Splitting and branching

In 20 seconds

A branching node checks each item and sends it out of one of its ports. IF has two ports (True and False), Switch has one port per rule plus a fallback, and Filter keeps the matching items and drops the rest. Steps on a port that receives no items don’t run.

See it happen

IF checks {{ $input.length }} is greater than 500 for three pages. Two long pages leave through True and go to the summary step. One short page leaves through False.

Example run: Pages, 3 items → IF · True, 2 items → IF · False, 1 item. Illustration of a run. The items are not changed, only routed.

1. Pages 3 items →
2. IF · True 2 items length > 500 →
3. IF · False 1 item

Output of IF · True Table JSON

#	title	length
0	Annual report	5400
1	Pricing FAQ	1800

Illustration of a run. The items are not changed, only routed.

A branch can look like this on the canvas:

flowchart LR
  T[Hotkey] --> A[Get All Text] --> B{"IF: longer than 500 characters?"}
  B -->|True| C[Summarization] --> D[Display Markdown]
  B -->|False| D2[Display Markdown]
  class T awf-trigger
  class A awf-data
  class B awf-flow
  class C awf-ai
  class D,D2 awf-io

Pick the branching node

• IF → Two paths: the conditions hold, or they don't. Example Save new contacts, update existing ones. True · False
• Switch → Three or more paths, each with a name, plus a fallback. Example Route a message to Billing, Bug or Anything else. one port per rule
• Filter → One path: keep what matches, drop the rest. Example Keep only products under 50 €. Kept

How the conditions work

Each condition compares a value, usually an expression such as {{ $input.price }}, with another value. Pick the type first (String, Number, Date-Time, Boolean, Array or Object): it decides which operators you get, such as Contains, Is Equal To or Is Not Empty. Link several conditions with AND (all must hold) or OR (one is enough).

IF and Switch outputs are named ports. Edges attach to a port by its name, so reordering Switch rules keeps every connection in place. See named outputs on branching nodes.

After the branch

• Leave a port unconnected to stop those items there. It’s the simplest way to say “do nothing otherwise”.
• Join branches again with Merge when you need data from both, or with Funnel when either branch is enough to continue. See Merging.
• Branch on an AI result with Text Classifier or Switch on its label. See Branching on AI results.

You’ll notice this when…

Nothing ran after the IF

Every item went out of the other port. Open the IF node’s output to see which port the items took, then check the condition’s type: comparing "10" as a String with 9 gives a different answer than comparing numbers.

An item went to Switch’s fallback branch

No rule matched it. In Rules mode, rules are tried from top to bottom and the first match wins, so put narrow rules above broad ones. A rule with no conditions never matches.

An item went down two Switch branches

On Multiple Matches is set to Every match. Set it back to the first match if each item should take one path.

A Merge after an IF outputs nothing

Only one branch ran, so the other Merge input is empty and an Inner Join finds no pairs. When the run should simply continue with whichever branch ran, join the branches with Funnel instead.

Next

Next concept: MergingBring branches back together.

Practise itRecipes that route items by a condition.