Building Flows

The Visual Builder allows you to design, automate, and orchestrate complex workflows without writing code.
Whether you’re creating a simple data transformation or a multi-step business process, flows in puq.ai give you the flexibility, speed, and clarity needed to automate anything.

This guide walks you through the essentials of building your first flow and introduces best practices for structuring clean, scalable automations.

Getting Started

Creating your first workflow takes only a few minutes:

  1. Navigate to Workflows → New Workflow.
  2. Give your flow a name and open the Visual Builder.
  3. Drag Trigger, Action, and Logic nodes onto the canvas.
  4. Connect nodes to define the execution path.
  5. Test the workflow using Live Testing Mode and validate results in real time.

Once your flow is ready, click Save and enable Run Mode to make it active.

Understanding the Core Building Blocks

Workflows consist of three main node types:

🔵 Trigger Nodes

Start the workflow.
Examples: Webhook, Scheduled Trigger, Form Submission, Event Listener

A workflow cannot run without a trigger, and each workflow can only have one.

🟣 Action Nodes

Perform an operation — send an email, fetch data, create a record, call an API, etc.
Actions represent the “work” your automation performs.

🟠 Logic Nodes

Control the flow: branching, looping, routing, transforming data, evaluating conditions, and more.
Logic nodes help you build dynamic and intelligent workflows.

Building Your Flow Step-by-Step

1. Add a Trigger

Choose how your workflow should start:

  • When an HTTP request arrives
  • At a scheduled time
  • On an event (e.g., new contact, form submission)
  • When a webhook fires
  • Manually (quick tests)

2. Add Action Nodes

Perform operations such as:

  • Sending emails
  • Calling APIs
  • Creating CRM records
  • Generating documents
  • Running AI models
  • Writing to spreadsheets
  • Uploading files

Actions can be chained together to form multi-step sequences.

3. Add Logic Nodes

Use logic nodes to make your automation smart:

  • Routers (if/else branches)
  • Loops (repeat over lists)
  • Model Routers (send text to different AI models)
  • Data Transformers
  • Delays and Timers
  • Error handling and fallback paths

These allow you to control exactly how data flows between steps.

4. Connect the Nodes

Drag edges between nodes to define the order of operations.
A flow runs top-to-bottom, following the connected paths.

5. Test Your Workflow

Use Live Testing Mode to run the workflow step-by-step.

You can:

  • Inspect real input/output data
  • Validate transformations
  • Catch errors early
  • Modify the flow and retest instantly

This makes debugging extremely fast and visual.

Designing Clean and Scalable Flows

Follow these best practices:

✔ Keep flows modular

One workflow should solve one clear problem.
For complex systems, break automations into subflows.

✔ Name nodes clearly

Use descriptive titles like:

  • “Format Customer Data”
  • “Send Slack Notification”
  • “Check Inventory Levels”

This is especially important when sharing flows with teammates.

✔ Use routers to avoid unnecessary steps

Instead of stacking actions, route data only to the nodes that need it.

✔ Validate input early

Use validators, JSON parsers, and condition checks to prevent downstream errors.

✔ Add delays when interacting with rate-limited APIs

Avoid throttling or API blocks.

✔ Reuse global variables & environment secrets

Never hardcode credentials.

Example: A Simple Automation

Let’s design a basic flow:

When a user submits a form:

  1. Trigger → Form Submitted
  2. Action → Validate Email Address
  3. Action → Create Record in Airtable
  4. Action → Send Confirmation Email
  5. Action → Notify Slack Channel

This simple flow captures new leads, stores them, and notifies your team — all without manual effort.

Example: A Branching Automation

When a new order is received:

  • If payment status = “paid” → Fulfill order
  • If payment status = “pending” → Send reminder email
  • If payment status = “failed” → Notify support team

Routers allow your automation to adapt to each situation.

Using AI Copilot

puq.ai includes an AI-powered Copilot to accelerate flow creation.

Just type what you want to build:

“When a user submits a form, send an email and log the data to Airtable.”

AI Copilot instantly:

  • Generates the workflow structure
  • Adds the necessary nodes
  • Connects them
  • Configures basic inputs
  • Suggests improvements

This is the fastest way to prototype or build standard automations.

Final Tips

  • Start small — test frequently
  • Use AI Copilot when you’re unsure how to begin
  • Group related steps visually
  • Keep flows clean and readable
  • Use logic to avoid unnecessary actions
  • Save often and review the logs

Building flows becomes intuitive once you understand the structure.
With triggers, actions, logic, and the visual builder, you can automate almost anything — from simple notifications to full business processes.