Flows - get started

Flows are how you work with data published to Thingstream. The Thingstream Flow Editor provides a simple drag and drop interface where you can quickly build powerful work flows to work with payloads published by your Things, and get that data out to wherever you need it.

Creating a flow

There are two options for creating new flows which you will find when you click on the Create Flow button in the Flows list:

- New Flow - this option will create a new empty flow for you to build from scratch.
- From Flow Library - this will present you with options for a number of flow templates that we have created for you to help you get going quickly. You'll find flows that are specific to certain Thingstream enabled devices along with universal flows that show how achieve common tasks like making an HTTP request.

In this section

Flow library

Deploying your flow

Debugging your flow

Send data to the AWS IoT MQTT broker

Working with flows

The flow editor is split into 3 sections:

Node Palette

Nodes in the palette provide the functionality that can be executed in your flow. Find the node that you want to use and simply drag and drop it on the workspace and then connect it up to other nodes

Work Space

The work space sits in the middle of the flow editor and is where you place the nodes that you want to use in your flow

Sidebar

The sidebar contains two tabs:

Info - This tab provides documentation for the selected node. You'll find everything you need here including the input and output variables that the node supports
Debug - This tab shows the output from the debug nodes that you have connected to your flow, and any log output that you create using "node.log(<value>);"

Once you have created your flow, you'll need to save it and then deploy it so that it can run