If/Else

If/Else evaluates one condition against the fields an Extract node produced, and routes the document to one of two branches: True when the condition holds, False when it does not. It transforms nothing. It lives in the Logic section of the Studio palette and is in Beta. Use it to handle matching and non-matching documents differently: send only invoices over a threshold to a Slack alert, or only documents that failed a Validate rule.

The node

{
  "id": "if_else_1",
  "type": "if_else",
  "condition": { "type": "comparison", "left": "total", "op": ">", "right": { "source": "literal", "value": 10000 } }
}

import os
from anyformat.sdk import Client
from anyformat.workflow import (
    WorkflowDefinition, Edge,
    ParseNode, ExtractNode, ExtractionSchema, Schema,
    IfElseNode, ComparisonCheck,
)
from anyformat.workflow.nodes import SlackAlertNode

client = Client(api_key=os.environ["ANYFORMAT_API_KEY"])

workflow = client.create_workflow(WorkflowDefinition(
    name="Large invoices",
    nodes=[
        ParseNode(id="parse_1", type="parse"),
        ExtractNode(id="extract_1", type="extract", extraction_schema=ExtractionSchema(fields=[
            Schema.string("vendor_name", "Vendor name."),
            Schema.float("total", "Grand total."),
        ])),
        IfElseNode(id="if_else_1", type="if_else", condition=ComparisonCheck(
            type="comparison", left="total", op=">", right={"source": "literal", "value": 10000},
        )),
        SlackAlertNode(id="slack_1", type="slack_alert", channel_id="C0123ABC", channel_name="#finance",
            message_template="Large invoice from ${field.vendor_name}: ${field.total}", severity="warning"),
    ],
    edges=[
        Edge(source="parse_1", target="extract_1"),
        Edge(source="extract_1", target="if_else_1"),
        Edge(source="if_else_1", target="slack_1", branch="true"),
    ],
))

// The TypeScript builder has no ifElse() method yet.
// Send the API JSON on this page to POST /v3/workflows/, or pass the same
// graph to af.updateWorkflow(workflowId, definition) on an existing workflow.

The Python builder (client.workflow(...).parse().extract(...)) has no if_else() verb. Build a WorkflowDefinition from the node classes instead, as above, and pass it to create_workflow. The TypeScript builder has no method either; send the JSON. The edge that leaves If/Else names its branch: "branch": "true" or "branch": "false".

{ "source": "extract_1", "target": "if_else_1" },
{ "source": "if_else_1", "target": "slack_1", "branch": "true" }

A condition names a field by the name you gave it on the Extract node. Studio names fields by their persistent id; both forms resolve at run time.

In Studio

Click the If/Else node on the canvas to open its panel. The Conditions list holds one card per condition; with two or more, the And / Or toggle at the top decides how they combine. Each card has a subject (a field value, field math, a validation outcome, or an expression) and the assertion that completes “Check that the field…”; click Save condition when done. The node has two output handles on the canvas, true and false.

Options

Field	Type	Default	What it does
`condition`	check object	required	The condition to evaluate. One check, or an `all_of` / `any_of` combinator of several.

The schema the API accepts is generated from the same source: If/Else node schema.

Conditions

A condition is a check: the same closed set the Validate node uses, plus one kind that only exists here.

Check	`type`	What it tests
Required	`required`	The field is present and not empty.
Number in range	`range`	A numeric field is within `min` and `max`.
Date in range	`date`	A date field is within `earliest` and `latest`.
Arithmetic	`arithmetic`	A sum, difference, or product of fields equals another field.
Comparison	`comparison`	A field compares to a fixed value or another field.
One of	`one_of`	The field’s value is in an allowed set.
Pattern	`regex`	The field matches a regular expression.
Confidence	`confidence`	The field’s extraction confidence compares to a threshold.
Expression	`expression`	A CEL expression over the whole extraction.
Validation outcome	`validation`	An upstream Validate rule ended with `status` (`fail` by default).
All of / Any of	`all_of` / `any_of`	Every / at least one nested check holds. This is what the And / Or toggle writes.

The wire shape of each check is on the Validate page. The validation check has its own:

// Route on the outcome of the upstream rule "totals-add-up". status: "fail" | "pass" | "inconclusive"
{ "type": "validation", "rule_id": "totals-add-up", "status": "fail" }

// Two conditions combined with And
{ "type": "all_of", "checks": [
  { "type": "validation", "rule_id": "totals-add-up", "status": "fail" },
  { "type": "range", "field": "total", "min": 1000, "max": null }
] }

A validation condition needs a Validate node upstream that carries a rule with that rule_id. A rule id with no verdict for the document evaluates to inconclusive.

When a condition can’t be evaluated, the document takes the False branch. If a field the condition refers to is missing, or a confidence check has no confidence score, the condition counts as not met, so the document goes down False, never True. This keeps a True-only branch (like an alert) from firing on data anyformat couldn’t actually check. To handle those documents on their own path instead, use a separate, preliminary If/Else node that checks whether the field is required, and place the value condition on its True branch.

What it returns

Nothing in the run results. If/Else adds no section and changes no field. It decides which downstream nodes run for the document:

The condition holds: the nodes on the true branch run.
The condition fails, or cannot be evaluated: the nodes on the false branch run.

The true branch must have at least one node; the API rejects an If/Else with no "branch": "true" edge. The false branch may be left empty, and the document then stops there. On a workflow with a Split node, the condition is evaluated once per sub-document.

Connects to

Direction	Nodes
Fed by	Extract, Validate
Feeds	Slack alert, on either branch. Email alert once it ships.

An Extract cannot sit after an If/Else today. The API rejects the edge (an extract node cannot sit downstream of an if_else) and Studio does not offer it. A second extraction pass on a branch is planned, not available.

Billing

Free. If/Else runs no model and bills no credits. Full price list: How credits work.

Examples

Invoice processing: add the If/Else on this page after the Extract to flag invoices over 10,000.
Contract analysis: route contracts whose expiry date is on or before today to an alert with a date condition ("latest": "today").

Get started

Nodes

Workflows

Schema & fields

Documents

Outputs & integrations

Health

Billing

The node

In Studio

Options

Conditions

What it returns

Connects to

Billing

Examples

​The node

​In Studio

​Options

​Conditions

​What it returns

​Connects to

​Billing

​Examples

The node

In Studio

Options

Conditions

What it returns

Connects to

Billing

Examples