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The Fetch-Data automation step can be used to make GET and POST HTTP calls from an automation workflow. The data fetched will be automatically merged into the automation’s run context unless the merge strategy is explicitly defined.
Please note that requests are required to be made in https
To start a fetch-data step, add it to your automation canvas and configure your request URL.
Automation Fetch Data Step

Automation Fetch Data Step

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Merge Strategy

Incoming payloads must be shaped as objects. Arrays are not supported.
The merge strategy gives users an option on how they want the data to be populated.
  • replace
    • overwrite all properties in the Automation Cache with the http response. Removes all properties in the Automation Cache that do not exist in the http response.
  • soft-merge
    • only overwrite properties in the Automation Cache with the http response properties that do not yet exist in the Automation Cache.
  • overwrite
    • overwrite all properties in the Automation Cache with the properties from the http response.
  • none
    • do not make any changes to the Automation Cache if the Automation Cache already exists and has data. Otherwise initialize the Automation Cache.

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Authentication Patterns

The Fetch Data step supports various authentication methods for securing your HTTP requests. Here are the most common patterns:

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1. Bearer Token Authentication

Use static bearer tokens for simple authentication: 
{
  "type": "fetch",
  "url": "https://api.example.com/data",
  "method": "get",
  "headers": {
    "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_TOKEN_HERE"
  }
}

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2. Dynamic Bearer Token (from context)

Reference bearer tokens from your automation context: 
{
  "type": "fetch", 
  "url": "https://api.example.com/data",
  "method": "get",
  "headers": {
    "Authorization": {
      "$ref": "data.bearer_token"
    }
  }
}

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3. Basic Authentication

Use HTTP Basic Authentication with base64-encoded credentials: 
{
  "type": "fetch",
  "url": "https://api.example.com/data", 
  "method": "get",
  "headers": {
    "Authorization": "Basic dXNlcjpwYXNzd29yZA=="
  }
}

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4. API Key Authentication

Use custom API key headers: 
{
  "type": "fetch",
  "url": "https://api.example.com/data",
  "method": "get", 
  "headers": {
    "X-API-Key": {
      "$ref": "data.api_key"
    }
  }
}

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5. Custom Headers with Multiple Auth Elements

Combine multiple authentication elements: 
{
  "type": "fetch",
  "url": "https://api.example.com/data",
  "method": "post",
  "headers": {
    "Authorization": {
      "$ref": "data.auth_token"
    },
    "X-Client-ID": {
      "$ref": "profile.client_id"
    },
    "Content-Type": "application/json"
  }
}

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6. JavaScript Interpolation (V2 Automation)

Use JavaScript expressions for dynamic values: 
{
  "type": "fetch",
  "url": "https://api.example.com/data",
  "method": "get",
  "headers": {
    "Authorization": "${`Bearer ${data.access_token}`}",
    "X-Timestamp": "${Date.now()}"
  }
}

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Security Features

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URL Validation

Courier automatically validates URLs for security. Invalid URLs will cause the step to be skipped with an “Invalid URL” status.

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Request Timeout

All fetch requests have a fixed 10-second timeout to prevent hanging requests. Requests that exceed this timeout will automatically fail with proper error handling.

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Error Handling

Failed requests are automatically logged and tracked. The automation will continue processing subsequent steps unless explicitly configured otherwise.

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Best Practices

  1. Store sensitive tokens in run context data rather than hardcoding them in your automation configuration
  2. Use step references for authentication flows that require token refresh
  3. Implement proper error handling in subsequent steps to handle authentication failures
  4. Validate URLs when possible for security
  5. Use appropriate merge strategies to avoid overwriting important context data
  6. Test authentication flows thoroughly in your automation development environment

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Accessing the Fetched Run Context

Once data is fetched, it will be populated in the data payload for subsequent steps to reference.
Notification Referencing Data

Notification Referencing Data

The incoming data payload can be seen in the automation logs run context.
Notification Referencing Data

Notification Referencing Data

The final rendered result references the data that was fetched in the automation workflow run.
Template Rendering Fetched Data

Template Rendering Fetched Data