Return

Returns a value from the current workflow. Used in two scenarios: sending a synchronous HTTP response from an API Endpoint workflow, or returning a result to the parent from a Subworkflow call.

Use Return:

• At the end of any workflow that is called as a subworkflow — the returned value becomes the result output of the Subworkflow node in the parent workflow
• At the end of an API Endpoint workflow with responseMode: use-workflow-response — the returned value becomes the HTTP response body

You do not need Return in webhook workflows unless you explicitly need to send a synchronous response.

None. Return terminates the execution path and passes the value to the caller.

None. Return has no configuration — only the input connection matters.

API Endpoint workflow that looks up a user and returns their profile as a JSON response:

API Endpoint (POST) → HTTP Request (fetch user) → Transform (shape response) → Return

The Transform node builds:

{
  "id": "{{ http_request.data.id }}",
  "email": "{{ http_request.data.email }}",
  "plan": "{{ http_request.data.plan }}"
}

The caller receives this JSON as the HTTP response body with status 200.

Subworkflow that validates a user ID and returns their data:

Manual Trigger → HTTP Request (validate ID) → If ({{ http_request.status }} == 200)
    → true: Return ({{ http_request.data }})
    → false: Return ({ "error": "not found" })

The parent workflow accesses the result as {{ subworkflow.result }}.

• API Endpoint: If responseMode is use-workflow-response and no Return node fires before the timeout, the caller's connection is dropped and they receive a timeout error.
• Multiple Return nodes: You can have more than one Return node in a workflow (e.g., one on the true branch and one on the false branch of an If node). The first Return that executes ends the workflow.
• Subworkflow: If a subworkflow does not reach a Return node, the Subworkflow node in the parent receives null as its result.

• API Endpoint — configure synchronous response mode
• Subworkflow — call a workflow and use its return value
• Manual Trigger — required entry point for callable workflows