A Tour of the Builder

The builder has two modes on one canvas. Use Builder to create and test the workflow. Select Runs to replay what happened without changing anything.

The canvas

Each card on the canvas is a node. The short lines and arrows between cards determine what runs next. Moving a card changes only the layout; changing a connection changes the workflow.

The controls in the bottom-left corner let you:

• zoom in or out;
• fit the workflow on screen;
• lock the canvas so panning cannot move a node; or
• select Tidy up to arrange the complete workflow automatically.

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Read and act on a node card

Nodes are separated into four different types, so node cards use color families to make them easier to spot. Each card shows an icon, a short type label, the node’s name, and a one-line summary.

A node with a blocking problem shows Needs setup, turns red, and replaces its summary with the problem. Warnings show Check setup. Select either chip to open the Issues panel.

Select a card to reveal its action bar:

• Edit step opens its settings.
• Duplicate step makes a connected copy.
• Test this step runs it with test data.
• Delete step removes it.

Deleting does not open a confirmation. A notice at the bottom offers Undo for a few seconds. If you make another edit first, the notice closes rather than undoing the wrong change.

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Add and connect nodes

An empty canvas begins with Start here and Add your first trigger. Select Add trigger to choose how the workflow starts, or Start from a template to preview a ready-made workflow.

After that, open the Add a node panel with Add node in the toolbar, or press A or / while focus is on the canvas. Nodes are grouped by type—Logic, Flow, AI, Actions, Confirmation, and Triggers—and the groups remember whether you left them open or collapsed.

Where the new node goes depends on what you selected:

Before opening the panel	Where the node goes
One regular node selected	Directly after that node
Nothing selected	At the end of the workflow
A node with several possible paths selected	On the canvas, ready for you to connect

You can also:

• select the + on a card or connection to add at that exact point;
• drag a connection from one node to another; or
• drag a node from the panel onto a connection. The connection turns blue, and dropping inserts the node between its two neighbors.

Each unfinished path ends with a dashed Add a node circle, so you can see where the workflow stops.

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Configure a node

Double-click a node, press Enter while it is selected, or use its pencil action to open the node window.

The header shows the node’s icon, editable name, and position in the workflow. Use ‹ and › to move to connected nodes without closing the window. Where the workflow branches or rejoins, the control asks which path or parent to follow.

The window has three columns:

Column	What it shows
Input	Values available from earlier nodes, using friendly field names and types
Settings	The controls that tell this node what to do
Output	What the node produced in a test or run, plus its status and duration

Input and Output begin as narrow rails so Settings has room. Select a rail to open it. Flowcrafter remembers which columns you prefer across nodes and workflows. Starting a test opens Output automatically.

Use values from Input

Click in a compatible setting, then select a value in Input to insert its flow tag at the cursor. If no field is ready, the value says Drag instead; drag it onto a compatible setting. Valid targets turn blue, while an incompatible target explains what it expects.

Read Output

Before a node has run, Output shows the steps needed to produce a result. After a test or production run, it shows friendly result rows. Use Raw when you need the complete data structure. Confirmation output is previewed as the visitor would see it.

The ⋯ menu contains Duplicate, Delete, retry behavior, and a private note about the node.

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Use the toolbar

The toolbar floats over the canvas as two pills.

Control	What it does
Workflow name ▾	Select, rename, or create workflows (with 8 or more, type in Find a workflow to narrow the list); clear test data; open the builder guide
Active / Inactive	Turn automatic triggers on or off immediately
Builder / Runs	Choose between editing and run replay
Add node	Open the Add node panel
Issues	Open validation problems that must be fixed
Undo / Redo	Move through unsaved changes
Save	Save the workflow; a yellow dot means changes are waiting to be saved

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Use Runs mode

Select Builder → Runs to open a read-only replay. The newest run opens automatically, and Run history appears on the left.

Each run in the history shows a status-colored dot, run number, relative start time, and a Test tag when applicable. Select a run to replay it.

The right toolbar pill shows the selected run, its status, entry, start time, and duration. Use ‹ and › to move between runs. Details adds progress, waiting or failure information, run controls, and a link to the corresponding Action Scheduler jobs.

On the canvas:

• connections taken by the run turn green;
• successful nodes show a quiet check and duration;
• failed nodes turn red and show the reason; and
• nodes that never ran are faded.

Select a node to open its real Input and Output for that run. Settings remain visible but read-only. Return to Builder to restore the editable workflow, including unsaved changes.

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Keyboard controls

Press Tab to reach a node, then use the arrow keys to follow its connections. Up and down move between branches.

Key	Action
Enter or Space	Open the selected node
Delete or Backspace	Delete it and offer Undo
A or /	Open Add a node
?	Open the builder guide
Alt/Option + ← or →	Move between connected nodes in the node window

Flowcrafter removes movement and resizing animations when your system requests reduced motion.

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Next

• Build Your First Workflow
• Adding & Connecting Nodes
• Passing Data Between Nodes
• Running & Monitoring Workflows