Switch

Switch

Route items to any number of named branches.

What it does

Sends each incoming item to one of several named output branches, with an optional fallback output for anything that matches nothing. Where IF gives you two branches, Switch gives you as many as you name — the tool for any three-way-or-more decision, and for splitting a feed by category, status, or priority in one place.

There are two ways to decide the branch:

• Rules — each branch has a set of conditions, written with the same condition editor as IF and Filter. Several conditions on one branch combine with AND unless a condition is set to OR.
• Expression — one resolved value is matched against the branch names. The comparison is done as text, so a numeric 200 arriving from a field matches a branch you named 200.

When to use it

• Any decision with three or more outcomes, which would otherwise mean nesting IF nodes until the canvas is unreadable.
• Splitting a feed by a field whose values are themselves the branch names — a status, a category, a country code.

Inputs and settings

Setting	Notes
Mode	How the branch is decided: Rules (conditions per branch) or Expression (match a value to a branch name). Defaults to Rules.
Rules	One rule per branch, tried top to bottom. Each rule has an Output Name (the branch it routes to) and, in Rules mode, a set of Conditions.
Value To Match	Used in Expression mode only. The value compared, as text, against each output name — for example {{ $json.status }}.
On Multiple Matches	First match only (default) or Every match. First-match makes rule order your way of expressing precedence; every-match fans one item out to every branch it fits.
Add A Fallback Branch	On by default. Sends items matching no rule to an output of their own. Off: an item matching nothing is dropped and goes no further.
Fallback Name	Name of the fallback branch. Defaults to Anything else.

Outputs

The node draws one output handle per rule, plus the fallback handle when it is enabled. Items are binned by the branch they took.

Two behaviours worth knowing:

• A rule with no conditions matches nothing, not everything. This is deliberate: an empty rule that matched everything would turn the first half-written rule into a silent catch-all above every rule below it. When you want a catch-all, use the fallback output.
• First match wins by default. Put the narrow rule above the broad one. Turn on Every match only when an item genuinely belongs in more than one branch.

Outputs are addressed by name

Each edge is stored against its output’s name, not its position. So reordering rules rewires nothing — every edge keeps pointing at the branch it left. The trade-off is that renaming an output disconnects the edge that left it: the canvas removes that edge and tells you, rather than leaving one pointing at a branch that no longer exists.

If two outputs are given the same name, the later duplicate is suffixed (for example Urgent (2)) so it stays visible and nothing is silently swallowed.

Dependencies and credentials

• No credential or node dependency is required. The node runs entirely in the browser.

Example workflow

Feed a list of support tickets into Switch in Rules mode. Add a rule named Urgent (priority is high), a rule named Billing (category is billing), and leave the fallback on as Anything else. Each ticket flows out of the branch whose rule it first matches; anything fitting neither rule leaves through the fallback.

Troubleshooting

• “Switch needs at least one rule.” Add a rule and name the branch it routes to before running.
• “No source node is connected.” Switch needs an input connection to route.
• Everything is landing in the fallback: a rule with no conditions matches nothing. Add the conditions, or route the catch-all through the fallback on purpose.
• An edge disappeared after you edited a rule: renaming an output disconnects its edge by design. Reconnect it to the renamed branch.

Related nodes

• IF
• Filter
• Merge
• Wait For Approval
• Node types overview — see named multi-output ports.