Template syntax

Templates put live values into the parameters of a workflow step. You write an expression inside double braces, and Anythink replaces it with the value just before the step runs. This page lists every expression, how paths work, the one filter, how types are kept, and what happens when something doesn't resolve. For the bigger picture, see How workflows work.

{{ $anythink.trigger.data.email }}

The basics

• A template is an expression inside {{ }}. Spaces around it are ignored, so {{$anythink.trigger.id}} and {{ $anythink.trigger.id }} are the same.
• One value can hold several templates and plain text: Order {{ $anythink.trigger.id }} for {{ $anythink.trigger.data.email }}.
• An expression can't contain a }.
• When a whole parameter is a single $anythink path with no spaces, the braces are optional: "loop_over": "$anythink.steps.find_orders.data".
• Templates are filled in when the step runs, so they always see the latest step outputs. Trigger filters and Run Script steps don't use templates. See Where templates apply.

Expression roots

Every expression starts with $anythink and one of four roots.

Only id and data exist under trigger, and $anythink.now takes no path. Any other name, such as $anythink.trigger.entity_name, doesn't resolve. See Missing values. What trigger.data holds for each trigger is in Triggers and scheduling.

Examples

{{ $anythink.trigger.id }}                       →  42
{{ $anythink.trigger.data.email }}               →  ada@example.com
{{ $anythink.steps.find_customer.data[0].name }} →  Ada
{{ $anythink.secrets.PARTNER_API_KEY }}          →  the secret's value
{{ $anythink.now }}                              →  2026-10-04T15:08:57.288Z

A step's output depends on the step. Read Data and Run Script keep their records or results as a list under data, so the first item is data[0]. A Call An API step keeps the response under data. An Integration step returns the provider's reply at the top level, so a field is $anythink.steps.<key>.<field>. Step types lists each step's output, and View Job History shows what a step actually returned.

Paths

A path walks into an object with dots and into a list with square brackets.

{{ $anythink.trigger.data.customer.email }}      →  ada@example.com
{{ $anythink.trigger.data.items[0].sku }}        →  A1
{{ $anythink.steps.find_orders.data[*].id }}     →  [11, 12, 15]

[*] is how a step runs once per item. Send a Push Notification sends once per row when its audience or text uses data[*], as in Push notifications from a workflow. An index past the end of a list, or a [*] on trigger data, doesn't resolve.

Following relationships from trigger data

On an entity event, a path through a relationship loads the related record. If an order has a customer relationship, {{ $anythink.trigger.data.customer.email }} fetches that customer and reads its email. A field named customer_id is followed the same way. This works on trigger data for entity events, not on step outputs.

The current item

Some steps repeat for each item in a list. Inside them, the item's fields are available with no prefix:

{
  "entity_name": "invoices",
  "loop_over": "{{ $anythink.steps.due_orders.data }}",
  "payload": "{ \"order_id\": \"{{ id }}\", \"amount\": \"{{ total }}\", \"issued_at\": \"{{ $anythink.now }}\" }"
}

Filters

There is one filter, default. Add it after a pipe to supply a value when the path doesn't exist. Write the fallback in double or single quotes.

{{ $anythink.trigger.data.nickname | default: "there" }}      →  there
{{ $anythink.trigger.data.nickname | default: 'friend' }}     →  friend

Format or combine values in a Run Script step instead, and read its output in later steps.

Types

In a JSON parameter such as payload, a template keeps its type when it is the entire JSON value:

{ "total": "{{ $anythink.trigger.data.total }}" }   →  { "total": 129.5 }
{ "tags": "{{ $anythink.trigger.data.tags }}" }     →  { "tags": ["gift", "express"] }
{ "who": "{{ $anythink.trigger.data.customer }}" }  →  { "who": { "email": "ada@example.com", "name": "Ada" } }
{ "paid": "{{ $anythink.trigger.data.paid }}" }     →  { "paid": true }

So numbers stay numbers, booleans stay booleans, and lists and objects stay structured. A secret or the current time is always text.

Inside longer text, the value is written into the text:

{ "summary": "Paid: {{ $anythink.trigger.data.paid }}, total {{ $anythink.trigger.data.total }}" }
→ { "summary": "Paid: True, total 129.5" }

In parameters that aren't JSON, such as a url, a header value, a filter value, an email address or an id, the result is plain text.

Missing and empty values

Hi {{ $anythink.trigger.data.nope }}!                     →  Hi {{ $anythink.trigger.data.nope }}!
Hi {{ $anythink.trigger.data.nope | default: "there" }}!  →  Hi there!
x{{ $anythink.trigger.data.nothing }}x                    →  xx   (nothing is null)

An unresolved template stays in the output, so a typo shows up in the saved record or the step log instead of quietly producing an empty value. Send an Email and Send a Push Notification refuse to send anything that still contains {{.

A Read Data step that finds no records leaves $anythink.steps.<key>.data[0].<field> unresolved, and an unresolved path compares as text in a Condition. To branch on whether anything was found, return a count from Run Script, then compare the count:

return { count: $anythink.steps.find_orders.data.length };

Where templates apply

Trigger filters don't use templates. A filter compares a field with a fixed value.

In a Run Script step

A script doesn't use {{ }}. It gets an $anythink object and reads values with ordinary JavaScript:

var items = $anythink.trigger.data.items;
return items.map(function (item) {
  return { sku: item.sku, count: items.length };
});

The script's result is saved as the step's output, so a later step reads the first row as {{ $anythink.steps.<key>.data[0].count }}. Secrets and now aren't on the script's object. Use new Date() for the time, and pass a secret to a Call An API step instead.

Next steps

• Step types: every step, parameter and output
• Triggers and scheduling: what each trigger puts in trigger.data
• Secrets: store the values $anythink.secrets reads
• Test workflows and read job history: read a job to see what a template resolved to
• Workflow recipes: complete workflows that use these expressions