Overview

The switch node routes messages based on property values or expressions. Like a traffic controller, it directs each message to one or more outputs based on configurable rules. Essential for branching logic in workflows.

Rules

Based Routing

Multi

Output

JSONata

Expressions

Regex

Matching

Properties

Property	Type	Default	Description
property	string	"payload"	Property to evaluate
rules	array	[]	Array of routing rules
checkall	boolean	true	Check all rules (vs stop at first match)
repair	boolean	false	Recreate message sequences

Rule Types

Comparison Operators

== equals
!= not equal
< less than
<= less than or equal
> greater than
>= greater than or equal

Value Checks

is true boolean true
is false boolean false
is null null value
is not null has a value
is of type type check
is empty empty string/array/object

String Operations

contains substring match
matches regex pattern match
starts with prefix match
ends with suffix match

Range & Special

is between range check
JSONata expression
sequence message sequence rules
otherwise catch-all

Example: Temperature Alert Routing

Route sensor readings to different handlers based on temperature ranges.

// Switch node configuration
{
  "property": "payload.temperature",
  "rules": [
    { "t": "gte", "v": "40", "vt": "num" },     // Output 1: Critical (≥40°C)
    { "t": "btwn", "v": "30", "v2": "40" },     // Output 2: Warning (30-40°C)
    { "t": "btwn", "v": "15", "v2": "30" },     // Output 3: Normal (15-30°C)
    { "t": "lt", "v": "15", "vt": "num" },      // Output 4: Cold (<15°C)
    { "t": "else" }                              // Output 5: Invalid/missing
  ],
  "checkall": false  // Stop at first match
}

Example: Route by MQTT Topic

Route messages based on their MQTT topic.

// Switch node configuration
{
  "property": "topic",
  "rules": [
    { "t": "cont", "v": "sensors/temperature" },  // Output 1
    { "t": "cont", "v": "sensors/humidity" },     // Output 2
    { "t": "cont", "v": "sensors/motion" },       // Output 3
    { "t": "regex", "v": "sensors/.*/alert" },    // Output 4: Any alert
    { "t": "else" }                               // Output 5: Other
  ]
}

// Example topics:
// "sensors/temperature/living-room" → Output 1
// "sensors/motion/garage" → Output 3
// "sensors/door/alert" → Output 4

Example: JSONata Expressions

Use complex expressions for advanced routing logic.

// Switch node with JSONata
{
  "property": "payload",
  "propertyType": "msg",
  "rules": [
    // Check if temperature exceeds dynamic threshold
    { "t": "jsonata", "v": "payload.temperature > payload.threshold" },

    // Check if any sensor has an error
    { "t": "jsonata", "v": "$count(payload.sensors[status='error']) > 0" },

    // Check time-based condition (night hours)
    { "t": "jsonata", "v": "$hour($now()) >= 22 or $hour($now()) < 6" },

    { "t": "else" }
  ]
}

Matching Behavior

Check All Rules

Message can go to multiple outputs if multiple rules match.

// Value: 50
// Rule 1: > 30 ✓ → Output 1
// Rule 2: > 40 ✓ → Output 2
// Rule 3: > 60 ✗
// Result: Sent to outputs 1 AND 2

Stop at First Match

Message only goes to the first matching output.

// Value: 50
// Rule 1: > 30 ✓ → Output 1 (STOP)
// Rule 2: > 40 (not checked)
// Rule 3: > 60 (not checked)
// Result: Sent to output 1 only

Related Nodes

function

Custom routing logic

change

Modify before routing

filter

Filter duplicates