Branch
Branch splits the items in two with one rule: the ones that match leave from its Yes dot, the rest from its No dot. Connect each dot to the block that should get them, so top prospects go to Slack at once and the others to a sheet, or pharmacies to one team and everything else to another. The rule works like Filter’s, and the items are not changed.
In the editor: Splits items in two. Items that match leave from the Yes dot, the rest from the No dot. Connect each dot to the block that should get them.
Settings
Field
Pick oneWhat to compare. The first nine are numbers (A number field is any field by its name, compared as a number); Category, City and Another field are text.
Pick from 35 choices.
Field name
TextA field an earlier block adds, as named in the test run results. For example one of the fields your xMap LLM block adds.
Needed before the flow can run.
Is
Pick oneHow to compare a number: at least, at most, equal to, or not equal to the value.
- at least (≥)
- at most (≤)
- equal to (=)
- not equal to (≠)
Is
Pick oneHow to compare a text: is, is not, or contains. Capitals and accents are ignored.
- is
- is not
- contains
- has a value
- is empty
Value
A numberThe number to compare with, such as 4.5 for a rating or 80 for a fit score.
Needed before the flow can run.
Value
TextNot case-sensitive. Separate several values with commas to match any of them.
Needed before the flow can run.
What comes out
Each item that leaves the block carries these fields, to use in the blocks after it as {{field}}.
From the Yes dot
The items that match the rule, unchanged.
every field: As it came in.
From the No dot
Every other item, unchanged, including items without the value for a number rule.
every field: As it came in.
How to use it
Top prospects now, the rest for later
A software company wants its reps to hear about strong prospects the moment they are found, without losing the others.
Before: Everything went into one long list and the best ones were buried.
With the flow: The best few are in Slack by 8; the rest wait in a sheet for a quiet afternoon.
Pharmacies to the health team
A distributor with two sales teams splits new places by category every Monday.
A text rule with contains matches Pharmacy and Pharmacies alike.
Ships in, ships out
A port team wants arrivals in one channel and departures in another.
Strong and weak competitors
A coffee chain maps strong competitors near its stores in red and the rest in grey.
Heavy rain goes to the field crews
Only the days with heavy rain reach the crews’ phones; the office still gets the full picture.
Shortlist or archive a plot
A developer’s brokers send plots all week; good ones go to a deal in the CRM, the rest to an archive sheet.
Only one path needed
A delivery app sends well rated restaurants to sales and does nothing with the others.
A dot left unconnected ends there. Here Filter would do the same; Branch is handy when you may add the other path later.
Good to know
- Every item leaves from one of the two dots, unchanged. Items on a dot with no link end there.
- An item without the value (no rating, not scored) does not meet a number rule, so it leaves from the No dot. With is not, an item without the text matches.
- If none of the items has the field, the step fails and says which block brings it.
- The run shows how many went each way, for example 4 yes, 4 no.
- For more than two paths, chain Branch blocks: the No dot of one into the next.
- Another field compares text. To branch on a number of your own, such as a distance, pick A number field and type its name.
- Branch is free and runs the same in the editor’s preview and in real runs.
Works well with
- Filter: Keeps only the items that match a rule.
- Calculated field: Adds fields worked out from the others: a number, a text or a yes/no.
- xMap LLM: Tell the AI what to do in plain words.
- Zone alert: Reports items (ships, for example) that entered, crossed, are inside or left a zone.
- Slack: Channel-based messaging platform
- Email: Sends one email per run with all the items, or one email per item.
- Sort and limit: Puts the items in order, and can keep only the first ones: the 10 best rated, the 20 nearest, the highest fit scores.
- Only new: Lets through only the items this flow has not found before, so a daily flow sends only what is new.
Templates that use it
- New businesses routed by size: key accounts to Slack, the rest to a sheet: New businesses scored and routed by size: the established ones to key accounts, the rest to inside sales.
- Rain coming: push delivery at the right branches: When rain is expected, branch managers get a WhatsApp to push delivery promos.
- Where to build student housing: Universities with the fewest student residences nearby, screened by an AI agent, approved by you, then HubSpot deals.
- Daily operations briefing for every hub: A daily operations briefing per hub, with a risk score and alerts for the risky ones.
- Storm coming: bring the harvest forward: When a storm is coming, WhatsApp to bring the harvest forward; otherwise the week ahead.
Stories with it
- Three days’ warning before the wind (Event catering)
- Sending every ambulance to the hospital it can reach (Emergency services)
- The on-call team, already there (Hospitals)
- Every dialysis patient in the chair on time (Patient transport)
- Trusting the road, not doubting the driver (Car insurance)
- Not one sofa caught in the afternoon storm (Furniture delivery)
- Every tower filled before the floods (Mobile networks)
- No more seed washed away by the monsoon (Seeds and crops)
- The real coverage holes, sorted from the noise (Mobile networks)
- No outdoor event rained out all season (Events)
- Every windy morning moved a day ahead (Boat tours)
- No shift late, whatever the roads do at dawn (Airline ground handling)
Help articles
- How a flow works: Triggers, items, fields and the order blocks run in.
Industries that use it
B2B sales · Restaurants & cafes · Real estate · Logistics & delivery · Agriculture & food supply
Try it
Build a flow with Branch on the home page, no account needed, or book a call. Try it live