Overview
The Database step lets you read, write, and query your automation databases. Choose from structured operations (Read, Insert, Update, Upsert, Delete) with a visual builder, or write raw SQL with the Query operation.
Configuration
| Field | Description |
|---|
| Database | Select a connected automation database |
| Operation | Read, Insert, Update, Upsert, Delete, or Query |
| Table | Target table (for structured operations) |
Operations
| Operation | Description | Fields |
|---|
| Read | Fetch rows from a table | Column toggles to select which columns to return |
| Insert | Add a new row | Set field values for the new row |
| Update | Modify existing rows | Set field values + where clauses to match rows |
| Upsert | Insert or update | Set field values (inserts if not found, updates if exists) |
| Delete | Remove rows | Where clauses to match rows to delete |
| Query | Run raw SQL | SQL editor with template variable support and AI generation |
Where Clauses
For Update, Delete, and Read operations, use where clauses to filter rows. Each clause specifies a column, operator, and value.
Available operators:
| Operator | Description |
|---|
= | Equals |
!= | Not equals |
> | Greater than |
< | Less than |
>= | Greater than or equal |
<= | Less than or equal |
LIKE | Pattern match (case-sensitive) |
ILIKE | Pattern match (case-insensitive) |
IN | Matches any value in a list |
NOT IN | Does not match any value in a list |
BETWEEN | Within a range |
IS NULL | Value is null |
IS NOT NULL | Value is not null |
Output
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|
rows | array | Result rows |
count | number | Number of affected/returned rows |
error | boolean | Whether an error occurred |
error_message | string | Error description if failed |
Throwing Errors from SQL
For the Query operation, you can fail the step from inside your SQL by selecting an _error column. If any returned row has a non-empty _error value, the step fails and the value is surfaced verbatim as the step’s error message. The _error column is stripped from the rows on the happy path, so downstream steps never see it.
SELECT
CASE WHEN COUNT(*) = 0 THEN 'No matching records found' END AS _error,
id,
name
FROM contracts
WHERE status = {{ trigger.status }}
GROUP BY id, name;
Use this to enforce data preconditions (missing records, validation failures, duplicates) and produce a clear user-facing error message without writing a separate Validator step.
