> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://altostrat.io/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Validate Data

> Validate an object or array using Laravel rules.

Actions do the actual work in a workflow: API calls, transformations, notifications, flow control, and integrations. Use this action when your workflow needs to perform an operation, call an external service, or transform data for downstream nodes.

## When To Use

* Reject malformed API-trigger payloads early.
* Validate mapped data before provisioning actions.

## Configuration Checklist

1. Provide input object/array to validate.
2. Define Laravel-style validation rules.
3. Branch on validation success/failure.
4. Return detailed errors through notifications or API response nodes.

## Inputs

* Required `node.data` metadata: `uiId`, `componentId`, and `operation` (for actions that define an operation).
* Action-specific configuration fields from the node editor.
* Upstream context values from triggers or previous nodes (for example `trigger.*` or prior action outputs).

## Outputs

* Adds action result data to the workflow context for downstream nodes.
* May produce external side effects (API updates, notifications, scripts, SSH commands, etc.).
* Can emit structured values consumed by conditions or subsequent actions.

## Failure Modes

* Missing required configuration or invalid parameter values.
* Missing/invalid context variable references from upstream nodes.
* External dependency failures (HTTP errors, auth failures, timeouts, rate limits).
* Payload validation/parsing errors during request or response handling.

## Best Practices

* Prefer small, composable actions over one large action with many responsibilities.