Switch

Type key: switch_node
Group: Flow Control
Category: flow
Tier: CORE

The Switch node provides multi-way routing based on the value of a field in the data. It is the equivalent of a switch/case statement — you define multiple cases with an operator and a value, and execution is routed to the first matching branch. A default output handles all unmatched values.

Handles

Handle	Direction	Description
input	Input	Receives data from the preceding node
case_{id}	Output (dynamic)	One output per configured case
default	Output	Fallback when no case matches

Output handles are generated dynamically from the configured cases. Each case receives a stable, auto-generated id when created — this means renaming a case value does not break existing connections.

Configuration

Field	Type	Default	Description
field	string	""	Dot-notation path to the field to match on
cases	array	(1 default case)	Array of case objects

Case Object

{
  "id": "case_success",
  "operator": "equals",
  "value": "success"
}

Property	Description
id	Auto-generated stable identifier (used for handle IDs, never edit manually)
operator	Comparison operator — see table below
value	The value to compare against the field (omitted for unary operators)

Supported Operators

The Switch node shares the same operator set as the Filter node for consistency. Operators are grouped by the inferred type of the selected field.

Operator	Label	Needs value	Notes
equals	Equals	yes	Loose comparison (numeric-aware)
not_equals	Not Equals	yes
contains	Contains	yes	String substring check
not_contains	Not Contains	yes
starts_with	Starts With	yes
ends_with	Ends With	yes
greater_than	Greater Than	yes
greater_than_or_equal	Greater or Equal	yes
less_than	Less Than	yes
less_than_or_equal	Less or Equal	yes
in	In List	yes	Comma-separated values
not_in	Not In List	yes	Comma-separated values
is_null	Is Null	no
is_not_null	Is Not Null	no
is_empty	Is Empty	no	Empty string, null, empty array
is_not_empty	Is Not Empty	no
is_true	Is True	no
is_false	Is False	no
is_in_the_past	Is In The Past	no	Date/datetime fields
is_in_the_future	Is In The Future	no	Date/datetime fields
is_today	Is Today	no	Date/datetime fields
is_within_days	Within N Days	yes	Absolute distance from today
is_within_months	Within N Months	yes
is_older_than_days	Older Than N Days	yes
is_older_than_months	Older Than N Months	yes

Smart Type Inference

When the Switch field is connected to an upstream node, the UI automatically infers the data type of the selected field and restricts the operator dropdown accordingly. For example, a numeric field shows Greater Than, Less Than etc., while a string field shows Contains, Starts With etc.

Dynamic Value Input (⚡)

Each case value input features a lightning bolt toggle (⚡). When enabled, the input shows a dropdown of distinct values sampled from the upstream data. When disabled, you can type any value manually.

Behavior

1. The node extracts the value of field from $context->input using dot notation (data_get)
2. Iterates through cases top-to-bottom; each case's operator + value is evaluated against the field value
3. The first match wins — execution routes to that case's output handle
4. If no case matches, routes to the default output handle
5. The full input payload is passed through to the matching branch, enriched with internal metadata (stripped in simulation previews)

Loose Equality

The equals and not_equals operators use loose comparison: if both values are numeric, they are compared as floats (1 matches "1"). Otherwise they are compared as strings.

Example: Route by Payment Status (Dot Notation)

A Dummy Data node emits a single order with a nested payment object. The Switch checks payment.status and routes to the correct branch — only the matching Data Viewer receives the order data.

{
  "order_id": 1042,
  "customer": "Alice",
  "amount": 89.97,
  "payment": { "method": "credit_card", "status": "success" },
  "shipping": { "carrier": "DHL", "tracking": "DHL-98765" }
}

Click Sync on any Data Viewer to preview the routed data. Because the order has payment.status = "success", all fields are visible in the SUCCESS viewer.

💾 Try this example

Download the workflow JSON — open an empty workflow and import the file.

Change the status to test routing

Edit the status field inside Dummy Data to "pending" or "failed", save, and click Sync again — the data will route to the corresponding viewer.

Example: Route by Subscription Tier

A Manual Trigger sends a JSON payload containing a tier field. The Switch inspects tier and routes to the correct branch: FREE TIER, PRO TIER, or Default.

💾 Try this example

Download the workflow JSON — open an empty workflow and import the file.

Example: Route Users by Name

A Data Model node queries all users. Since the result is a collection ({data: [...], count: N}), a For Each node is placed before the Switch to iterate over each record. The Switch then inspects the name field and routes to the matching branch.

Why For Each before Switch?

The Data Model returns an array wrapped in data: [...]. Fields like name live inside each record. Without For Each, data_get($input, 'name') returns null and the Switch always falls through to default.

💾 Try this example

Download the workflow JSON — open an empty workflow and import the file.

Simulation Behavior

When you click Sync on a Data Viewer connected to a Switch output:

• The simulation runs the upstream chain and evaluates the Switch with the current data
• Only the matching branch Data Viewer shows the data; non-matching branches show 0 records
• Internal routing metadata is automatically stripped from the preview — the viewer shows only the real payload fields
• For workflows with For Each before Switch, the simulation uses the first array element as a sample; run the workflow for full iteration results

Change the data to test different branches

Edit the field value in the upstream Dummy Data node and click Sync again — the data will route to the corresponding viewer.

Use Cases

Scenario	Field	Cases
HTTP status routing	status_code	200, 400, 401, 403, 404, 500
User type routing	user.role	admin, editor, viewer
Priority routing	ticket.priority	high, medium, low
Category routing	product.category	electronics, clothing, food
Region routing	customer.country	IT, DE, FR, US

UI Behavior

• Each case row shows an operator dropdown and a value input (with ⚡ toggle for dynamic values)
• Operators are filtered by the inferred type of the selected field
• Unary operators (is_null, is_empty, is_true, etc.) hide the value input automatically
• When an output is not connected, a + button is shown; clicking it opens the node library for auto-connect
• A new Switch node starts with one pre-configured case so it is immediately usable

Backward Compatibility

Workflows saved before operators were added (cases with only value and label) are fully supported. Missing operator defaults to equals, preserving existing behavior.

Notes

• The Switch node routes to exactly one output (or default) — other branches do not execute
• Values are compared with loose equality — 200 and "200" will match
• Booleans are coerced: true → "1", false → "0", null → ""
• Cases are evaluated in definition order; the first match wins
• For complex multi-condition routing, use the If node