Types of Nodes

Explore the four primary node types that serve as building blocks for workflow processing steps, each designed for specific use cases.

Overview

Nodes are the building blocks of workflow processing. There are four primary node types, each designed for a specific part of data processing or control.

Primary Node Types:

• Node - Performs basic processing tasks with custom logic
• AgentNode - Handles processing using Large Language Models (LLM)
• ConcurrentNode - Executes multiple nodes concurrently for better performance
• BaseRouter - Directs data flow using conditional routing logic

Node Architecture

Each node type serves a distinct purpose in the workflow ecosystem:

Node Categories:

Processing Nodes:

• Node: Custom processing logic for any computational task
• AgentNode: LLM-powered processing for AI-driven operations

Control Nodes:

• ConcurrentNode: Parallel execution of independent operations
• BaseRouter: Conditional branching based on processing results

When to Use Each Node Type

1. Node for custom logic: Data validation or computations without AI
2. AgentNode for AI: Natural language understanding and generation
3. ConcurrentNode for parallelism: Independent operations running simultaneously
4. BaseRouter for conditional flow: Branch based on results or business rules

Node Hierarchy

All specialized node types inherit from the base Node class, ensuring a consistent interface while providing specialized functionality for different use cases.

Design Principles

• Single Responsibility - Each node type has a clear, single responsibility aligned with its specific use case
• Extensibility - Abstract base classes allow for easy extension while maintaining consistent interfaces
• Composability - Nodes can be easily combined to create complex workflows leveraging each type’s strengths
• Consistency - All nodes share common patterns for context management, error handling, and result storage