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What this node does: The HTTP Request node acts as a universal outbound HTTP client. It allows workflows to call external APIs, post data to webhooks, retrieve live data, or interact with any service that exposes an HTTP interface — all without writing any code. Every configuration field supports BizFirst expressions, enabling fully dynamic, data-driven HTTP calls at runtime.

Key Capabilities

Business Benefits

Seamless Third-Party Integration

Connect your workflows to payment gateways, CRM systems, ERP platforms, and SaaS tools without custom connectors. Any service with a REST or HTTP interface becomes instantly accessible within your automation logic.

Real-Time Data Enrichment

Fetch live data — currency exchange rates, shipping quotes, customer credit scores, weather conditions — at precisely the moment your workflow needs it. Keep decisions informed by the most current available information.

Event-Driven Webhook Delivery

Push workflow events to external systems in real time. Trigger downstream processes in partner systems, update dashboards, or fire notifications by posting to webhook endpoints with precisely structured payloads.

Reduced Development Overhead

Eliminate the need for custom integration code. Business analysts and workflow designers can configure complete API calls declaratively, reducing dependency on development teams for routine integration tasks.

Use Cases

Payment Gateway Integration

Call a payment provider's API (Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay) to initiate charges, check transaction status, or issue refunds as part of an order processing workflow. Pass dynamic order amounts and customer IDs via expressions.

Live Exchange Rate Retrieval

Before generating an invoice for an international customer, make a GET request to a forex API to retrieve the current exchange rate. Use the returned rate directly in the invoice calculation step downstream.

CRM Record Submission

When a new lead form is submitted, POST the structured lead data to your CRM's API (Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho). Map workflow variables to the exact JSON fields the CRM expects, with expressions formatting the payload on the fly.

ERP REST Endpoint Calls

Trigger stock reservation, purchase order creation, or inventory queries against your ERP system's REST API from within an order fulfillment workflow. Chain multiple HTTP Request nodes to orchestrate multi-step ERP transactions.

OAuth Token Refresh

Maintain long-lived integrations by automatically refreshing OAuth2 access tokens. A scheduled workflow calls the token endpoint, stores the new token in a workflow variable, and all subsequent API calls use the fresh credential.

AI Model API Calls

Invoke external AI APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Vertex) with dynamic prompts constructed from workflow data. Parse the JSON response and route the workflow based on the AI's output — classification, extracted fields, or generated content.

Webhook Delivery to Partners

After completing a fulfilment step, POST a structured event payload to a partner system's webhook URL. Include HMAC signatures in headers for secure delivery, computed dynamically using expression functions.

In This Guide

Configuration

All properties, authentication modes, header and body configuration, timeout and redirect settings.

Input & Output

Output ports, input field reference, and the complete output data schema with JSON examples.

Examples

Five real-world configuration examples covering GET, POST, authenticated calls, and webhook delivery.

Security note: Never hard-code API keys, tokens, or passwords directly in configuration fields. Use the BizFirst Credentials Manager to store secrets, then reference them via credential_id. Credentials are encrypted at rest and never exposed in workflow logs.