# Branch and loop

Send a run down one path or another, or repeat steps for each item in a list.

## Which one to use

- **Branch**: Different steps for different cases, such as big orders and small ones.
- **Switch**: One value picks the path, such as an order’s status: paid, refunded or open.
- **Filter**: Carry on only when something is true. Otherwise the run ends there.
- **Loop**: The same steps once for each item in a list, such as each row of a sheet.

## Branch

1. Add a step, type `branch` and choose **Branch**.
2. In **Branch 1**, set a condition: a value, a test such as **Contains** or **Is after**, and what to compare it with.
3. Press **And condition** when all must hold, or **Or group** for another set that may hold instead. Press **Add branch** for another path.
4. On the canvas, press **Add step** under each path.

```
Trigger New order (Webhook)
01 Big order? (Branch)
  Total over 1,000
    02 Email the team (Gmail)
  Otherwise
    03 Add a row (Google Sheets)
04 Post to the ledger (Code)
```

Only one path runs. After it, the run carries on with **Post to the ledger**.

**Otherwise** runs when no branch matches. To run every branch that matches, not just the first, set **Execution Mode** to **Execute all matching branches**.

## Switch

Add **Switch**, put the value in **Value to match**, such as `{{trigger.body.status}}`, then press **Add case** for each value. **Otherwise** runs when no case matches. “Paid” matches the case “paid” unless you tick **Match case exactly**.

## Filter

Add **Filter** and set its conditions. When they don’t hold, the run ends there and still counts as Worked. Nothing below the filter runs. To end it as Failed instead, use [Stop / Error](https://docs.gorunner.io/build/handle-errors#fail-on-purpose).

## Loop

1. Add a step, type `loop` and choose **Loop**.
2. In **Items**, put the list, such as the rows an earlier step read.
3. On the canvas, press **Add step to repeat** and add the steps to run for each item.

Inside the loop, the current item is `{{steps.step_2.item}}` and its place is `{{steps.step_2.index}}`, counting from 0. Use your loop step’s name in place of `step_2`.

- **Batch Size**: Items per round. Above 1, the item is a list of up to that many.
- **Max Iterations**: Stop after this many rounds. 0 means no limit.
- **Iteration Timeout (seconds)**: The most one round may take, up to 600.

If a step inside fails, the loop and the run stop, unless you changed that step’s [On error](https://docs.gorunner.io/build/handle-errors).

> **Note** Inside a branch or a loop, a **Delay** can be at most 5 minutes; a longer one fails the step. An approval there fails too. Put waits on the main line.

## Check it worked

Press **Test** with data that matches one path. The cards on that path show Worked.

On a run’s page, select the Branch or Switch: it says which way the run went, such as **Took Otherwise**, and shows each condition with the value it saw. Select a Loop to pick an iteration and see what each step inside returned. The card of a step inside a loop says how often it ran, such as **×50 · 1.0 s in all**.

![A Branch on a run’s page: Took Otherwise. Over 1,000 was not met, because the total was 120, so Tell sales was skipped; Otherwise was taken and ran File the order.](https://docs.gorunner.io/img/build/run-branch-light.jpg)

## For developers

A Branch keeps its paths in `branches[]`, each with its conditions and its `firstAction`. **Otherwise** is the path with no conditions, always last, and is added on save if it’s missing. A Branch’s output lists the paths it took in `matchedBranches`, by their position counting from 0 (none when it went to **Otherwise**), names the first in `matchedBranch` (or `otherwise`), and says what each condition came to in `conditionResults`: `true`, `false`, or `null` where it wasn’t checked. A Loop’s steps hang under `firstLoopAction`; after the loop, `{{steps.step_2.iterations}}` holds one record per item. See [Workflow definition](https://docs.gorunner.io/api/workflow-definition).

## Related

- [Use data from earlier steps](https://docs.gorunner.io/build/use-data-from-earlier-steps): The value a condition tests · 5 min
- [Branch](https://docs.gorunner.io/apps/branch): Every condition test
- [Loop](https://docs.gorunner.io/apps/loop): Every field and output

Source: https://docs.gorunner.io/build/branch-and-loop