Directory Scan

input.directory-scan Input v0.1.0

Scans a directory and emits matching file metadata.

The Directory Scan step on the Studio canvas — The **Directory Scan** step as it appears on the Studio canvas — input pins on the left, output ports on the right.

Finding it in the library

Search the builder's node library for Directory Scan (it lives under Input). A single click opens the in-editor docs panel shown here — description, ports, and every property, without leaving the canvas. Double-click (or drag) to add it to the workflow.

Directory Scan in the node library, with the in-editor docs panel open — The library entry and the in-editor docs panel for **Directory Scan** — the same reference this page is generated from.

Wired up in the builder

Directory Scan in a real, runnable flow — captured live from the Studio editor, exactly as it looks on your canvas. This is the same workflow used for the example input & output below.

Directory Scan wired into a runnable workflow in the Studio builder — **Directory Scan** wired into a runnable flow — input on the left, output on the right.

How it’s configured

The node’s settings as the builder shows them — every field laid out with real values. In the Studio these are edited on the node: click the chevron on the divider under its ports to open them.

The Directory Scan node's settings in the Studio builder — The settings for **Directory Scan**, showing the values from the flow above.

Ports

Ports are the node’s contract with its neighbours. In the editor a port label renders bold when wired and italic when optional; ◈ ports accept attachment carriers rather than data wires.

Direction	Port	Label
Input	`input`	Input
Output	`files`	Files
Output	`empty`	Empty

How data flows through it

Directory Scan consumes the content of the incoming envelope — when it is fed directly by a trigger, the trigger’s wrapper is unwrapped at the node boundary so the node sees the actual data, not the metadata shell. Its output becomes the payload for the next node, while the envelope (trace ids, correlation, binary refs) rides along untouched. In the Runs view you always see the whole envelope for both sides of this node.

Expressions in the config

String-typed properties accept {{ }} expressions evaluated against the incoming item at run time — e.g. {{ $json.customer.email }}. On this node that’s path, pattern. JSON- and code-typed fields never interpolate — they are passed through literally.

Build it with AI

Every node in this reference is reachable through Flowdrome’s AI Copilot and the MCP tools — say what you want, and the graph surgery happens server-side. Node types resolve fuzzily, so the catalog label (Directory Scan) works as well as the exact type id (input.directory-scan).

In the Copilot panel (or any connected AI):

add a directory scan node after the trigger

As a step in a create_chain_workflow call:

{"type":"Directory Scan","config":{}}

Raw MCP call — add this node to a workflow with add_node

curl -s -X POST http://localhost:4800/mcp -H "content-type: application/json" -d '{ "jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": "1", "method": "tools/call", "params": { "name": "add_node", "arguments": { "workflowId": "<id>", "type": "Directory Scan" } } }'

Example input & output

Captured from a real test run of the workflow above — this is what the Runs view shows after pressing Test workflow.

On this run the node emitted on ports files, output.

Input — what the node received

The Directory Scan node's input envelope in the run data viewer — The input envelope in the Runs view — Flowdrome always shows the whole envelope, with the payload inside `body`.

Output — what the node produced

The Directory Scan node's output envelope in the run data viewer — The output envelope after the step ran.

Property reference

Every setting, with its type and default — the same fields shown configured above.

Property	Type	Default	Description
Directory `path`	`string`	`"C:/incoming"`	Absolute directory path to scan.
Directory path (dynamic) `pathPath`	`field`	`—`	Optional dotted path to read the directory from the input instead.
Glob pattern `pattern`	`string`	`"*"`	Glob matched against file names, e.g. *.json.
Recursive `recursive`	`boolean`	`false`	Descend into subdirectories.
Include contents `includeFileContents`	`boolean`	`false`	Read and emit each matched file's contents.
Content encoding `contentEncoding`	`select`	`"utf8"`	Encoding used when reading file contents. `base64utf8`

Related nodes

The rest of the Input group — the same folder you’d scan in the editor’s library.

This page is generated from the node registry by gen-node-docs.mjs on every site build — ports, properties, defaults and visibility rules cannot drift from the code. The screenshots and example data are captured from a live Flowdrome by npm run shots:nodes and npm run gen:examples.