HTTP API step

The HTTP API step makes a single HTTP request and captures the response in the workflow context. It’s the go-to step for talking to external systems that don’t have a dedicated Action integration.

When to use it

Use HTTP API when	Use Action instead
The API is custom or internal	The integration exists in Pipedream
Bearer-token auth is sufficient	You want OAuth managed automatically
You need full control over the raw request	The app has complex configuration handled better via Action

Inspector fields

Field	Description
Method	`GET`, `POST`, `PUT`, `PATCH`, `DELETE`, `HEAD`, `OPTIONS`
URL	Full URL — supports expressions like `{{ ctx.input.contact_id }}`
Add headers	Key-value pairs for request headers. For auth, reference a credential rather than pasting a token: `{{ 'Bearer ' & $credential('name').access_token }}`
Add query parameters	Key-value pairs appended to the URL

For POST, PUT, and PATCH requests, a body editor appears for the request payload, along with a Body Type (JSON, form, or raw) and a Compression selector.

Compression

Compression is applied after the body is built, so it works with every body type.

Option	What it sends
None	The body as-is (default).
Gzip (Content-Encoding: gzip)	Gzipped bytes plus a `Content-Encoding: gzip` header, so the receiving server decompresses before handling the request. This is what an ordinary API expects.
Gzip file (no Content-Encoding)	The same gzipped bytes with no encoding header, labelled `Content-Type: application/gzip`. Use this when uploading a `.gz` object to storage such as Google Cloud Storage or S3 — those read `Content-Encoding` as the stored object’s encoding, so declaring it produces an object that silently decompresses on read instead of the `.gz` file you meant to write.

A Content-Type or Content-Encoding header you set yourself always wins over the one compression would add. The step’s request log lists the headers as they were sent, including any compression added, while its body stays uncompressed so you can still read what went in. The two gzip modes differ in what they call the payload, not just in the header they omit. Under Gzip the body is a compressed representation of your JSON or form payload, so it keeps that payload’s Content-Type and Content-Encoding: gzip explains the wrapper. Under Gzip file the gzip bytes are the payload, so the step labels them application/gzip — set your own Content-Type if the destination expects something else.

An empty body is normally omitted entirely, but with compression on a method that carries a body it is sent as a valid empty gzip member (20 bytes) rather than zero bytes. An empty .gz object loads; an empty file does not, so a nightly export that found no rows still writes something its consumer can read. GET, HEAD and OPTIONS never gain a body this way.

What lands in ctx

After the step runs, it adds to ctx under the step’s name:

{
  "n4": {
    "status_code": 200,
    "headers": { "content-type": "application/json" },
    "body": { "id": "c_123", "first_name": "Alice", "tier": "gold" },
    "ok": true,
    "reason": "OK",
    "elapsed_ms": 142,
    "request": {
      "method": "GET",
      "url": "https://api.example.com/contacts",
      "headers": { "Accept": "application/json" },
      "query_params": { "email": "alice@example.com" },
      "body": null,
      "body_type": "json"
    }
  }
}

Key	Description
`status_code`	HTTP status code of the response.
`headers`	Response headers.
`body`	Parsed response body (JSON when the response is JSON, otherwise text).
`ok`	`true` for a 2xx response.
`reason`	The status reason phrase, e.g. `OK` or `Not Found`.
`elapsed_ms`	Round-trip time of the request, in milliseconds.
`request`	The fully-evaluated request that was sent (after expressions resolve) — useful for debugging. Present even when the request fails before a response.

Reference downstream:

{{ n4.status_code }}
{{ n4.body.first_name }}
{{ n4.ok }}
{{ n4.request.url }}

Test the request

Use the Test button in the step inspector to run the request on demand — no full workflow run required. The test dialog lets you supply values for the upstream variables the request references, then executes the real request (same SSRF protection, body encoding, and response parsing as production). It shows the evaluated Request and the full Response (status, headers, body, and elapsed_ms) so you can confirm the call is shaped correctly before wiring it into the workflow.

Examples

Authenticated GET with query params

URL: https://api.example.com/contacts Headers:

Authorization: Bearer {{ ctx.input.crm_token }}
Accept: application/json

Query parameters:

email: {{ ctx.input.customer_email }}

POST with a dynamic JSON body

Method: POST URL: https://api.example.com/tickets Body:

{
  "subject": "Call with {{ n3.contact_name }}",
  "duration": "{{ n3.duration }}",
  "status": "open"
}

AI-generated request body

{
  "subject": "${ write a one-line ticket subject for this call: {{ n4.transcript }} }",
  "summary": "${ summarize this call in 3 sentences: {{ n4.transcript }} }",
  "priority": "${ pick a priority (low|normal|high) for this call: {{ n4.transcript }} }"
}

Limits

Limit	Value
Request timeout	30 seconds
Max response size	10 MB
Blocked addresses	Private IPs, loopback, multicast, link-local

Getting Started

Agents

Knowledge Bases

Telephony

Web Widgets

Email

Campaigns

Conversations

Evaluation & Metrics

Agent Assist

Workflows

Organizing Agents & Workflows

Custom Data

Anyreach over MCP

Organizations & Billing

When to use it

Inspector fields

Compression

What lands in ctx

Test the request

Examples

Authenticated GET with query params

POST with a dynamic JSON body

AI-generated request body

Limits

​When to use it

​Inspector fields

​Compression

​What lands in ctx

​Test the request

​Examples

​Authenticated GET with query params

​POST with a dynamic JSON body

​AI-generated request body

​Limits

When to use it

Inspector fields

Compression

What lands in ctx

Test the request

Examples

Authenticated GET with query params

POST with a dynamic JSON body

AI-generated request body

Limits