QuickStart Guide

A concise introduction to our Platform

Workflows, Nodes and Flow Connectors

In Flowgear, Workflows represent an integration process. The building blocks of a Flowgear Workflow are Nodes and Flow Connectors.

Nodes represent specific tasks such as querying a source app or service, re-shaping data or sending data to a target app or service. Depending on their role, Nodes are Connectors, Processors, Evaluators or Triggers.

Flow Connectors specify how Nodes are linked. There are two types of Flow Connectors:

Execution Flow Connectors which control the sequence of steps
Data Flow Connectors which control the flow of data between Nodes

Which Nodes should I use?

Take a look at Nodes you should know to get a quick description of the most important Nodes. You can also access reference articles for any Node by clicking the Node context menu (the arrow just next to the Node name).

If you want a practical example of how to use a Node, check the shared workflow link that appears at the bottom of the reference article for the Node.

You can also type a search term into the Search Shared Workflows search box when creating a new Workflow to see if there are shared Workflows that relate to your use case.

Finally, have a look at our Patterns Collection where frequently used patterns are described.

How do Connections work and how do I connect on-premise?

Most Connector Nodes require a Connection to be set up. The details required depend on the Node but will usually include an endpoint (e.g. a server name or URL) and credentials (e.g. a username & password pair or a token).

When you need to connect to an endpoint that isn't exposed to the Internet, you can install a Flowgear DropPoint on a machine in the same network as the endpoint you need to connect to.

Once installed, simply select the DropPoint in the Connection that you are configuring so that the requested is routed through it.

Read high level information about DropPoints or the more technical description of DropPoints.