Item linking and mapping

Item linking is how Agentic WorkFlow remembers which input item produced which output item. It matters whenever a workflow produces multiple records and later needs to refer back to the original record.

Without item linking, a workflow that extracts ten links, fetches ten pages, and summarizes ten pages would not know which summary belongs to which original link.

The mental model

Each item carries a relationship to the item that created it.

flowchart LR
  A1["Link item 1\n/url-a"] --> B1["Fetched page 1"] --> C1["Summary 1"]
  A2["Link item 2\n/url-b"] --> B2["Fetched page 2"] --> C2["Summary 2"]

  style A1 fill:#e8f5e9,stroke:#2e7d32
  style A2 fill:#e8f5e9,stroke:#2e7d32
  style C1 fill:#e1f5fe,stroke:#0277bd
  style C2 fill:#e1f5fe,stroke:#0277bd

When you map data from a previous node, Agentic WorkFlow uses that relationship to choose the matching item instead of grabbing a random row.

Why it matters

Use item linking when you need to:

• Keep a page title with the URL it came from.
• Attach an AI summary to the original source record.
• Write one row per item into Google Sheets or Airtable.
• Combine extracted data with metadata from an earlier branch.

Common mapping mistake

The most common mistake is treating a list like a single object.

[
  { "url": "https://example.com/a", "title": "A" },
  { "url": "https://example.com/b", "title": "B" }
]

If the next node runs per item, map the current item field, such as url, not the whole list. If you really need the whole list at once, combine or reshape the data before the next step.

Branches and related values

When two branches meet, decide whether values should be paired by position, merged by key, or kept separate.

flowchart TB
  A["Product links"] --> B["Fetch product pages"]
  A --> C["Keep original URL"]
  B --> D["Merge by linked item"]
  C --> D
  D --> E["Write rows"]

If the relationship is not obvious, add a stable field such as id, url, or sourceName before splitting the workflow.

Good habits

• Add stable IDs before branching.
• Rename fields to clear names before a merge.
• Preview output after any node that changes item count.
• Use Edit Fields to create clean downstream contracts.
• Use Merge when branches need explicit pairing.

Related topics

• Data structure
• Data mapping UI
• Expressions