Action Steps

Action steps execute operations on external services through connectors. They are the primary way to interact with integrated systems like Stripe, Salesforce, HubSpot, QuickBooks, and more.

Configuration

{
  "id": "create-invoice",
  "type": "action",
  "name": "Create Stripe Invoice",
  "action": "stripe.createInvoice",
  "config": {
    "customerId": "{{input.customer_id}}",
    "items": [
      {
        "price": "price_xxx",
        "quantity": 1
      }
    ]
  }
}

Field	Type	Required	Description
`id`	string	Yes	Unique step identifier
`type`	string	Yes	Must be `"action"`
`name`	string	Yes	Human-readable name
`action`	string	Yes	Action identifier (e.g., `stripe.createInvoice`)
`config`	object	Yes	Action-specific configuration
`retryConfig`	object	No	Retry configuration
`errorHandling`	object	No	Error handling strategy
`timeoutMs`	number	No	Timeout in milliseconds

Action Format

Actions follow the pattern {connector}.{actionName}:

stripe.createInvoice
salesforce.updateOpportunity
hubspot.createContact
quickbooks.listCustomers
slack.sendMessage

Available Connectors

Connector	Description	Example Actions
`stripe`	Payment processing	`createInvoice`, `getCustomer`, `createSubscription`
`salesforce`	CRM operations	`getAccount`, `updateOpportunity`, `query`
`hubspot`	Marketing/CRM	`createContact`, `getDeal`, `searchContacts`
`quickbooks`	Accounting	`createInvoice`, `getCustomer`, `createPayment`
`pandadoc`	Document signing	`createDocument`, `sendDocument`, `getStatus`
`netsuite`	ERP operations	`createCustomer`, `createInvoice`, `suiteql`
`slack`	Messaging	`sendMessage`, `openModal`, `addReaction`
`email`	Email sending	`send`, `send_template`, `schedule`

See Integrations for complete action documentation per connector.

Template Variables

Use template syntax to reference input and previous step outputs:

{
  "id": "update-contact",
  "type": "action",
  "action": "hubspot.updateContact",
  "config": {
    "contactId": "{{steps.lookup.output.id}}",
    "properties": {
      "company": "{{input.company_name}}",
      "lifecyclestage": "customer",
      "last_order_date": "{{now}}"
    }
  }
}

Available Template Contexts

Context	Example	Description
`input`	`{{input.customer_id}}`	Workflow trigger input
`steps`	`{{steps.step-id.output.field}}`	Previous step output
`variables`	`{{variables.taxRate}}`	Workflow variables
`env`	`{{env.API_URL}}`	Environment variables
`now`	`{{now}}`	Current ISO timestamp

Nested Access

{
  "config": {
    "email": "{{input.customer.contact.email}}",
    "amount": "{{steps.calculate.output.totals.grandTotal}}"
  }
}

Error Handling

Retry Configuration

Configure automatic retries for transient failures:

{
  "id": "api-call",
  "type": "action",
  "action": "stripe.createInvoice",
  "config": { ... },
  "retryConfig": {
    "maxAttempts": 3,
    "initialDelayMs": 1000,
    "maxDelayMs": 30000,
    "backoffMultiplier": 2
  }
}

Field	Type	Description
`maxAttempts`	number	Maximum retry attempts (1-10)
`initialDelayMs`	number	Initial delay in ms (min: 100)
`maxDelayMs`	number	Maximum delay in ms (min: 1000)
`backoffMultiplier`	number	Exponential backoff multiplier (1-10)

Error Handling Strategy

{
  "id": "optional-sync",
  "type": "action",
  "action": "hubspot.updateContact",
  "config": { ... },
  "errorHandling": {
    "strategy": "continue",
    "fallback": {
      "synced": false,
      "error": "Sync failed"
    }
  }
}

Strategy	Behavior
`fail`	Stop workflow, mark run as failed (default)
`continue`	Log error, continue with fallback output
`retry`	Retry with `retryConfig` settings

Timeout

{
  "id": "slow-api",
  "type": "action",
  "action": "netsuite.suiteql",
  "config": { ... },
  "timeoutMs": 60000
}

Output

Action outputs are stored and available to subsequent steps:

// Access in later steps
{{steps.create-invoice.output.id}}
{{steps.create-invoice.output.number}}
{{steps.create-invoice.output.status}}
{{steps.create-invoice.output.amount_due}}

Checking Output Existence

{
  "id": "check-result",
  "type": "condition",
  "config": {
    "conditions": {
      "left": "{{steps.create-invoice.output.id}}",
      "operator": "exists"
    },
    "then": ["send-notification"],
    "else": ["handle-error"]
  }
}

Common Patterns

Create Then Update

{
  "steps": [
    {
      "id": "create-customer",
      "type": "action",
      "action": "stripe.createCustomer",
      "config": {
        "email": "{{input.email}}",
        "name": "{{input.name}}"
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "create-invoice",
      "type": "action",
      "action": "stripe.createInvoice",
      "config": {
        "customer": "{{steps.create-customer.output.id}}",
        "auto_advance": true
      }
    }
  ]
}

Conditional Action

{
  "steps": [
    {
      "id": "check-exists",
      "type": "action",
      "action": "hubspot.searchContacts",
      "config": {
        "filterGroups": [{
          "filters": [{
            "propertyName": "email",
            "operator": "EQ",
            "value": "{{input.email}}"
          }]
        }]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "route-action",
      "type": "condition",
      "config": {
        "conditions": {
          "left": "{{steps.check-exists.output.total}}",
          "operator": "gt",
          "right": "0"
        },
        "then": ["update-contact"],
        "else": ["create-contact"]
      }
    }
  ]
}

With Fallback

{
  "id": "sync-to-crm",
  "type": "action",
  "action": "salesforce.updateAccount",
  "config": {
    "id": "{{input.sf_account_id}}",
    "fields": { "Website": "{{input.website}}" }
  },
  "errorHandling": {
    "strategy": "continue",
    "fallback": {
      "synced": false,
      "syncError": "Failed to update Salesforce"
    }
  }
}

Connector-Specific Examples

Stripe

{
  "id": "create-payment",
  "type": "action",
  "action": "stripe.createPaymentIntent",
  "config": {
    "amount": "{{input.amount}}",
    "currency": "usd",
    "customer": "{{input.stripe_customer_id}}",
    "metadata": {
      "order_id": "{{input.order_id}}"
    }
  }
}

Salesforce

{
  "id": "query-accounts",
  "type": "action",
  "action": "salesforce.query",
  "config": {
    "soql": "SELECT Id, Name, Website FROM Account WHERE Type = 'Customer' LIMIT 100"
  }
}

Slack

{
  "id": "notify-team",
  "type": "action",
  "action": "slack.sendMessage",
  "config": {
    "channel": "#sales-notifications",
    "text": "New deal closed: {{input.deal_name}} for ${{input.amount}}"
  }
}

Troubleshooting

Action Not Found

{
  "error": {
    "code": "ACTION_NOT_FOUND",
    "message": "Action 'stripe.unknownAction' not found"
  }
}

Verify the action name matches the connector's available actions.

Connection Required

{
  "error": {
    "code": "CONNECTION_REQUIRED",
    "message": "No active connection found for provider 'salesforce'"
  }
}

Ensure you have an active OAuth connection for the connector.

Rate Limited

{
  "error": {
    "code": "RATE_LIMITED",
    "message": "Rate limit exceeded for provider"
  }
}

Add retry configuration with exponential backoff.

Next Steps

Condition Steps

Add branching logic

Transform Steps

Map and transform data

Integrations

All connector actions

Action Steps

Condition Steps

Transform Steps

Integrations

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