---
title: Handle Arrays in Code Actions
description: Learn how to properly handle array inputs in workflow Code actions.
---

When working with arrays in Code actions, you may encounter two common challenges:
1. **Arrays passed as strings** — data from external systems or previous steps arrives as a string instead of an actual array
2. **Can't select individual items** — you can only select the entire array, not specific fields within it

Both can be solved with a Code node.

## Parsing Arrays from Strings

Arrays are often passed between workflow steps as strings or JSON rather than native arrays. This happens when:
- Receiving data from external APIs via HTTP Request
- Processing webhook payloads
- Passing data between workflow steps

**Solution**: Add this pattern at the start of your Code action:

```javascript
export const main = async (params: {
  users: any;
}): Promise<object> => {
  const { users } = params;

  // Handle input that may come as a string or an array
  const usersFormatted = typeof users === "string" ? JSON.parse(users) : users;

  // Now you can safely work with usersFormatted as an array
  return {
    users: usersFormatted.map((user) => ({
      ...user,
      activityStatus: String(user.activityStatus).toUpperCase(),
    })),
  };
};
```

The key line `typeof users === "string" ? JSON.parse(users) : users` checks if the input is a string, parses it if needed, or uses it directly if it's already an array.

## Extracting Individual Fields from Arrays

A webhook might return an array like `answers: [...]`, but in subsequent workflow steps you can only select the **entire array** — not individual items within it.

**Solution**: Add a Code node to extract specific fields and return them as a structured object:

```javascript
export const main = async (params: {
  answers: any;
}): Promise<object> => {
  const { answers } = params;

  // Handle input that may come as a string or an array
  const answersFormatted = typeof answers === "string"
    ? JSON.parse(answers)
    : answers;

  // Extract specific fields from the array
  const firstname = answersFormatted[0]?.text || "";
  const name = answersFormatted[1]?.text || "";

  return {
    answer: {
      firstname,
      name
    }
  };
};
```

The Code node returns a structured object instead of an array. In subsequent steps, you can now select individual fields like `answer.firstname` and `answer.name` from the variable picker.

<Tip>
**Want to loop over the array instead of extracting fields?** When a Code or Logic Function step returns a top-level array, you can feed it straight into an [Iterator](/user-guide/workflows/capabilities/use-iterator): select the step's **Whole list** option as the Iterator's input, then reference each element with `{{iterator.currentItem}}` inside the loop. In that case you don't need to restructure the array into an object.
</Tip>

<Tip>
Click the square icon at the top right of the code editor to display it in full screen — helpful since the default editor width is limited.
</Tip>