How to Build a Flow

Flows are visual workflows that connect triggers to actions. When something happens (a device reads a tag, a timer fires, a webhook arrives), your flow executes a series of steps — logging data, calling APIs, updating records, branching on conditions, and more. This guide walks you through building a flow from scratch.

Prerequisites

• A Vesbite account
• At least one adopted device or configured integration (depending on what your flow will do)

Creating a New Flow

Step 1: Navigate to Flows

Click Flows in the sidebar to see your existing workflows. Each flow shows its name, status (Draft or Published), and last modified date.

Step 2: Create a Flow

Click Create Flow in the top-right corner. A new flow opens in the visual builder with an empty canvas.

The Flow Canvas

Here’s an interactive example of a flow running a periodic health check. Press Run to watch execution flow through each node:

The canvas is your workspace for building flows. Here are the controls:

Adding a Trigger

Every flow starts with a trigger — the event that kicks off the workflow.

Step 1: Open the Activity Picker

Click Add First Trigger in the center of an empty canvas (or click the + button if you already have nodes). The activity picker drawer slides in from the right.

Step 2: Browse or Search

The activity picker organizes triggers and actions into categories:

Use the search bar at the top to find specific activities by name, or browse by category.

Step 3: Select a Trigger

Click a trigger to add it to the canvas. Available trigger types:

Step 4: Configure the Trigger

Double-click the trigger node to open its settings panel on the left side of the screen. Configure the trigger’s options:

• Device Event trigger: Select the device and the event type to listen for
• Cron trigger: Enter a cron expression or use the visual scheduler
• Timer trigger: Set the delay duration
• Manual trigger: No configuration needed

Click Save to apply the trigger configuration.

Adding Action Nodes

From the + Button

Click the + button that appears below any node. The activity picker opens showing only actions (not triggers). Select an action to add it below the current node. It is automatically connected.

From the Activity Picker

You can also open the activity picker at any time by clicking the add activity button in the toolbar. Drag an activity from the picker onto the canvas to place it freely, then connect it manually.

Available Action Types

Core Actions

Device Actions

Integration Actions

See Set Up an Integration for connecting these services.

Connecting Nodes

Nodes have handles — small circles on their edges — that define how data flows between them.

To connect two nodes manually:

1. Hover over the output handle at the bottom of the source node
2. Click and drag to the input handle at the top of the target node
3. Release to create the connection (edge)

To remove a connection, click the edge line and press Delete.

Configuring Nodes

Opening the Settings Panel

Double-click any node to open its settings panel on the left side of the canvas. The panel shows the node’s name, description, and all configurable inputs.

Input Types

Node inputs accept different types of values depending on the field:

Using the Expression Editor

When you switch a field to expression mode, it opens a Monaco-based editor with:

• Autocomplete — Type {{ to start an expression and see suggestions for variables, outputs, and filters
• Variable chips — Visual pills that represent variables and outputs, making expressions easier to read
• Variable picker — A sidebar panel listing all available variables and outputs from previous nodes that you can click to insert

See Use Expressions for a complete guide to the expression syntax.

Saving, Publishing, and Running

Auto-save

Your flow is automatically saved as a draft as you work. You will see a “Saved” indicator in the toolbar. Drafts are not active — they do not execute when triggers fire.

Publishing

To make your flow active:

1. Click the workflow menu (three dots) in the toolbar
2. Select Publish
3. Your flow is now live. The status badge changes from “Draft” to “Published.”

Once published, the flow executes whenever its trigger condition is met.

Unpublishing

To deactivate a flow without deleting it, open the workflow menu and select Unpublish. The flow returns to draft status and stops executing.

Running Manually

Click the Run button in the toolbar to execute the flow immediately, regardless of its trigger type. This is useful for testing. The run log opens automatically so you can watch execution in real time.

Monitoring Runs

After a flow runs (manually or via trigger), you can view the run history:

1. Click the Runs tab in the flow builder
2. Each run shows its status (Success, Failed, Running), start time, and duration
3. Click a run to see the execution log, including inputs and outputs for each node

Version History

Vesbite keeps a history of your flow’s published versions. To view or restore a previous version:

1. Open the workflow menu
2. Select Version History
3. Browse previous versions by date
4. Click Restore to revert to a previous version (this creates a new draft)

Keyboard Shortcuts

Tips for Effective Flows

Start with a Manual trigger for testing. Build and test your flow logic with a Manual trigger first. Once everything works, swap it for a Device Event or Cron trigger for production.

Use Set Variable to simplify expressions. If you reference the same complex expression in multiple nodes, store it in a variable with Set Variable first, then reference {{ variables.myVar }} everywhere else.

Add Log nodes during development. Drop Log nodes between steps to see intermediate values in the run log. Remove them before publishing to production.

Handle errors with error handles. Every node has an error handle (red circle). Connect it to a recovery path — send an alert, log the error, or retry the operation.

Keep flows focused. Build one flow per use case rather than one giant flow that does everything. Smaller flows are easier to debug and maintain.

Use Branch nodes for conditional logic. Route your flow based on data values rather than trying to handle every case in a single path. See Use Branching.

Next Steps

• Use Expressions — Learn the Vex expression language for dynamic values
• Use Branching — Add conditional logic to your flows
• Set Up an Integration — Connect external services
• Trigger Device Actions — Control devices from your flows