Workflows glossary
Learn the meanings of workflow-related terms.
Definitions of workflows-related terms. Refer to the main glossary for definitions of terms across Retool.
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Block
A type of query that interacts with data (e.g., querying a database) or performs an action (e.g., execute JavaScript code) within a workflow. Blocks are modular and have internal state—you can reference block properties in any subsequent block.
Branch block
A type of workflow block to visually build conditional statements that control different connected blocks
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Code block
A type of block used to write custom JavaScript or Python code in a workflow.
code-executor
A type of container that executes arbitrary user-written code for custom JavaScript or Python libraries in workflows
Console tab
A tab in the classic app Debug Tools that shows a list of errors, warnings, and success messages that relate to your queries, transformers, event handlers, etc.
Control flow
The order of operation and flow of data between workflow blocks.
CRUD
Create, read, update, and delete (CRUD) are the four basic operations (actions) of persistent storage. CRUD is also sometimes used to describe user interface conventions that facilitate viewing, searching, and changing information using computer-based forms and reports.
Current working version
The version that reflects the current state of the app or workflow, reflecting the latest edits.
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Error reporting
The ability to send logs and error reports on workflows, web apps, and mobile apps with Datadog or Sentry.
Exponential backoff
A strategy where a failed operation is retried with progressively longer delays, increasing the wait time exponentially (e.g., 1 second, then 2, then 4, then 8) after each failure to avoid overwhelming a struggling server or network, allowing it time to recover and increasing the chance of a successful retry.
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Filter block
A type of workflow block that enables you to write logic to perform actions with a specific subset of data. If an item evaluates to true, the Filter block includes in in the data it returns.
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Human-In-The-Loop (HITL)
A process that requires human action in order to proceed, such as a tool call that requires approval, or Assist resource query creation.
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Invoke Agent block
A type of block that triggers an agent from a workflow.
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Performance monitoring
The ability to send page load and query traces to Datadog and Sentry
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Queries per second (QPS)
A measure of how many queries can be processed in one second.
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Sandboxing
A security mechanism to separate and execute untrusted code, such as JavaScript and Python code in workflows, without risking harm to the host system.
Synchronous workflows
A workflow that has a webhook response block and is triggered from an App, Workflow, or webhook
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Temporal
A distributed system used to schedule and run asyncronous tasks for workflows.
Temporal Cluster
A group of services to facilitate the execution of each workflow amongst a pool of self-hosted workers that make queries and execute code in your VPC.
Ternary operator
In computer programming, the ternary conditional operator is a ternary operator that is part of the syntax for basic conditional expressions in several programming languages. It is commonly referred to as the conditional operator, conditional expression, ternary if, or inline if. An expression if a then b else c or a ? b : c evaluates to b if the value of a is true, and otherwise to c. One can read it aloud as "if a then b otherwise c". The form a ? b : c is the most common, but alternative syntaxes do exist; for example, Raku uses the syntax a ?? b !! c to avoid confusion with the infix operators ? and !, whereas in Visual Basic .NET, it instead takes the form If(a, b, c).
Transformer
Reusable blocks of JavaScript code to transform data that can be referenced anywhere in a classic app.
Trigger
A condition that begins the run of a workflow, such as a webhook or schedule rule. Retool Events can also function as triggers.
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Workflow
An automation that interacts with your data sources. Contains a series of connected pre-built blocks that interact with resources, transform data, and run additional logic. Each workflow runs automatically using a schedule or triggered with webhook events.
Workflow IDE
The web-based interface for building workflows.
Workflow run
An iteration of a workflow that is executed by Retool.
Workflow run logs
The record of every successful and failed run of a workflow, including details about each block. Can be accessed from Run history in the status bar of the workflow IDE
Workflows landing page
The page from which a user can view their exisiting workflows and create new workflows
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Zero-based numbering
Zero-based numbering is a way of numbering in which the initial element of a sequence is assigned the index 0, rather than the index 1 as is typical in everyday non-mathematical or non-programming circumstances. Under zero-based numbering, the initial element is sometimes termed the zeroth element, rather than the first element; zeroth is a coined word for the ordinal number zero. In some cases, an object or value that does not (originally) belong to a given sequence, but which could be naturally placed before its initial element, may be termed the zeroth element. There is no wide agreement regarding the correctness of using zero as an ordinal, as it creates ambiguity for all subsequent elements of the sequence when lacking context.