Conditional edges¶

ZettelFlow canvas edges support a simple boolean expression language that lets you control which branches of a workflow are followed based on the context of the note being built.

The step owns its exits (#427)¶

An arrow's label used to do three jobs at once: draw the transition, hold the condition, and describe the option in the wizard. They conflict — a condition written on the label puts code on the diagram, and the wizard printed that code at whoever was writing a note.

Since 3.3 the source step owns its exits. For each arrow leaving it, the step says:

Question	Field
What does this option say?	`says`
When is it open?	`when` (the same expression language as below)
In what order does it appear?	`order`
Which one do you land on?	`default`

Two doors, no YAML:

The step editor → "Where does it go next?" — one row per arrow: the words, a When… button that opens the guided condition editor, ↑ ↓ to order, and a target button to make an exit the default.
The arrow itself — select an arrow on the canvas and press the filter button. It opens that arrow's exit on its source step, and the label follows the words the exit says.

Nothing had to change for existing flows: an arrow with no exit configuration still reads its condition and its description from the label, exactly as documented below. The step editor offers a previewed, idempotent "Move arrow labels into this step" when it finds labels worth moving — the condition goes into the step, the words stay on the diagram, and the arrow keeps its IF annotation on the canvas because the canvas asks the step, not the label.

Where it is stored: with the step's own settings (the node's zettelflowConfig on a canvas box, the note's frontmatter for a step note), keyed by canvas edge id. The .canvas file stays a plain canvas file.

Syntax¶

Label a canvas edge with if: <expression> (case-insensitive prefix):

if: frontmatter.type === "meeting"

If the expression evaluates to falsy for the current source note context, the target step (and the entire chain that follows it) is skipped.

If the expression is syntactically invalid, the wizard shows a warning notice and treats the edge as unconditional (safe fallback — no workflow crash).

Expression language¶

Comparison operators¶

Operator	Meaning
`===`	Strict equality
`!==`	Strict inequality

Boolean operators (in precedence order, lowest first)¶

Operator	Meaning
`\\|\\|`	Logical OR
`&&`	Logical AND
`!`	Logical NOT (prefix)

Parentheses ( … ) can be used to override precedence.

Context variables¶

Variable	Value
`frontmatter.<key>`	The source note's frontmatter property `<key>`
`note.title`	The current note title being built
`canvas.name`	The name of the active canvas (without extension)

Literals¶

Strings: "double-quoted" or 'single-quoted'
Numbers: 42, -3.14
Booleans: true, false
Null: null

Examples¶

if: frontmatter.type === "meeting"
if: frontmatter.status !== "draft"
if: frontmatter.type === "meeting" && frontmatter.status === "open"
if: frontmatter.type === "meeting" || frontmatter.type === "standup"
if: !frontmatter.type === "archived"
if: (frontmatter.priority === "high") && (canvas.name === "Daily")

Out of scope¶

Arbitrary JavaScript (no eval, no Function())
Looping constructs