Create an external API node

External API nodes still work, but for new flows we recommend using the Actions node instead for greater configurability.

Create the node

1. Double-click the canvas background to create a new node.
2. Select the node type Advanced → External → External API.

3. The node is added to the canvas.

Configure the node

The external API node is created with default settings. You can change these settings by editing the node.

Click the live support node to edit it.

For a detailed explanation of the settings and how they work, see External API settings.

Connect the node

Connect the live support node to the rest of your flow as desired.

1. The connector on the left edge is the input connector and determines when the flow will enter this node and perform the external API request.
2. The connector on the right edge is the output connector and determines where the flow will go next after the API call returns.

Handling errors

Because external API nodes introduce an external dependency to your flow, you should ensure your flow can handle errors or failures of the external API call. Any of the following events will cause the node to enter an error state:

1. The HTTP request does not receive a response before the specified timeout duration passes.
2. The HTTP response has a status code that does not match any of the allowed statuses.
3. The response type is set to "JSON" and the HTTP response body is not valid JSON.

If an error occurs, the flow will still proceed by following the external API node's output connector, but none of the node's form data assignments will happen. This means that the easiest way to account for API errors is usually by using the "Fallback" option on later read data nodes.