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Flow

Design automation visually by dragging nodes onto a canvas and wiring them together. Flows can listen to Axis events, apply logic and timing, call HTTP endpoints, and debug live data without coding.

Open the Flow Builder

  • Launch the app UI and pick Flow from the feature list.
  • The last saved flow loads automatically; if none is stored, a short intro dialog appears.

Device Management (for Flow)

  • Add/edit devices once and reuse them across Flow nodes (Axis outputs, RTSP preview, HTTP image uploads, Vaxtor Cloud ANPR).
  • Fields: Name, IP/Protocol/Port, RTSP port, username/password, auth type (digest/basic/none), channel, Non-video device flag, optional resolution list.
  • Snapshots: nodes that send images pull a snapshot from the selected device; non-video devices will reject snapshot requests.
  • Resolutions: if available, nodes can request a specific resolution; otherwise the default stream is used.
  • If Axis passwords change, update the device entry; recreate Axis Output nodes if port mappings change.

Floating Action Bar (left, draggable)

  • Start / Stop Execution: Switches between edit mode and live mode. Live mode locks editing, animates edges, and runs the graph. Stopping saves the graph.
  • Add Node: Opens the catalog. Drag a template to the canvas. Axis nodes open an extra dialog to pick ports or events before placement.
  • IO Table: Opens a live table listing every node with its inputs/outputs and current values.
  • Fit to View: Reframes the canvas around all nodes.
  • Export / Import: Download or load a graph JSON. Import is disabled while the flow is running, and the button is hidden for roles that lack the Flow update permission so read-only operators never see the dialog.
  • Introduction: Reopen the short walkthrough (video steps).

Video: Floating action bar

Canvas and Wiring

  • Pan/Zoom: Drag the background to pan; use the mouse wheel to zoom.
  • Select/Delete: Hold Shift and drag to multi-select; press Delete to remove selected nodes/edges.
  • Edges: Hover to add bend points (yellow). Right-click a bend point to remove. Double-click an edge or click its small x to delete.
  • Handles: Outputs on the right, inputs on the left. Shapes indicate type: round = bool, square = int/float, diamond = string. In live mode booleans glow green/red; int uses magenta, float uses purple, string uses cyan.
  • Edge colors: Mirror the source output in live mode; turn gray in edit mode.
  • Connections: Each input accepts a single connection. Mismatched data types are blocked (bool only to bool, string only to string, numeric to numeric). Safe mode shows warning toasts when a connection is rejected.

Video: Adding nodes

Video: Connect and disconnect

Video: Rectangle selection and delete

Node Properties and Actions

  • Hover a node to show a toolbar for copy, delete, and disconnect all edges (disabled in live mode).
  • Click a node in edit mode to open the right-side drawer:
  • Rename Title/Sub Title, change Header Color, and rename inputs/outputs.
  • Nodes with missing required data show an orange dotted border until fixed.
  • Device pickers pull from Device Management (Flow); update devices there to refresh selectors.
  • A small badge at the top-right shows the last execution time while running; a warning banner appears if the websocket reconnects.

Video: Node properties

Node Reference

Use Add Node to drag any template. Each entry lists what it does, its ports, and what you can configure.

For a complete, per-node breakdown covering every template in the catalog (inputs, outputs, tips, and dialog flows), see Flow Reference.

Axis and device

  • Axis Device Log

    • What it does: Write a message to the Axis device syslog.
    • Inputs: Write (bool), Message (string).

  • Axis Metadata Event (Subscribe)

    • What it does: Subscribe to Axis metadata events and expose fields as outputs.
    • Inputs: Enable.
    • Outputs: Connected, Error, New Event, plus one output per Axis field; override inputs let you simulate values.

  • Axis Metadata Event (Create)

    • What it does: Create a custom stateless Axis event on this device (visible in Axis rules while running).
    • Inputs: Send plus user-added fields marked as Trigger (Source) or Data.
    • Outputs: Error.
    • Properties: Event name; add/remove fields and choose their type/direction.

Warning

Axis Metadata Event (Create) nodes are only visible in the Axis event rule list while the flow is running.

  • Axis Live Stream

    • What it does: RTSP video preview from an Axis camera (live mode only).
    • Properties: IP, port, username, password, channel. Shows connecting/error overlays and retries every 5 s on failure.

  • Axis Outputs

    • What it does: Toggle Axis output ports via VAPIX.
    • Inputs: EN plus one input per discovered port.
    • Outputs: Success, Status, Error.
    • Tip: Recreate the node if device credentials or port mapping change.

  • Vaxtor Cloud ANPR

    • What it does: Captures a snapshot from the selected device and sends it to Vaxtor Cloud ALPR.
    • Inputs: Execute, Reset.
    • Outputs: Success, Plate Found, plate fields (number, country, state, category, confidence), vehicle fields (make, model, color, class), Status, Error, Executed pulse.
    • Properties: Client ID/Secret, scope (api), token URL, API URL, timeout, device + optional resolution (from Device Management).

  • License Plates

    • What it does: Matches detected plates against a whitelist with validity windows and per-tag outputs.
    • Inputs/Outputs: Dynamic outputs per tag plus match info; configure plates, dates, tags, and deviation in the License Plate List feature.
Inputs and manual controls
  • Enable Input - Always outputs true.
  • Button - Outputs true while pressed, false on release (live mode).

Video: Handle shapes and colors

Timing and pulses
  • Debounce - Boolean filter; output changes only after the input is stable for the set time. Properties: unit (ms/s/m), amount.
  • Edge Detection - Rising or falling edge detector; outputs a pulse.
  • Pulse Buffer with Release - Buffers pulses until Release goes true. Inputs: Set, Release, Clear. Property: buffer size.
  • Timer on Delay (TON) - Active turns true after Enable stays true for the configured time; outputs elapsed time.
  • Timer off Delay (TOF) - Active turns true immediately on rising edge and stays true for the set time after Enable goes false.
  • Pulse Timer (TP) - Fixed-length pulse on each rising edge of Enable; outputs elapsed time.
  • Pulse Generator - Periodic single-cycle pulse while Enable is true.
  • Step Sequencer - Advances one step per Step pulse; exactly one output is true. Property: steps (2-16).
  • Timed Sequenced - Runs timers in order while enabled, then wraps back to the first timer.
  • Counter - Counts up/down on pulses; Reset clears to zero.
Logic, selection, and math
  • Boolean gates (AND, NAND, OR, NOR, XOR, XNOR, NOT) - Standard two-input gates (NOT is single-input).
  • Compare - Compares A and B (==, !=, >, <, >=, <=, contains, startswith, endswith). Properties: operator; data type (int/float/string); inputs reset to the chosen type.
  • Value Selector - Switch between two inputs with Select (false = input 1, true = input 2). Property: shared data type.
  • Multiplexer - Route one of many value inputs to output based on numeric Index. Properties: data type; add/remove value inputs; output also reports selected index.
  • Move - Pass Value to output when Enable is true.
  • Math - Add/Subtract/Multiply/Divide A and B when Enable is true. Outputs: Done, Result. Property: operation.
  • Advanced Math - ABS, SQRT, SIN, COS, TAN, SIGN on Value when Enable is true. Outputs: Done, Value. Property: operation.
  • Flip-Flop - Set/Reset latch. Properties: mode RS (reset-dominant) or SR (set-dominant); input labels update automatically.
  • Value Latch - Stores the last value when Set is true; holds until Reset. Property: data type syncs input/output.
  • Lua Script - Execute custom Lua against inputs/outputs; includes JSON/time helpers and preserves state between executions. Reserved error output fires on script/runtime failures.
Data, buffers, routing
  • Queue First-In First-Out / Queue Last-In First-Out - Push while Enable is true; Pop returns the next value; Reset clears. Outputs: Value, Has, Count. Properties: max size, data type.
  • Data Table - Multi-output register block; add/remove outputs and set data types.
  • Routing helpers - Combine Value Selector, Multiplexer, and Move to branch, gate, or forward values unchanged.
Networking and parsing
  • HTTP Request - Fires when Enable is true; Reset clears state. Outputs: Success, Status, Body, Error. Properties: URL, method, body type (none/form/JSON/raw/XML), auth (none/basic/digest), headers, params, timeout, skip TLS verify.
  • JSON Key Extractor - On Extract, pulls a key (dot notation allowed) from a JSON string; Reset clears. Outputs: Value, Found. Properties: key and output type.
  • JSON to Node - Splits a JSON object into individual outputs for each top-level key; configure keys and sample JSON for auto-generation.
  • JSON Array Selector - Selects an array element by index from a JSON string; outputs the item JSON plus Found/Processed flags.
  • TCP Server - Accepts raw TCP connections and converts each payload to a string. Outputs: a per-request New Message pulse, the latest Message, and an Error string when listener failures occur. Properties: bind port, per-second rate limit and enable input.
  • TCP Message Sender - Sends the provided string payload to a configured host/port on every rising Send trigger. Outputs a one-cycle Success pulse plus Error. Properties assume a host/IP, port, and timeout.
  • Webhook Listener - Runs an HTTP or HTTPS endpoint (self-signed TLS) and exposes the request body plus any configured query params as outputs. Accepts Basic/Digest auth, enforces a 1‑15 rps rate limit, and always responds with {"success":bool,"message":string} to guide clients. Outputs: New Request, Body, Error, plus one string output for each query parameter.
Debug and visualization
  • Bool Debug Output - Large icon/label that follows the boolean state. Properties: icons, colors, labels for true/false.
  • String Debug Output - Shows latest string input.
  • Value Debug Output - Table of all input states (bool/int/float/string).
  • Oscilloscope - Plots up to five signals. Properties: line colors, per-input data type, min/max ranges for numeric inputs.
  • Logging - Live log viewer (level, time, node id/name, message) from the flow runtime.
  • Text - Static label. Properties: text and size.
  • Axis Live Stream - Also handy for visual debugging of camera feeds.
  • Speedometer - The Speedometer visualizes a numeric input value using a gauge-style dial.

Tips

  • If a node shows an orange dotted border, open its properties and complete the required fields (URL, event name, etc.).
  • Keep a Logging node in your flow to see backend messages when testing HTTP calls or Axis events.