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Data Flow Spy Node

The Data Flow Spy Node lets you inspect, debug, and visualize the data flowing through your workflow at any point. It's a pure display node — no Run button, no output port — that reacts to its input in real time.

Display Data Flow Spy Node

Output Dialog​

Opening the node's output shows two tabs:

  • Payload: the incoming payload.
  • Tools Payload: the incoming toolsPayload.

Each tab renders independently, in a readable Markdown/JSON format.

Supported Data Formats​

Each tab accepts any data type:

  • Strings: Displayed as plain text or Markdown.
  • Numbers: Displayed as-is.
  • Objects/Arrays: Rendered as formatted JSON blocks.
  • Markdown: Rendered with full Markdown support (headings, lists, code, etc).

Example Usage​

For example usage, see the Current Time workflow or Weather Dashboard workflow, which demonstrate using Data Flow Spy nodes to inspect intermediate results.

Common Use Cases​

  1. Debugging: Inspect the output of any node in your workflow.
  2. Data Inspection: View raw or formatted data at any stage.
  3. Markdown Preview: Render Markdown output from LLMs or other nodes.
  4. Error Tracing: Quickly spot issues in data transformations.
  5. Workflow Development: Rapidly iterate by checking intermediate results.

Best Practices​

  • Place after key nodes: Add Data Flow Spy nodes after important processing steps to verify outputs.
  • Use for troubleshooting: Temporarily insert to debug unexpected results.
  • Preview Markdown: Use to check LLM-generated Markdown or JSON.
  • Remove for production: Remove or disable unnecessary spies in finalized workflows for clarity.

Troubleshooting​

Common Issues​

  • Unreadable output: Non-JSON objects are rendered as best-effort Markdown or code blocks.
  • Markdown not rendered: Ensure your data is a valid Markdown string or JSON.
  • Nothing in the Tools Payload tab: Not every upstream node sends a toolsPayload — an empty tab usually just means none was provided.

Supported Data Types​

  • String (including Markdown)
  • Number
  • Boolean
  • Object (including arrays)
  • Null / Undefined

Performance Tips​

  • Avoid sending extremely large data blobs for inspection.
  • Use JSON Reformatter nodes to trim or format data before spying.
  • For large arrays/objects, consider inspecting only a subset.