HTTP Request Action

The http_request action makes an outbound HTTP call to an external service during the automation chain. It replaces the old forwarding destinations feature, with the added power of template interpolation for dynamic URLs, headers, and bodies.

Configuration

{
  "type": "http_request",
  "name": "Forward to billing service",
  "config": {
    "url": "https://api.example.com/webhooks/$variable.event_type$",
    "method": "POST",
    "headers": {
      "Content-Type": "application/json",
      "Authorization": "Bearer $store.api_token$"
    },
    "body": "{\"order_id\": \"$variable.order_id$\", \"payload\": $request.body.json$}",
    "response_variable": "billing_response"
  }
}

Fields

Field	Type	Required	Description
url	string	Yes	Target URL (supports interpolation)
method	string	No	HTTP method: GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE (default: POST)
headers	object	No	Custom headers as key-value pairs (values support interpolation)
body	string	No	Request body (supports interpolation)
response_variable	string	No	Chain variable name to store the response

Response variable

When response_variable is set, the HTTP response is stored as a chain variable that subsequent actions can access via $variable.<name>$.

On success:

{
  "status": 200,
  "headers": {"content-type": "application/json"},
  "body": {"id": "ord_123", "status": "created"}
}

On error:

{
  "error": "connection timeout"
}

Access nested response data in later actions: $variable.billing_response.body.id$, $variable.billing_response.status$.

Behavior

• Timeout: 10 seconds per request
• Non-fatal: If the request fails (timeout, connection error, non-2xx status), the error is logged but the chain continues to the next action
• No retries: Failed requests are not automatically retried
• All string fields (url, headers values, body) support template interpolation

Examples

Simple forward

{
  "url": "https://api.example.com/webhook",
  "method": "POST",
  "headers": {"Content-Type": "application/json"},
  "body": "$request.body.json$"
}

Forward with auth from Datastore

{
  "url": "https://api.example.com/events",
  "method": "POST",
  "headers": {
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    "Authorization": "Bearer $store.default.api_token$"
  },
  "body": "$request.body.json$"
}

Send Slack notification

{
  "url": "https://hooks.slack.com/services/T00/B00/xxx",
  "method": "POST",
  "headers": {"Content-Type": "application/json"},
  "body": "{\"text\": \"New order from $variable.customer_email$ - Order #$variable.order_id$\"}"
}

GET request with response capture

{
  "url": "https://api.example.com/customers/$variable.customer_id$",
  "method": "GET",
  "headers": {"Authorization": "Bearer $store.api_token$"},
  "response_variable": "customer_data"
}