Reference: Pipedream Components

This document was created to help developers author and use Pipedream components. Please raise an issue or PR in this repo if you notice something out-of-date.

Overview
Component Lifecycle
- States
- Operations
  - Deploy
  - Update
  - Delete
- Hooks
  - Activate
  - Deactivate
- Management
  - CLI
  - UI
  - API
Event Lifecycle
- Diagram
- Triggering Components
- Emitting Events
- Consuming Events
  - UI
  - Workflows
  - API
  - CLI
Component API

Overview

What is a component?

Components are Node.js modules that run on Pipedream's serverless infrastructure.

Trigger Node.js on HTTP requests, timers, cron schedules, or manually
Emit data on each event to inspect it, trigger Pipedream hosted workflows or access it outside of Pipedream via API
Accept user input on deploy via CLI, API, or UI
Connect to 300+ apps using Pipedream managed auth
Use most npm packages with no npm install or package.json required
Store and retrieve state using the built-in key-value store

Quickstart

To help you get started, we created a step-by-step walkthrough that demonstrates how to:

Deploy components to Pipedream using the CLI
Invoke a component manually, or on a schedule or HTTP request
Maintain state across component invocations
Emit deduped events using the unique and greatest strategies
Use Pipedream managed OAuth for an app
Use npm packages in components

Getting Started with the CLI

Several examples below use the CLI. To install it, follow the instructions for your OS / architecture.

See the CLI reference for detailed usage and examples beyond those covered below.

Contributing

Deploy or contribute to curated open source components in Pipedream's Github repo. Or author, deploy and maintain your own via your standard CI/CD process.

Component Lifecycle

States

Pipedream components support activate() and deactivate() lifecycle hooks. The code for these hooks are defined within the component. Learn more about the component structure and hook usage.

Saved Component

A saved component is non-instantiated component code that has previously been deployed to Pipedream. Each saved component has a unique saved component ID. Saved components cannot be invoked directly — they must first be deployed.

Deployed Component

A deployed component is an instance of a saved component that can be invoked. Deployed components can be active or inactive. On deploy, Pipedream instantiates a saved component and invokes the Activate() hook.

Deleted Component

On delete, Pipedream invokes the Deactivate() hook and then deletes the deployed component instance.

Operations

Deploy

On deploy, Pipedream creates an instance of a saved component and invokes the optional Activate() hook. A unique deployed component ID is generated for the component.

You can deploy a component via the CLI, UI or API.

Update

On update, Pipedream, invokes the optional Deactivate() hook, updates the code and props for a deployed component, and then invokes the optional Activate() hook. The deployed component ID is not changed by an update operation.

Delete

On delete, Pipedream invokes the optional Deactivate() hook and deletes the component instance.

Hooks

Activate

The Activate() hook is automatically invoked by Pipedream when a component is deployed or updated. A common use case for the activate hook is to automate webhook subscriptions, but you can run any valid code. To learn more about defining a custom Activate() hook, refer to the API documentation.

Deactivate

The Deactivate() hook is automatically invoked by Pipedream when a component is updated or deleted. A common use case for the deactivate hook is to automatically delete a webhook subscription when a component is deleted, but you can run any valid code. To learn more about defining a custom Deactivate() hook, refer to the API documentation.

Management

CLI

Development Mode

The easiest way to develop and iteratively test is to use the pd dev command to deploy a local file, attach to a component, and automatically update the component on each local save. To deploy a new component with pd dev, run:

pd dev <filename>

To attach to an existing deployed component, run:

pd dev [--dc <existing-deployed-component-id>] <file-or-name>

Deploy

From Local Code

To deploy a via CLI, use the pd deploy command.

pd deploy <filename>

E.g.,

pd deploy my-component.js

From Pipedream Github Repo

You can explore the components available to deploy in Pipedream's Github repo.

pd deploy <source-key>

E.g.,

pd deploy http-new-requests

From Any URL

pd deploy <url-to-raw-code>

E.g.,

pd deploy https://raw.githubusercontent.com/PipedreamHQ/pipedream/master/components/http/http.js

Update

View the CLI command reference.

Delete

View the CLI command reference.

UI

Deploy

You can find and deploy curated components at https://pipedream.com/sources/new, or you can deploy code via the UI using following URL patterns.

From Pipedream Github Repo

https://pipedream.com/sources?action=create&key=<source-key>

E.g.,

https://pipedream.com/sources?action=create&key=http-new-requests

From Any URL

https://pipedream.com/sources?action=create&url=<url-encoded-url>

E.g.,

https://pipedream.com/sources?action=create&url=https%3A%2F%2Fraw.githubusercontent.com%2FPipedreamHQ%2Fpipedream%2Fmaster%2Fcomponents%2Fhttp%2Fhttp.js

Update

You can update the code and props for a component from the configuration tab for a source in the Pipedream UI.

Delete

You can delete a component via the UI at https://pipedream.com/sources.

API

See the docs.

Event Lifecycle

The event lifecycle applies to deployed components. Learn about the component lifecycle.

Diagram

Triggering Components

Components are triggered when you manually run them (e.g., via the RUN NOW button in the UI) or when one of their interfaces is triggered. Pipedream currently support HTTP and timer interfaces.

When a component is triggered, the run() method of the component is executed. Standard output and errors are surfaced in the logs tab.

Emitting Events

Components can emit events via this.$emit(). If you define a dedupe strategy for a component, Pipedream automatically dedupes the events you emit.

TIP: if you want to use a dedupe strategy, be sure to pass an id for each event. Pipedream uses this value for deduping purposes.

Consuming Events

Pipedream makes it easy to consume events via:

The UI
Workflows
APIs
CLI

UI

When you navigate to your source component in the UI, you will be able to select and inspect the most recent 100 events (i.e., an event bin). For example, if you send requests to a simple HTTP source, you will be able to inspect the events (i.e., a request bin).

Workflows

Trigger hosted Node.js workflows on each event. Integrate with 300+ apps including Google Sheets, Discord, Slack, AWS, and more!

API

Events can be retrieved using the REST API or SSE stream tied to your component. This makes it easy to retrieve data processed by your component from another app. Typically, you'll want to use the REST API to retrieve events in batch, and connect to the SSE stream to process them in real time.

CLI

Use the pd events command to retrieve the last 10 events via the CLI:

pd events -n 10 <source-name>

Component API

Component Structure

Pipedream components export an object with the following properties:

module.exports = {
  name: "",
  version: "",
  description: "",
  props: {},
  methods: {},
  hooks: {
    async activate() {},
    async deactivate() {},
  },
  dedupe: "",
  async run(event) {
    this.$emit();
  },
};

Property	Type	Required?	Description
`name`	`string`	required	The name of the component, a string which identifies components deployed to users' accounts. This name will show up in the Pipedream UI, in CLI output (for example, from `pd list` commands), etc. It will also be converted to a unique slug on deploy to reference a specific component instance (it will be auto-incremented if not unique within a user account).
`version`	`string`	required	The component version. There are no constraints on the version, but consider using semantic versioning.
`description`	`string`	recommended	The description will appear in the Pipedream UI to aid in discovery and to contextualize instantiated components
`props`	`object`	optional	Props are custom attributes you can register on a component. When a value is passed to a prop attribute, it becomes a property on that component instance. You can reference these properties in component code using `this` (e.g., `this.propName`).
`methods`	`object`	optional	Define component methods for the component instance. They can be referenced via `this` (e.g., `this.methodName()`).
`hooks`	`object`	optional	Hooks are functions that are executed when specific component lifecycle events occur. Currently supported hooks are `activate()` and `deactivate()` (they execute when the component is activated or deactivated).
`dedupe`	`string`	optional	You may specify a dedupe strategy (`unique`, `greatest`, `last`) to be applied to emitted events
`run`	`method`	required	Each time a component is invoked (for example, via HTTP request), its `run` method is called. The event that triggered the component is passed to `run`, so that you can access it within the method. Events are emitted using `this.$emit()`.

Props

Props are custom attributes you can register on a component. When a value is passed to a prop attribute, it becomes a property on that component instance. You can reference these properties in component code using this (e.g., this.propName).

Prop Type	Description
User Input	Enable components to accept input on deploy
Interface	Attaches a Pipedream interface to your component (e.g., an HTTP interface or timer)
Service	Attaches a Pipedream service to your component (e.g., a key-value database to maintain state)
App	Enables managed auth for a component

User Input Props

User input props allow components to accept input on deploy. When deploying a component, users will be prompted to enter values for these props, setting the behavior of the component accordingly.

General

Definition

props: {
  myPropName: {
    type: "",
    label: "",
    description: "",
    options: [], // OR async options() {} to return dynamic options
    optional: true || false,
    propDefinition: [],
    default: "",
  },
},

Property	Type	Required?	Description
`type`	`string`	required	Value must be set to a valid `PropType` (see below). Suffix with `[]` (eg. `string[]`) to denote array of that type (if supported).
`label`	`string`	optional	A friendly label to show to user for this prop. If a label is not provided, the `propName` is displayed to the user.
`description`	`string`	optional	Displayed near the prop input. Typically used to contextualize the prop or provide instructions to help users input the correct value. Markdown is supported.
`options`	`string[]` or `object[]` or `method`	optional	Provide an array to display options to a user in a drop down menu. `[]` Basic usage Array of strings. E.g., `['option 1', 'option 2']` `object[]` Define Label and Value `[{ label: 'Label 1', value: 'label1'}, { label: 'Label 2', value: 'label2'}]` `method` Dynamic Options You can generate options dynamically (e.g., based on real-time API requests with pagination). See configuration details below.
`optional`	`boolean`	optional	Set to `true` to make this prop optional. Defaults to `false`.
`propDefinition`	`[]`	optional	Re-use a prop defined in an app file. When you include a prop definition, the prop will inherit values for all the properties listed here. However, you can override those values by redefining them for a given prop instance. See propDefinitions below for usage.
`default`	`string`	optional	Define a default value if the field is not completed. Can only be defined for optional fields (required fields require explicit user input).

PropTypes

`PropType`	Array Supported	Custom properties
`app`		See App Props below
`boolean`	✓
`integer`	✓	- `min` (`integer`): Minimum allowed integer value. - `max` (`integer`): Maximum allowed integer value.
`string`	✓	- `secret` (`boolean`): Whether to treat the value as a secret.
`$.interface.http`
`$.interface.timer`
`$.service.db`

Usage

Code	Description	Read Scope	Write Scope
`this.myPropName`	Returns the configured value of the prop	`run()` `hooks` `methods`	n/a (input props may only be modified on component deploy or update via UI, CLI or API)

Example

Following is a basic example that demonstrates how to capture user input via a prop and emit it on each event.

module.exports = {
  name: "User Input Prop Example",
  version: "0.1",
  props: {
    msg: {
      type: "string",
      label: "Message",
      description: "Enter a message to `console.log()`",
    },
  },
  async run() {
    this.$emit(this.msg);
  },
};

To see more examples, explore the curated components in Pipedream's Github repo.

Advanced Configuration

Async Options (example)

Async options allow users to select prop values that can be programmatically generated (e.g., based on a real-time API response).

async options({
  page,
  prevContext,
}) {},

Property	Type	Required?	Description
`options()`	`method`	optional	Typically returns an array of values matching the prop type (e.g., `string`) or an array of object that define the `label` and `value` for each option. The `page` and `prevContext` input parameter names are reserved for pagination (see below). When using `prevContext` for pagination, it must return an object with an `options` array and a `context` object with a `nextPageToken` key. E.g., `{ options, context: { nextPageToken }, }`
`page`	`integer`	optional	Returns a `0` indexed page number. For use with APIs that accept a numeric page number for pagination.
`prevContext`	`string`	optional	Return a string representing the context for the previous `options` invocation. For use with APIs that accept a token representing the last record for pagination.

Following is a code example demonstrating the usage of async options.

module.exports = {
  name: "Async Options Example",
  version: "0.1",
  props: {
    msg: {
      type: "string",
      label: "Message",
      description: "Select a message to `console.log()`",
      async options() {
        // write any node code that returns a string[] or object[] (with label/value keys)
        return ["This is option 1", "This is option 2"];
      },
    },
  },
  async run() {
    this.$emit(this.msg);
  },
};

Prop Definitions (example)

Prop definitions enable you to reuse props that are defined in another object. A common use case is to enable re-use of props that are defined for a specific app.

props: {
  myPropName: {
    propDefinition: [
      app,
      "propDefinitionName",
      inputValues
    ]
  },
},

Property	Type	Required?	Description
`propDefinition`	`array`	optional	An array of options that define a reference to a `propDefinitions` within the `propDefinitions` for an `app`
`app`	`object`	required	An app object
`propDefinitionName`	`string`	required	The name of a specific `propDefinition` defined in the corresponding `app` object
`inputValues`	`object`	optional	Values to pass into the prop definition. To reference values from previous props, use an arrow function. E.g.,: `c => ({ variableName: c.previousPropName })`

Following is a code example that demonstrates how to use propDefinitions.

const rss = {
  type: "app",
  app: "rss",
  propDefinitions: {
    urlDef: {
      type: "string",
      label: "RSS URL",
      description: "Enter a URL for an RSS feed.",
    },
  },
};

module.exports = {
  name: "Prop Definition Example",
  description: `This component captures an RSS URL and logs it`,
  version: "0.1",
  props: {
    rss,
    url: { propDefinition: [rss, "urlDef"] },
  },
  async run() {
    console.log(this.url);
  },
};

Interface Props

Interface props are infrastructure abstractions provided by the Pipedream platform. They declare how a component is invoked — via HTTP request, run on a schedule, etc. — and therefore define the shape of the events it processes.

Interface Type	Description
Timer	Invoke your component on an interval (defaults to every hour) or based on a cron expression
HTTP	Invoke your code on HTTP requests

Timer

To use the timer interface, declare a prop whose value is the string $.interface.timer:

Definition

props: {
  myPropName: {
    type: "$.interface.timer",
    default: {},
  },
}

Property	Type	Required?	Description
`type`	`string`	required	Must be set to `$.interface.timer`
`default`	`object`	optional	Define a default interval `{ intervalSeconds: 60, },` Define a default cron expression `{ cron: "0 0 * * *", },`

Usage

Code	Description	Read Scope	Write Scope
`this.myPropName`	Returns the type of interface configured (e.g., `{ type: '$.interface.timer' }`)	`run()` `hooks` `methods`	n/a (interface props may only be modified on component deploy or update via UI, CLI or API)
`event`	Returns an object with the invocation timestamp and interface configuration (e.g., `{ "timestamp": 1593937896, "interval_seconds": 3600 }`)	`run(event)`	n/a (interface props may only be modified on component deploy or update via UI, CLI or API)

Example

Following is a basic example of a component that is triggered by a $.interface.timer and has default defined as a cron expression.

module.exports = {
  name: "Cron Example",
  version: "0.1",
  props: {
    timer: {
      type: "$.interface.timer",
      default: {
        cron: "0 0 * * *", // Run job once a day
      },
    },
  },
  async run() {
    console.log("hello world!");
  },
};

Following is a basic example of a component that is triggered by a $.interface.timer and has default defined as an interval.

module.exports = {
  name: "Interval Example",
  version: "0.1",
  props: {
    timer: {
      type: "$.interface.timer",
      default: {
        intervalSeconds: 60 * 60 * 24, // Run job once a day
      },
    },
  },
  async run() {
    console.log("hello world!");
  },
};

HTTP

To use the HTTP interface, declare a prop whose value is the string $.interface.http:

props: {
  myPropName: {
    type: "$.interface.http",
    customResponse: true, // optional: defaults to false
  },
}

Definition

Property	Type	Required?	Description
`type`	`string`	required	Must be set to `$.interface.http`
`respond`	`method`	required	The HTTP interface exposes a `respond()` method that lets your component issue HTTP responses to the client.

Usage

Code	Description	Read Scope	Write Scope
`this.myPropName`	Returns an object with the unique endpoint URL generated by Pipedream (e.g., `{ endpoint: 'https://abcde.m.pipedream.net' }`)	`run()` `hooks` `methods`	n/a (interface props may only be modified on component deploy or update via UI, CLI or API)
`event`	Returns an object representing the HTTP request (e.g., `{ method: 'POST', path: '/', query: {}, headers: {}, bodyRaw: '', body: {}, }`)	`run(event)`	The shape of `event` corresponds with the the HTTP request you make to the endpoint generated by Pipedream for this interface
`this.myPropName.respond()`	Returns an HTTP response to the client (e.g., `this.http.respond({status: 200})`).	n/a	`run()`

Responding to HTTP requests

The HTTP interface exposes a respond() method that lets your component issue HTTP responses. You may run this.http.respond() to respond to the client from the run() method of a component. In this case you should also pass the customResponse: true parameter to the prop.

Property	Type	Required?	Description
`status`	`integer`	required	An integer representing the HTTP status code. Return `200` to indicate success. Standard status codes range from `100` - `599`
`headers`	`object`	optional	Return custom key-value pairs in the HTTP response
`body`	`string` `object` `buffer`	optional	Return a custom body in the HTTP response. This can be any string, object, or Buffer.

HTTP Event Shape

Following is the shape of the event passed to the run() method of your component.

{
  method: 'POST',
  path: '/',
  query: {},
  headers: {},
  bodyRaw: '',
  body:
}

Example

Following is a basic example of a component that is triggered by $.interface.http and returns { 'msg': 'hello world!' } in the HTTP response. On deploy, Pipedream will generate a unique URL to run this component.

module.exports = {
  name: "HTTP Example",
  version: "0.0.1",
  props: {
    http: {
      type: "$.interface.http",
      customResponse: true,
    },
  },
  async run(event) {
    this.http.respond({
      status: 200,
      body: {
        msg: "hello world!",
      },
      headers: {
        "content-type": "application/json",
      },
    });
    console.log(event);
  },
};

Service Props

Service	Description
DB	Provides access to a simple, component-specific key-value store to maintain state across invocations.

DB

Definition

props: {
  myPropName: "$.service.db",
}

Usage

Code	Description	Read Scope	Write Scope
`this.myPropName.get('key')`	Method to get a previously set value for a key. Returns `undefined` if a key does not exist.	`run()` `hooks` `methods`	Use the `set()` method to write values
`this.myPropName.set('key', value)`	Method to set a value for a key. Values must be JSON serializable data.	Use the `get()` method to read values	`run()` `hooks` `methods`

App Props

Definition

props: {
  myPropName: {
    type: "app",
    app: "",
    propDefinitions: {}
    methods: {},
  },
},

Property	Type	Required?	Description
`type`	`string`	required	Value must be `app`
`app`	`string`	required	Value must be set to the name slug for an app registered on Pipedream. If you don't see an app listed, please reach out in our public Slack. This data will be discoverable in a self-service way in the near future.
`propDefinitions`	`object`	optional	An object that contains objects with predefined user input props. See the section on User Input Props above to learn about the shapes that can be defined and how to reference in components using the `propDefinition` property
`methods`	`object`	optional	Define app-specific methods. Methods can be referenced within the app object context via `this` (e.g., `this.methodName()`) and within a component via `this.myAppPropName` (e.g., `this.myAppPropName.methodName()`).

Usage

Code	Description	Read Scope	Write Scope
`this.$auth`	Provides access to OAuth tokens and API keys for Pipedream managed auth	App Object: `methods`	n/a
`this.myAppPropName.$auth`	Provides access to OAuth tokens and API keys for Pipedream managed auth	Parent Component: `run()` `hooks` `methods`	n/a
`this.methodName()`	Execute a common method defined for an app within the app definition (e.g., from another method)	App Object: `methods`	n/a
`this.myAppPropName.methodName()`	Execute a common method defined for an app from a component that includes the app as a prop	Parent Component: `run()` `hooks` `methods`	n/a

Note: The specific $auth keys supported for each app will be published in the near future.

Methods

You can define helper functions within the methods property of your component. You have access to these functions within the run method, or within other methods.

Methods can be accessed using this.<method-name>. For example, a random method:

methods: {
  random() {
    return Math.random()
  },
}

can be run like so:

const randomNum = this.random();

Hooks

hooks: {
  async activate() {},
  async deactivate() {},
},

Property	Type	Required?	Description
`activate`	`method`	optional	Executed each time a component is deployed or updated
`deactivate`	`method`	optional	Executed each time a component is deactivated

Dedupe Strategies

IMPORTANT: To use a dedupe strategy, you must emit an id as part of the event metadata (dedupe strategies are applied to the submitted id)

Strategy	Description
`unique`	Pipedream maintains a cache of 100 emitted `id` values. Events with `id` values that are not in the cache are emitted, and the `id` value is added to the cache. After 100 events, `id` values are purged from the cache based on the order received (first in, first out). A common use case for this strategy is an RSS feed which typically does not exceed 100 items
`greatest`	Pipedream caches the largest `id` value (must be numeric). Only events with larger `id` values are emitted (and the cache is updated to match the new, largest value).
`last`	Pipedream caches the ID associated with the last emitted event. When new events are emitted, only events after the matching `id` value will be emitted as events. If no `id` values match, then all events will be emitted.

Run

Each time a component is invoked (for example, via HTTP request), its run method is called.

The event that triggered the component is passed to run, so that you can access it within the method:

async run(event) {
  console.log(event)
}

You can reference this within the run method. this refers to the component, and provides access to props, methods, and Pipedream-provided functions like this.$emit.

You can view logs produced by the run method in the LOGS section of the Pipedream UI for the component, or using the pd logs CLI command:

pd logs <deployed-component-name>

If the run method emits events using this.$emit, you can access the events in the EVENTS section of the Pipedream UI for the component, or using the pd events CLI command:

pd events <deployed-component-name>

$emit

this.$emit() is a method in scope for the run method of a component

this.$emit(event, {
  id,
  summary,
  ts,
});

Property	Type	Required?	Description
`event`	JSON serializable data	optional	The data to emit as the event
`id`	`string` or `number`	Required if a dedupe strategy is applied	A value to uniquely identify this event. Common `id` values may be a 3rd party ID, a timestamp, or a data hash
`summary`	`string`	optional	Define a summary to customize the data displayed in the events list to help differentiate events at a glance
`ts`	`integer`	optional	Accepts an epoch timestamp in milliseconds. If you submit a timestamp, events will automatically be ordered and emitted from oldest to newest. If using the `last` dedupe strategy, the value cached as the `last` event for an invocation will correspond to the event with the newest timestamp.

Following is a basic example that emits an event on each component execution.

module.exports = {
  name: "this.$emit() example",
  description: "Deploy and run this component manually via the Pipedream UI",
  async run() {
    this.$emit({ message: "hello world!" });
  },
};

Using npm packages

To use an npm package in a component, just require it. There is no package.json or npm install required.

const myVariable = require("npmPackageName");

When you deploy a component, Pipedream downloads these packages and bundles them with your deployment.

Some packages — for example, packages like Puppeteer, which includes large dependencies like Chromium — may not work on Pipedream. Please reach out if you encounter a specific issue.

By default, Pipedream pins the current version of the package to the component. For example, if you require("axios") and the current version of axios is 0.20.0, Pipedream downloads that version of the package and also pins future updates to that version. When the component updates, Pipedream will always download version 0.20.0.

If you want to always download the latest version of the package, you can require("axios@latest"), and Pipedream will download the latest version of the package on all component updates.

If you'd like to use a specific version of a package, you can add that version in the require string, for example: require("axios@0.19.2"). Moreover, you can pass the same version specifiers that npm and other tools allow to specify allowed semantic version upgrades. For example,

To allow for future patch version upgrades, use require("axios@~0.20.0")
To allow for patch and minor version upgrades, use require("axios@^0.20.0")

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Reference: Pipedream Components

Overview

What is a component?

Quickstart

Getting Started with the CLI

Contributing

Component Lifecycle

States

Saved Component

Deployed Component

Deleted Component

Operations

Deploy

Update

Delete

Hooks

Activate

Deactivate

Management

CLI

Development Mode

Deploy

From Local Code

From Pipedream Github Repo

From Any URL

Update

Delete

UI

Deploy

From Pipedream Github Repo

From Any URL

Update

Delete

API

Event Lifecycle

Diagram

Triggering Components

Emitting Events

Consuming Events

UI

Workflows

API

CLI

Component API

Component Structure

Props

User Input Props

General

Advanced Configuration

Async Options (example)

Prop Definitions (example)

Interface Props

Timer

HTTP

Responding to HTTP requests

HTTP Event Shape

Service Props

DB

App Props

Methods

Hooks

Dedupe Strategies

Run

$emit

Using npm packages