The flow file

Export in a flow's menu on Flows writes one; Import at the top of the page reads one. Every flow diagram on this site is one too:

Start
Store the webhook

Save incoming webhooks to a tableDownload Open in Flowmage

The keys of a flow file

One JSON object, saved as .flowmage.json. Import reads only these keys and drops any other; every key without Optional is needed.

Key	Value
`format`	Exactly `"flowmage.flow"`.
`formatVersion`	The number `1`.
`exportedAt`	When the file was written, as an ISO 8601 time such as `"2026-10-22T09:00:00.000Z"`.
`name`	The flow's name.
`graph`	The canvas: `nodes`, `edges` and, if there are any, `notes`. A node has an `id`, a `type`, a `version`, a `label`, its `config` and a `position`. An edge has a `source`, a `sourcePort` and a `target`.
`requires`	What the flow uses from the workspace, in lists named `connections`, `tables`, `flows`, `secrets`, `schemas`, `files` and `customNodes`.
`description`	Optional: a line about what the flow does.
`tags`	Optional: each `{ "name": "…", "color": "…" }`.
`subflow`	Optional: `{ "params": […] }`, the parameters a calling flow passes.

Node types and their settings are in the node reference. This whole file imports, publishes and runs; it answers a webhook with what the webhook sent:

{
  "format": "flowmage.flow",
  "formatVersion": 1,
  "exportedAt": "2026-10-22T09:00:00.000Z",
  "name": "Echo a webhook",
  "graph": {
    "nodes": [
      {
        "id": "__start__",
        "type": "core.start",
        "version": 1,
        "label": "Start",
        "config": {},
        "position": { "x": 0, "y": 0 }
      },
      {
        "id": "reply",
        "type": "core.return",
        "version": 1,
        "label": "Reply",
        "config": { "value": "{{ trigger.body }}" },
        "position": { "x": 224, "y": 0 }
      }
    ],
    "edges": [{ "source": "__start__", "sourcePort": "out", "target": "reply" }]
  },
  "requires": {
    "connections": [],
    "tables": [],
    "schemas": [],
    "files": [],
    "secrets": [],
    "customNodes": [],
    "flows": []
  }
}

How they behave

What a flow needs is matched by name, and its steps then point at what matched:

In `requires`	Its keys	Matches
`connections`	`id`, `name`, `provider`	A connection with that name, for that service
`tables`	`id`, `name`, optional `columns`	A table with that name, in any case
`flows`	`id`, `name`	A flow with exactly that name

What does not match is left for you. The node loses it, and you pick one in the editor. Import flow lists every need under What this flow needs here, found or missing.
Import checks the shape, not the nodes: keys, size and depth. The editor checks node types, settings and expressions, and counts what is wrong in its top bar.
An imported flow is a draft with no trigger; import publishes nothing. A name in use gets a number, as in Echo a webhook (2).
Export leaves things out: triggers, test data, run settings and the flow's icon; a credential typed into a field is blanked. Set them again after import.
The file has a size limit, on Limits.

Common mistakes

formatVersion as text. Write the number 1, not "1".
A missing list in requires. Write every list, even empty; only flows may be left out.
An id a step uses that requires does not list. Import silently removes it: list every connection, table and flow the steps use.
Empty optional keys. Leave tags, notes and description out rather than empty.
Expecting the trigger to come along. Add it on the flow's Triggers tab: How triggers start flows.

The keys of a flow fileCopy Anchor Link

How they behaveCopy Anchor Link

Common mistakesCopy Anchor Link

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The keys of a flow file

How they behave

Common mistakes