Input and Output

Stepflow flows define clear input and output contracts using JSON Schema. This ensures data validation, type safety, and clear documentation of what data flows into and out of your flows.

• The Input Schema describes the expected structure of input data.
• The Output section maps step results to the flow output.
• The Output Schema defines the structure of the output data.

Flow Input Schema

Every flow should define an input schema that describes the expected structure of input data:

inputSchema:
  type: object
  properties:
    user_id:
      type: string
      description: "Unique identifier for the user"
    preferences:
      type: object
      properties:
        theme:
          type: string
          enum: ["light", "dark"]
        notifications:
          type: boolean
      required: ["theme"]
    data_files:
      type: array
      items:
        type: string
      description: "List of file paths to process"
  required: ["user_id"]

Flow Output

Map workflow output to step results:

output:
  summary:
    total_processed: { $from: { step: count_items } }
    success_count: { $from: { step: analyze_results }, path: "success_count" }
    error_count: { $from: { step: analyze_results }, path: "error_count" }
  results: { $from: { step: collect_results } }

The output section uses Expressions to reference data from steps within the flow.

Flow Output Schema

Define the structure of data your workflow produces:

outputSchema:
  type: object
  properties:
    summary:
      type: object
      properties:
        total_processed:
          type: integer
        success_count:
          type: integer
        error_count:
          type: integer
      required: ["total_processed", "success_count", "error_count"]
    results:
      type: array
      items:
        type: object
        properties:
          id:
            type: string
          status:
            type: string
            enum: ["success", "error", "skipped"]
          data:
            type: object
        required: ["id", "status"]
  required: ["summary", "results"]