Action

Logic nodes

Filter

IfElse

Router

Split

ForEach

Set Variable

Transform

Code

Python Code

Flow Control nodes

Wait

Approval

Sub-flow

Merge

Error Handler

AI nodes

AI Prompt

AI Agent

MCP

Data nodes

Data Store

Utility nodes

Sticky Note