Pipelines: QBL v0.12

This article contains information about a QBL (Quickbase language) object. QBL objects are the supported Quickbase schema elements you see textually represented in the YAML file generated by Quickbase when you export a solution. Each object has associated properties. Supported schema may differ by QBL version.

To use this version, specify 0.12 when making requests with the API. No other activation is required.

Tip
Quickbase strongly recommends using service accounts to manage pipelines. Although QBL v0.12 supports importing and exporting pipelines from different owners, service accounts simplify authentication and allow for improved collaboration and security.

Supported channels

QBL v0.12 supports these pipeline channels:

Quickbase
FastField
Callable pipelines
Webhooks
Clock
Json-Handler
CSV-Handler
Text
Bucket
HTTP
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Sharepoint
Gmail
Google drive
Dropbox
Slack

Apps containing pipelines with unsupported channels cannot be exported.

Solution API rules for pipelines

This section explains rules for each solution API, including authentication handling, reference handling, and general behaviors.

Important
If the import or export of any resource in a solution fails, the request is stopped, and all resources revert to their original state.

Export

Authentication

Each account connection is exported with the channel account ID and alias included in the QBL.

Learn more about aliases

References

Recognizable references within the solution are exported as Logical IDs in the QBL, including:
- Quickbase app references
- Quickbase table references
- Quickbase field references
- Callable pipeline references
References outside the solution retain their real IDs. This includes references to Quickbase outside of the solution, as well as external references (like a Dropbox folder, for example).
Jinja expressions are exported as plain text, which means references inside the Jinja are not recognized in QBL.
Quickbase auth tokens are not exported for all channels. Channels that don’t use channel accounts (like Webhooks, for example) export passwords or tokens used to authenticate the pipeline as plain text. Instead, Quickbase recommends using the HTTP channel or the Quickbase Make Request step instead.

Create

The user performing the import will become the owner of the pipeline.
Imported pipelines default to the "off" state.
Imported pipelines retain the original schedule.

Authentication

Pipeline creation is only permitted if the user has the necessary permissions to create pipelines.
Quickbase attempts to match a channel account for each pipeline step based on the criteria: pipeline owner, channel, alias.
Note: Channel accounts used in the pipeline step can only belong to the owner of the pipeline. If user A owns the pipeline, they cannot use a channel account belonging to user B.
For example, if the QBL describes a Gmail channel account with alias “XYZ”, Quickbase looks for a Gmail account that belongs to the importing user with alias “XYZ”. If a match isn’t found, a placeholder account is used instead.
- Placeholder accounts are managed by the pipeline owner, who is the user performing the import.
- The placeholder account uses the same channel and alias as defined in the QBL.
- If the channel account defined in the QBL matches an existing placeholder account, the same placeholder account is used.
If the exported pipeline requires a tokenless account, the pipeline uses the tokenless account (otherwise known as realm default account) of the importing user to create the pipeline.
If a different value is specified for the channel account alias parameter, Quickbase matches against the provided alias value, and not the one included in the QBL. This allows you to create channel accounts before creating a pipeline with QBL, and choose to use that account.

Learn more about placeholder accounts and aliases

Update

The pipeline owner remains unchanged after update.
The state of the pipeline (on/off) remains unchanged, unless a pipeline that was previously on is no longer valid after the update. In these cases, a message is returned.
Pipeline updates may adjust the following if specified in QBL:
- Name
- Description
- Type
- Schedule

Authentication

Quickbase attempts to match a channel account for each pipeline step based on the criteria: pipeline owner, channel, alias. All channel accounts must be matched, not only new additions.
- For existing steps, the channel account remains unchanged during an update.
- If a structural change is made to a step that requires a different channel account (for example, switching the authentication type from tokenless to token), the matching logic applies to select the correct account.
- When a new step is created during an import, the matching logic is used to determine its channel account.
  Note: During updates, Quickbase attempts to match the owner of the pipeline, not the user performing the update. For example, if the QBL describes a Gmail channel account with alias “XYZ”, Quickbase looks for a Gmail account that belongs to the pipeline owner with alias “XYZ”. If a match isn’t found, a placeholder account is used instead.
  - Placeholder accounts are managed by the pipeline owner, not the user performing the update.
  - The placeholder account uses the same channel and alias as defined in the QBL.
  - If the channel account defined in the QBL matches an existing placeholder account, the same placeholder account is used.
If a different value is specified for the channel account alias parameter, Quickbase matches against the provided alias value, and not the one included in the QBL. This allows you to create channel accounts before updating a pipeline with QBL, and choose to use that account.

Learn more about placeholder accounts and aliases

Pipelines properties

The following tables list information about the properties of this object.

Pipeline

Property Name	Description	Required	Default	Allowed Values
Name	Name of the pipeline	False	New pipeline	Any string
Description	Describes the pipeline	False	Your new pipeline	Any string
Owner	The Quickbase user set in this field will be the owner of the pipeline when it is published. Value is the email of the desired user account.	True	None	Any string
Tags		True	None	Array of items of type: Any string
Crontab	Cron schedule, if applicable	True	None	Any string
CrontabTimezone	Cron schedule, if applicable	True	None	Any string

Pipeline account

Property Name	Description	Required	Allowed Values
Channel	Channel name	True	Any string
AccountId	Account ID	True	Any string
AccountType	Account type	True	Any string
Realm	Realm name	True	Any string

Pipeline bucket

Property Name	Description	Required	Allowed Values
Label	The bucket name	True	Any string
Value	The bucket ID	True	Any string

Pipeline channel account

Property Name	Description	Required	Allowed Values
Alias	Alias of the channel account used for placeholder account resolution	True	Any string
AccountId	Account ID	True	Any string
Channel	Channel name	True	Any string
AccountType	Account type	True	Any string
Realm	Realm name	True	Any string

Pipeline step

Property Name	Description	Required	Default	Allowed Values
Id	Id	True		Any string
Name	Name	True		Any string
Type	Type	True		Any string
SubType	SubType	True		Any string
PipelineChannelAccount	Pipeline channel account	True		Reference to PipelineChannelAccount
Channel	A Pipelines channel bound to this step	False		See nested values
Resource	Resource type	True		Any string
Id	Channel ID	True		Any string
Selector	Selector type	True		Any string
Inputs	Pipelines channel input bound to this step	False
Filters	Filtering bound to the step	False
Target	Target of step actions	False
Link	Relates resources	False
Note	Pipeline step note	False	""	Any string

Pipeline step - Bucket

Property Name	Description	Required	Default	Allowed Values
Id	Id	True		Any string
Name	Name	True		Any string
Type	Type	True		Any string
SubType	SubType	True		Any string
PipelineChannelAccount	Pipeline channel account	True		Reference to PipelineChannelAccount
Channel	A Pipelines channel bound to this step	False		See nested values
Resource	Resource type	True		Any string
Id	Channel ID	True		Any string
Selector	Selector type	True		Any string
Inputs	Pipelines channel input bound to this step	False
Filters	Filtering bound to the step	False
Target	Target of step actions	False
Link	Relates resources	False
Note	Pipeline step note	False	""	Any string

Pipeline step - Clock

Property Name	Description	Required	Default	Allowed Values
Id	Id	True		Any string
Name	Name	True		Any string
Type	Type	True		Any string
SubType	SubType	True		Any string
PipelineChannelAccount	Pipeline channel account	True		Reference to PipelineChannelAccount
Channel	A Pipelines channel bound to this step	False		See nested values
Resource	Resource type	True		Any string
Id	Channel ID	True		Any string
Selector	Selector type	True		Any string
Inputs	Pipelines channel input bound to this step	False
Filters	Filtering bound to the step	False
Target	Target of step actions	False
Link	Relates resources	False
Note	Pipeline step note	False	""	Any string

Pipeline step - Cloudpipes Meta

Property Name	Description	Required	Default	Allowed Values
Id	Id	True		Any string
Name	Name	True		Any string
Type	Type	True		Any string
SubType	SubType	True		Any string
PipelineChannelAccount	Pipeline channel account	True		Reference to PipelineChannelAccount
Channel	A Pipelines channel bound to this step	False		See nested values
Resource	Resource type	True		Any string
Id	Channel ID	True		Any string
Selector	Selector type	True		Any string
Inputs	Pipelines channel input bound to this step	False
Filters	Filtering bound to the step	False
Target	Target of step actions	False
Link	Relates resources	False
Note	Pipeline step note	False	""	Any string

Pipeline step - Condition

Property Name	Description	Required	Default	Allowed Values
Type	Type	True		Any string
Name	Name	True		Any string
Note	Condition step note	False	““	Any string
Filters	Filtering bound to the step	False		Any string

Pipeline step - CSV Handler

Property Name	Description	Required	Default	Allowed Values
Id	Id	True		Any string
Name	Name	True		Any string
Type	Type	True		Any string
SubType	SubType	True		Any string
PipelineChannelAccount	Pipeline channel account	True		Reference to PipelineChannelAccount
Channel	A Pipelines channel bound to this step	False		See nested values
Resource	Resource type	True		Any string
Id	Channel ID	True		Any string
Selector	Selector type	True		Any string
Inputs	Pipelines channel input bound to this step	False
Filters	Filtering bound to the step	False
Target	Target of step actions	False
Link	Relates resources	False
Note	Pipeline step note	False	""	Any string

Pipeline step - Data source - App

Property Name

Description

Required

Default

Allowed Values

Name

True

Any string

App

True

References:

1. App

- Scope: Solution

Any string

Pipeline step - Data source - Fields

Property Name	Description	Required	Allowed Values
Name	Name	True	Any string
Source	The Quickbase table to use as a source for the fields	True	Reference to QB::PipelineStep::DataSource::Table
Fields	Fields	False	Array of items of type

Pipeline step - Data source - Table

Property Name

Description

Required

Default

Allowed Values

Name

True

Any string

Table

True

References:

1. Table

- Scope: Root

2. Table

- Scope: Solution

Any string

Source

The Quickbase table to use as a source for the fields

True

Reference to QB::PipelineStep::DataSource::Table

Pipeline step - Dropbox

Property Name	Description	Required	Default	Allowed Values
Id	Id	True		Any string
Name	Name	True		Any string
Type	Type	True		Any string
SubType	SubType	True		Any string
PipelineChannelAccount	Pipeline channel account	True		Reference to PipelineChannelAccount
Channel	A Pipelines channel bound to this step	False		See nested values
Resource	Resource type	True		Any string
Id	Channel ID	True		Any string
Selector	Selector type	True		Any string
Inputs	Pipelines channel input bound to this step	False
Filters	Filtering bound to the step	False
Target	Target of step actions	False
Link	Relates resources	False
Note	Pipeline step note	False	""	Any string

Pipeline step - FastField

Property Name	Description	Required	Default	Allowed Values
Id	Id	True		Any string
Name	Name	True		Any string
Type	Type	True		Any string
SubType	SubType	True		Any string
PipelineChannelAccount	Pipeline channel account	True		Reference to PipelineChannelAccount
Channel	A Pipelines channel bound to this step	False		See nested values
Resource	Resource type	True		Any string
Id	Channel ID	True		Any string
Selector	Selector type	True		Any string
Inputs	Pipelines channel input bound to this step	False
Filters	Filtering bound to the step	False
Target	Target of step actions	False
Link	Relates resources	False
Note	Pipeline step note	False	""	Any string

Pipeline step - Gmail

Property Name	Description	Required	Default	Allowed Values
Id	Id	True		Any string
Name	Name	True		Any string
Type	Type	True		Any string
SubType	SubType	True		Any string
PipelineChannelAccount	Pipeline channel account	True		Reference to PipelineChannelAccount
Channel	A Pipelines channel bound to this step	False		See nested values
Resource	Resource type	True		Any string
Id	Channel ID	True		Any string
Selector	Selector type	True		Any string
Inputs	Pipelines channel input bound to this step	False
Filters	Filtering bound to the step	False
Target	Target of step actions	False
Link	Relates resources	False
Note	Pipeline step note	False	""	Any string

Pipeline step - Google Drive

Property Name	Description	Required	Default	Allowed Values
Id	Id	True		Any string
Name	Name	True		Any string
Type	Type	True		Any string
SubType	SubType	True		Any string
PipelineChannelAccount	Pipeline channel account	True		Reference to PipelineChannelAccount
Channel	A Pipelines channel bound to this step	False		See nested values
Resource	Resource type	True		Any string
Id	Channel ID	True		Any string
Selector	Selector type	True		Any string
Inputs	Pipelines channel input bound to this step	False
Filters	Filtering bound to the step	False
Target	Target of step actions	False
Link	Relates resources	False
Note	Pipeline step note	False	""	Any string

Pipeline step - HTTP

Property Name	Description	Required	Default	Allowed Values
Id	Id	True		Any string
Name	Name	True		Any string
Type	Type	True		Any string
SubType	SubType	True		Any string
PipelineChannelAccount	Pipeline channel account	True		Reference to PipelineChannelAccount
Channel	A Pipelines channel bound to this step	False		See nested values
Resource	Resource type	True		Any string
Id	Channel ID	True		Any string
Selector	Selector type	True		Any string
Inputs	Pipelines channel input bound to this step	False
Filters	Filtering bound to the step	False
Target	Target of step actions	False
Link	Relates resources	False
Note	Pipeline step note	False	""	Any string

Pipeline step - JSON Handler

Property Name	Description	Required	Default	Allowed Values
Id	Id	True		Any string
Name	Name	True		Any string
Type	Type	True		Any string
SubType	SubType	True		Any string
PipelineChannelAccount	Pipeline channel account	True		Reference to PipelineChannelAccount
Channel	A Pipelines channel bound to this step	False		See nested values
Resource	Resource type	True		Any string
Id	Channel ID	True		Any string
Selector	Selector type	True		Any string
Inputs	Pipelines channel input bound to this step	False
Filters	Filtering bound to the step	False
Target	Target of step actions	False
Link	Relates resources	False
Note	Pipeline step note	False	""	Any string

Pipeline step - Loop

Property Name	Description	Required	Default	Allowed Values
Type	Type	True		Any string
Name	Name	True		Any string
Target	Target of step actions	False
Note	Loop step note	False	““	Any string

Pipeline step - Microsoft Outlook

Property Name	Description	Required	Default	Allowed Values
Id	Id	True		Any string
Name	Name	True		Any string
Type	Type	True		Any string
SubType	SubType	True		Any string
PipelineChannelAccount	Pipeline channel account	True		Reference to PipelineChannelAccount
Channel	A Pipelines channel bound to this step	False		See nested values
Resource	Resource type	True		Any string
Id	Channel ID	True		Any string
Selector	Selector type	True		Any string
Inputs	Pipelines channel input bound to this step	False
Filters	Filtering bound to the step	False
Target	Target of step actions	False
Link	Relates resources	False
Note	Pipeline step note	False	""	Any string

Pipeline step - Microsoft Sharepoint

Property Name	Description	Required	Default	Allowed Values
Id	Id	True		Any string
Name	Name	True		Any string
Type	Type	True		Any string
SubType	SubType	True		Any string
PipelineChannelAccount	Pipeline channel account	True		Reference to PipelineChannelAccount
Channel	A Pipelines channel bound to this step	False		See nested values
Resource	Resource type	True		Any string
Id	Channel ID	True		Any string
Selector	Selector type	True		Any string
Inputs	Pipelines channel input bound to this step	False
Filters	Filtering bound to the step	False
Target	Target of step actions	False
Link	Relates resources	False
Note	Pipeline step note	False	""	Any string

Pipeline step - Quickbase

Property Name	Description	Required	Default	Allowed Values
Id	Id	True		Any string
Name	Name	True		Any string
Type	Type	True		Any string
SubType	SubType	True		Any string
PipelineChannelAccount	Pipeline channel account	True		Reference to PipelineChannelAccount
Channel	A Pipelines channel bound to this step	False		See nested values
Resource	Resource type	True		Any string
Id	Channel ID	True		Any string
Selector	Selector type	True		Any string
Inputs	Pipelines channel input bound to this step	False
Filters	Filtering bound to the step	False
Target	Target of step actions	False
Link	Relates resources	False
Note	Pipeline step note	False	""	Any string

Pipeline step - Slack

Property Name	Description	Required	Default	Allowed Values
Id	Id	True		Any string
Name	Name	True		Any string
Type	Type	True		Any string
SubType	SubType	True		Any string
PipelineChannelAccount	Pipeline channel account	True		Reference to PipelineChannelAccount
Channel	A Pipelines channel bound to this step	False		See nested values
Resource	Resource type	True		Any string
Id	Channel ID	True		Any string
Selector	Selector type	True		Any string
Inputs	Pipelines channel input bound to this step	False
Filters	Filtering bound to the step	False
Target	Target of step actions	False
Link	Relates resources	False
Note	Pipeline step note	False	""	Any string

Pipeline step - Stop

Property Name	Description	Required	Default	Allowed Values
Type	Type	True		Any string
Name	Name	True		Any string
Note	Stop step note	False	““	Any string

Pipeline step - Text

Property Name	Description	Required	Default	Allowed Values
Id	Id	True		Any string
Name	Name	True		Any string
Type	Type	True		Any string
SubType	SubType	True		Any string
PipelineChannelAccount	Pipeline channel account	True		Reference to PipelineChannelAccount
Channel	A Pipelines channel bound to this step	False		See nested values
Resource	Resource type	True		Any string
Id	Channel ID	True		Any string
Selector	Selector type	True		Any string
Inputs	Pipelines channel input bound to this step	False
Filters	Filtering bound to the step	False
Target	Target of step actions	False
Link	Relates resources	False
Note	Pipeline step note	False	""	Any string

Pipeline step - Webhooks

Property Name	Description	Required	Default	Allowed Values
Id	Id	True		Any string
Name	Name	True		Any string
Type	Type	True		Any string
SubType	SubType	True		Any string
PipelineChannelAccount	Pipeline channel account	True		Reference to PipelineChannelAccount
Channel	A Pipelines channel bound to this step	False		See nested values
Resource	Resource type	True		Any string
Id	Channel ID	True		Any string
Selector	Selector type	True		Any string
Inputs	Pipelines channel input bound to this step	False
Filters	Filtering bound to the step	False
Target	Target of step actions	False
Link	Relates resources	False
Note	Pipeline step note	False	""	Any string

Pipeline table

Property Name	Description	Required	Allowed Values
Label	The table name	True	Any string
Value	The table ID	True	Any string

Placeholder record set

Property Name	Required	Default	Allowed Values
ExternalSetID	True		Any string
Name	True		Any string
SetType	False	Table	One of: Table, Query