Flow Builder

The Flow Builder is FlowStack's visual automation engine powered by ActivePieces. It provides a clean drag-and-drop interface for building automations without code.

Interface

The Flow Builder opens in an embedded view within your FlowStack dashboard. It consists of:

• Canvas — The main workspace where you build your flow by connecting steps
• Step Panel — Opens when you click a step to configure triggers, actions, and conditions
• Pieces Sidebar — Browse and search 687+ available integrations
• Test Panel — Run your flow step-by-step and inspect outputs
• Runs Tab — View execution history for this specific flow

Building a Flow

1. Select a Trigger

Click the trigger node at the top of the canvas. Choose from:

• Schedule — Set a cron schedule (every 5 minutes, hourly, daily, custom)
• Webhook — Generate a unique URL that triggers the flow on HTTP requests
• App Trigger — Select a piece and choose an event (e.g., Gmail → New Email)

2. Add Actions

Click the + button below the trigger to add actions:

1. Search for the piece you want (e.g., "Slack", "Google Sheets", "HTTP")
2. Select the specific action (e.g., "Send Message", "Append Row", "Send Request")
3. Configure the action:
   • Select or create a connection
   • Map input fields using data from previous steps
   • Use dynamic values with the expression picker

3. Add Conditions (Optional)

Insert a Branch step to add if/else logic:

IF condition is true
  → Action A
ELSE
  → Action B

Conditions can compare values from previous steps using operators like equals, contains, greater than, etc.

4. Test Your Flow

1. Click Test Flow in the top-right
2. The flow runs step-by-step, showing real data at each stage
3. Green checkmarks indicate successful steps
4. Red indicators show failures with error details
5. Click any step to inspect its input and output data

5. Publish

Click Publish to make your flow live. Once published:

• The flow will run automatically based on its trigger
• The published version is locked — edits create a new draft
• You can view the published version vs. draft at any time

Data Mapping

Every step's output is available to subsequent steps. Use the expression picker to map data:

• Click any input field
• Browse available data from previous steps
• Select the specific field you need
• The reference is inserted as a dynamic expression

Example: To use the sender's email from a Gmail trigger in a Slack message:

{{trigger.from.email}}

Connections

When configuring a piece that requires authentication:

1. Click the Connection dropdown
2. Click + New Connection
3. An OAuth popup opens (for OAuth apps) or a form appears (for API key apps)
4. Complete the authorization
5. The connection is saved and reusable across all flows

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl/Cmd + S	Save flow
Ctrl/Cmd + Z	Undo
Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + Z	Redo
Delete	Remove selected step
Ctrl/Cmd + D	Duplicate selected step