When you’re using Tines, you’re working with both the structure of data (JSON) and the communication layer (API). Understanding how they mesh will help you build more effective workflows.
Here’s how the two concepts work in concert in Tines:
You structure your data as JSON: When you’re designing a Tines action, the information you send or receive is most likely formatted in JSON. This means you’re deciding on properties, nested objects, or arrays, just like you learned in the JSON fundamentals section.
You make an API call using that JSON: You decide which endpoint to call (this is the “element” part of the API), what action you’re doing (
GET,POST, etc.), and you include your JSON payload when required. Tines processes that call via the HTTP Request action.You receive JSON back: The response from the API is typically in JSON format.
You reference JSON in formulas inside Tines. The JSON you receive can now be accessed by Tines features, including formulas, and many other pill-based features used to determine which path your workflow takes.
💡Note
Change data types in action configurations
Within most of our actions, there is a Payload section in the properties panel. This offers two visuals for the data within it:
Builder: An interactive, user-friendly interface to build out JSON structures easily.
Plain code: The raw JSON code point-of-view, also interactive.
Within the Builder view of the Payload, you can change the data types of the values added. Most of the options available are the JSON data types you've just learned about!