getcargohq__cargo-skills/cargo-orchestration/references/node-selection.md

Prefer built-in actions + expressions over code/HTTP nodes

When building a workflow, use the actions Cargo already provides plus template expressions. Avoid python, script (JavaScript), and raw HTTP nodes unless you genuinely have no other option.

Code and raw-HTTP nodes feel flexible, but they are the hardest part of a workflow to build and debug from the CLI: they fail in ways the native nodes don't, and you can't see inside them as easily. Most of what they get used for is already a one-line native node or a template expression.

Use this instead

Instead of writing…	Use
python / script to reshape, rename, or extract fields	a variables node — each value is a template expression, e.g. {{nodes.start.email.split('@')[1]}}
python / script to call an LLM and parse its JSON	the native agent node with output.type:"jsonSchema" — it returns structured JSON, no parsing (read it as {{nodes.<slug>.answer.<field>}})
a raw HTTP request	the integration's dedicated connector action (e.g. clearbit.enrichCompanyFromDomain) — discover them with connection integration get-documentation <slug>
python / script to decide a path	filter / branch / switch with a boolean expression
python / script to loop over a list	a group node
time.sleep() to wait	a delay node

Template expressions cover most "transforms"

Inside {{ }} you can do property/index access, string and number operations, and boolean logic — so field extraction and conditions belong in a variables node or a condition, not in code:

{{nodes.start.email.split('@')[1]}}
{{nodes.enrich.metrics.employeesRange}}
{{nodes.start.employee_count > 100}}

One caveat: a reference to a missing path resolves to empty silently (the run still says success). When a value comes out blank, check the real shape with cargo-ai orchestration run get <run-uuid> → runContext.<slug> (node outputs are returned by the CLI) and fix the path.

When a code or HTTP node is genuinely warranted

• Multi-step computation that no expression or native node expresses (messy parsing, dedup, aggregating a group node's array into one object).
• An API with no dedicated connector action.

If you do need code, prefer the JS script node. Its require() allowlist is axios, cheerio, crypto-js, date-fns, jsonschema, lodash, url, uuid, and zod. Anything else throws — including knex (query over HTTP with axios instead). Both code nodes are sandboxed and have no normal logging — return your output and inspect it via runContext.