At a glance
- Fires when
- You press Run
- Emits
- Text, content type, parsed data, file path, timestamp
- Input types
- Text · JSON · File · Folder · Prompt at Run
Set it up
Pick the input type and fill in the value. For testing a flow, or for a one-button tool, this is the trigger that gets out of the way.
Configure
| Field | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Input Type | Text | Text, JSON, File, Folder, or Prompt at Run. |
| Text | — | Free-form text. Text type only. |
| JSON | — | Structured JSON, validated as you type. JSON type only. |
| File | — | A file to hand downstream. File type only. |
| Folder | — | A folder to hand downstream. Folder type only. |
| Prompt Title | — | Title on the dialog shown at run time. Prompt at Run only. |
| Prompt Message | — | Instructions on that dialog. Prompt at Run only. |
| Default Value | — | Pre-fills the dialog, and is what a headless run uses instead. Prompt at Run only. |
| Custom Arguments | — | Extra key-value pairs merged into the payload. |
Output
Every key is available downstream as {{key}}.
| Key | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|
text | String | The input as text |
contentType | String | text, json, file, or directory |
data | Any | The parsed input — a string, a JSON object, or a path |
filePath | String | The chosen path, for the File and Folder types |
timestamp | String | When the run started, ISO 8601 |
Example: a note you type at run time
Input in Prompt at Run mode asks for a line. Template folds it into a message, Notification reads it back.
Paste this into the Flow Builder to get the same flow:
Ask me for a note when I run this, then show it back to me as a notification.
Good to know
Dismissing the Prompt at Run dialog aborts the run. Nothing downstream executes. Headless callers — the menu bar, the agent, the MCP tools — never see a dialog and fall back to Default Value.
An Input flow has no watcher, so it is always active. Its status dot reflects how recent runs went rather than an on/off state, and the Enabled switch shows on but does nothing. Mixed with an event trigger in the same flow, the flow still arms normally.
Need several values at once? Use Form. Input carries one.