How Latenode works

Latenode is a platform for building automations using a visual builder. Automations here are called scenarios and are made up of nodes. Both concepts are explained below.

What is a node?

Any application on the internet exchanges data and commands through an API. An API is a set of endpoints: each endpoint is a piece of code that does one specific thing (send a message, create a record, fetch a list).

A node in Latenode is that endpoint wrapped in a block with clear, labeled fields. Instead of working with code, you pick the block, fill in the parameters, and connect it to the next node. On a run the node performs one step and passes the result to the next node.

Below: the same action in raw API docs and in the Latenode builder.

Two node types: trigger and action

Nodes fall into two types. They answer different questions in the same chain.

Trigger: when should it run?

Seven different triggers in the builder: how the nodes look

A trigger is the first node in a scenario. It defines when the chain should run: email arrived, schedule fired, webhook received.

Examples of triggers:

New Gmail message
Mailhook
New row in Google Sheets
Schedule (every day, every hour)
Webhook (incoming HTTP request)
New Telegram message

Action: what happens next?

Different actions in the builder: how the nodes look

An action is every node after the trigger. Each one performs one job on its step: send a message, append a row, call an AI model.

Examples of actions:

Send a Telegram message
Add a row to Google Sheets
Send an email
Call an AI model
Run an AI Agent
Run JavaScript
Query the built-in database
Send an HTTP request

Worth noting separately: Plug-n-Play (PnP) actions - nodes for text generation, image generation, audio, data enrichment, and hundreds of other services. They run through a single Latenode account: no API keys or external accounts required. Learn more about PnP nodes

Any scenario that must start on its own begins with a trigger. Without one, the scenario will not run automatically.

What is a scenario?

A scenario is a chain of nodes connected to each other. Each node is one step: it receives data, does its job, and passes the result to the next node. The scenario starts automatically when the first node fires (a trigger).

Examples:

New email → append a row to a sheet → notify Telegram
Every day at 9:00 → gather news → send an email digest
New form submission → AI check → create a CRM task

Simple scenario in the builder: three nodes in a row

How a scenario runs

When the trigger fires, Latenode runs nodes in sequence along the connections: each one receives the previous result, does its job, and passes data to the next.

Diagram: trigger passes data to actions down the chain

The trigger waits for the event (email, time, webhook, and so on).
The event occurs - the trigger passes data to the first action.
Each following node reads the previous output, runs its job, and passes the result onward.
The run ends when every node on the path has finished.

Here is what it looks like in the interface:

What's next?

→ Your first scenario in 15 minutes

→ Scenario types

→ How to plan a scenario

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