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Adding and connecting nodes

Three ways to add a node, two ways to connect them, and a handful of shortcuts that make this fast once you've done it a few times.

📸 Screenshot needed: editor__palette-expanded.png, palette open with Triggers and Flow control categories expanded, the search box highlighted.

Adding a node

1. Drag from the palette

Find the node in the left palette (use the search box at the top of the palette to filter). Drag it onto the canvas. Release, it lands where the cursor is.

🎬 Gif needed: editor__drag-node.gif, clicking and dragging an HTTP Request node from the palette onto the canvas. ~3 seconds.

2. Right-click the canvas

Right-click on empty canvas → Insert node. A picker opens at the cursor. Search, click; the node is inserted at the right-click point.

3. Right-click an output port

Right-click an output port → Insert node here. Same picker, but the new node is automatically connected to that port. The fastest way to extend a chain.

Naming nodes

Every node gets a default name based on its type (HTTP Request, HTTP Request 2, …). Names matter because expressions reference them: {{ $node["HTTP Request"].json.body }}.

To rename:

  1. Click the node to select it.
  2. Click the name in the inspector header (or double-click the name on the node body).
  3. Type the new name and press Enter.

Renames immediately update every expression in the workflow that references this node, Flero rewrites them in place.

Naming tips:

  • Use clear, intent-describing names (Fetch customer, Approve refund) rather than types (HTTP Request 3).
  • Names are case-sensitive. Stay consistent: HTTP Request and http request are different to the expression evaluator.
  • Avoid quotes and brackets in names, those characters interfere with expression syntax.

Connecting nodes

Draw a connection

  1. Hover over the source node's right edge until the output port dot appears.
  2. Click and drag from the dot.
  3. Release on the destination node's input port dot on its left edge.

A line snaps into place.

🎬 Gif needed: editor__connect-ports.gif, drawing a connection from one node's output to another's input. ~3 seconds.

Multiple output ports

Some nodes have more than one output port:

Node Output ports
If true (top), false (bottom)
Switch One per case (case1, case2, …, default)
Loop loop (current item), done (after all items)
Error handling output (success), error (caught exception)
Approval approved, rejected

Each port is labelled on the node. Connect from the specific port you want.

📸 Screenshot needed: editor__if-node-two-outputs.png, an If node showing both true and false output ports, with a line drawn from true to a downstream node.

Fan-out and fan-in

  • Fan-out, one output port can connect to many downstream inputs. The data is sent to all of them.
  • Fan-in, many outputs can connect to one input. Each upstream node's output arrives in turn; combine deliberately with a Merge node if you need them as one.

Reconnecting

To change where a connection goes, click the connection line to select it, then drag either endpoint to a different port. Or just delete and redraw.

Deleting

  • Select a node and press Delete / Backspace.
  • Or right-click → Delete.
  • For connections, click the line, then Delete.

Multi-select to bulk-delete.

Duplicating

  • Select node(s), press ⌘D / Ctrl+D. A copy lands slightly offset, ready to wire up.
  • Or right-click → Duplicate.

The expression chips inside the copied node still reference the originals, review and re-point them as needed.

Grouping (optional)

For larger workflows, select a few nodes and right-click → Add to group. The group gets a coloured rectangle behind it and a label. Purely cosmetic, no execution effect, but very handy for visual organisation.

Tips & gotchas

  • You can connect nodes that have no logical relationship, the editor doesn't enforce schema compatibility. Validation happens at runtime via expressions.
  • Renaming a node mid-build will rewrite expressions, but only inside this workflow. Sub-workflows that reference this node by name (via a Sub-workflow node) won't update. Test after renaming.
  • Two connections to the same input is allowed; data interleaves. If that's not what you want, route through a Merge node to make the combination explicit.
  • Hyphenated node names (my-node) are legal but must be referenced with the $node["my-node"] form, the shorthand my-node.output… won't parse.

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