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title: HTTP Actions
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HTTP Actions make API calls to your business systems so you can build automations. They can be chained together in [Compound Actions](/docs/compound-actions).

HTTP Actions can be used to call both SOAP and REST APIs. Moveworks recommends using REST APIs with JSON payloads whenever possible for ease of configuration, and debugging purposes.

# Set up an HTTP Action

You are able to setup an HTTP Action two ways:

1. \[Recommended] Import the entire HTTP Request via cURL.
2. Manually select/create a connector + setup the API Request

## Import from cURL

> 🚧 Warning
>
> 1. Importing cURL will overwrite all of the current work you have in the HTTP Editor.
>
> 2. If the Request you are trying to import uses a 2-step Auth method like OAuth 2.0, then you will have to set up the connector manually AFTER importing cURL.

### Steps

1. Get your `cURL` command:

   1. You can typically find cURL commands in the API documentation for the source system you are trying to integrate with

      ![](https://files.readme.io/ae94eb5e050026cd356e3ea29058c5312d5a8fde02d78239bce6a88eb63d0c58-CleanShot_2024-12-11_at_22.31.342x.png)
   2. You can export your Postman requests to curl by clicking the `</>` icon on the right toolbar in Postman

      ![](https://files.readme.io/368af1e54fc709ed9107317c4633d56594def561f599fc78a11f7ccaa160d811-CleanShot_2024-12-11_at_22.33.112x.png)

   <br />

2. Click `IMPORT CURL`

   ![](https://files.readme.io/6d5cd02f4c10feb77aa93ed23eeb06e8591530c9d7682b60a030a4e1f34b758d-image.png)

3. Paste your cURL command into the text box.

   ![](https://files.readme.io/702436afe65207f3d96c36a1b7242a757238847b7d58b07d376ffff10ea74cbe-image.png)

4. Double check everything is imported the way you expected.

## Set up HTTP Action Manually

### Prerequisite

Please make sure to setup the connector for this action. For more information, see [Connectors Help Documentation](/docs/connector-configuration)

### Steps

![](https://files.readme.io/5d854d6123d19d25d78fcba3a8d0261977ffe1763497df020a4d80c35feecde2-image.png)

If you're manually configuring your API, you can do so by editing:

1. `Method` - We support GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, PATCH methods.
2. `Endpoint URL` - This is the rest of the URL Path starting from the end of the Base URL. It must start with a `/`.
   * **Note:** The Connector's **Base URL** and the inputted **Endpoint URL** are combined to create the full Request URL.
3. `Headers` - ALL Request Headers must be added to this table.
4. `Query parameters` - ALL Query Params must be added to this table. They cannot be saved in the `Endpoint URL`.
5. `Body` - ALL Body content must be added to this text box.
   * **Note:** If you want to use `Content-Type: x-www-form-urlencoded` , you have to convert the data to the following format: `key=value&key2=value2`

# Use Variables

## Inserting Variables

You can use variables anywhere in the Headers, Params, Body, or Endpoint URL. They can also be used in JWT Connector Claims.

* You insert variables by using `{{{VARIABLE_NAME}}}`.
* You can also reference variables from the [HTTP Action Data Bank](/docs/http-action-data-bank) (like the current user)
  ```
  "{{{meta_info.user.email_addr}}}"
  ```

You can check variable names by looking at the `Input Variables` tab and our [User Attributes Reference](/creator-studio/reference/user-attributes)

![](https://files.readme.io/aafa002b38938ef5e6d9c79025a0484e75f3d3afc7a30035b717ddfec2827f51-image.png)

## Variable Escaping

By default all variables will be HTML escaped. This follows the [Mustache templating language](https://mustache.github.io/).

> 📘 Pro Tip!
>
> You can use `{{{VARIABLE_NAME}}}` if you need avoid HTML escaping the content of the variable.

![](https://files.readme.io/d5a1fb43e9cb8e5a05dd8ab52f25989625685cf67539dac09a4320bc4ae7c9ab-image.png)

# Test your API

If you use a variable in the request and want to test your API, then you must add an example value to the variable in the `Input Variables` tab.

> ❗️
>
> This does not apply to User Attributes. User Attributes will pull from the information of the current user who is logged in and configuring the request.

![](https://files.readme.io/abd8b721cbf3b1a0d718d0c1722f7ef6064c63195170333be1a84ad82c10cdf7-image.png)

Once all your variables are configured, click `TEST` in order to kick off a Request with the example data you inputted in the `Input Variables` tab.

![](https://files.readme.io/7b85f98d13a99c4c47f74043a663052cfb4f8d7fd7141caeed311dc10b247122-image.png)

# Prune Response Schema

You can filter out attributes from your HTTP action by deleting parts of the **Output Schema** on the right of the **Response** tab. Otherwise all data will be exported to the caller of this action (e.g. the compound action).

![](https://files.readme.io/88f07143899abc16a88ece5af29c5ab9d3a37cd0636c657b3ec11d742f2a2a36-CleanShot_2024-12-11_at_22.49.292x.png)

# Save Action

When you choose to save the action, you will specify an **Action Name**. In Pre-April 2025 versions of the Plugin Workspace, you will reference this Action Name in subsequent[Compound Actions](/docs/compound-actions) as the `action.action_name`.

In Post-April 2025 versions of the Plugin Workspace, you will be able to either reference the action inside of a compound action, or you can reference the action directly in a plugin as an action activity.

If you created a new connector in the HTTP editor, you'll also be prompted to provide a connector name.

![](https://files.readme.io/f6945261949b7dd0d67cdef6b46b396589e170c98645009f033317fc72eaf672-CleanShot_2024-12-11_at_22.53.022x.png)

# Troubleshooting

## My HTTP Action is failing

1. Check our [logs](/docs/logs) to understand why.
2. Requests will timeout after 60 seconds with no response from the requested server.
3. Requests accept a max of 200kb responses.

## How to pass an array through the POST Body

If you wish to pass an array through the POST body of an action, refer to the following steps:

1. In the action body itself, refer to the array in triple braces without any quotes. For example:

> \{\{\{meeting\_attendee\_list}}}

no quotes.

![](https://files.readme.io/ae53b8cf8ef56e55f0504b9b27bd525ec5689e7afc2d5823dc542d88fc11a05e-CleanShot_2024-12-12_at_13.03.492x.png)

2. When you create inputs in the compound action, you need to stringy the array. For example your input arg would be:

```
1. data.input.$STRINGIFY_JSON()
```

![](https://files.readme.io/7f0c6f94c918245ae1e2cc138002b0085049650e73d46b2c34ce5dd294ab5d51-CleanShot_2024-12-12_at_13.07.302x.png)