Switches and conditional routing

Conditional routing is fundamental to creating dynamic, responsive graphs in Talemate. The switch and router nodes in core/* allow you to direct data flow based on conditions, create branching logic, and make decisions within your modules.

When to use switches and routers

• Use Switch nodes to activate different paths based on whether a value is truthy.
• Use RSwitch nodes to select between different values based on a condition.
• Use Logical Routers (OR/AND) when you need to combine multiple conditions.
• Use Case nodes for multi-way branching based on exact value matching.

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Basic Switch Nodes

core/Switch

The most fundamental conditional node. It checks if an input value is truthy and activates either the yes or no output path.

Switch payload

Type	Name	Description
Input	value	The value to check for truthiness
Property	pass_through	If true, passes the input value to the active output. If false, passes true instead (default: true)
Output	yes	Activated when the value is truthy
Output	no	Activated when the value is falsy (None, False, or UNRESOLVED)

Truthy vs Falsy

In Talemate's node system, a value is considered falsy if it is None, False, or UNRESOLVED. Everything else is truthy, including empty strings, zero, and empty lists.

A simple example of a switch node is shown below. The value input is checked for truthiness, and if it is truthy, the yes output is activated, otherwise the no output is activated.

core/RSwitch (Route Switch)

Routes one of two input values to the output based on a condition. Think of it as a ternary operator: check ? yes : no.

RSwitch payload

Type	Name	Description
Input	check	The condition to evaluate
Input	yes	Value to output when check is truthy
Input	no	Value to output when check is falsy
Output	value	The selected value (either yes or no input)

core/RSwitchAdvanced

Similar to RSwitch but with separate outputs for each path, allowing different downstream processing for each case.

RSwitchAdvanced payload

Type	Name	Description
Input	check	The condition to evaluate
Input	yes	Value to route to yes output
Input	no	Value to route to no output
Output	yes	Receives the yes input value when check is truthy (deactivated otherwise)
Output	no	Receives the no input value when check is falsy (deactivated otherwise)

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Logical Router Nodes

These nodes combine multiple boolean conditions using logical operations.

core/ORRouter

Routes based on OR logic – if any connected input is truthy, the yes path activates.

ORRouter payload

Type	Name	Description
Input	a	Boolean flag A (group: "flags")
Input	b	Boolean flag B (group: "flags")
Input	c	Boolean flag C (group: "flags")
Input	d	Boolean flag D (group: "flags")
Input	value	Optional value to pass through
Output	yes	Activated if any connected flag is truthy
Output	no	Activated if all connected flags are falsy

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core/ANDRouter

Routes based on AND logic – all connected inputs must be truthy for the yes path to activate.

ANDRouter payload

Type	Name	Description
Input	a	Boolean flag A (group: "flags")
Input	b	Boolean flag B (group: "flags")
Input	c	Boolean flag C (group: "flags")
Input	d	Boolean flag D (group: "flags")
Input	value	Optional value to pass through
Output	yes	Activated only if all connected flags are truthy
Output	no	Activated if any connected flag is falsy

Input Groups

The flag inputs (a, b, c, d) are in a group called "flags". This means at least one must be connected for the node to run, but you don't need to connect all four.

Multi-way Branching

core/Case

Performs multi-way branching based on exact value matching, similar to a switch/case statement in programming.

Case payload

Type	Name	Description
Input	value	The value to check
Property	attribute_name	If specified, checks this attribute of the value instead of the value itself
Property	case_a	The value to match for output a
Property	case_b	The value to match for output b
Property	case_c	The value to match for output c
Property	case_d	The value to match for output d
Output	a	Activated when the value matches case_a
Output	b	Activated when the value matches case_b
Output	c	Activated when the value matches case_c
Output	d	Activated when the value matches case_d
Output	none	Activated when no cases match

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Supporting Nodes

core/Invert

Simple boolean NOT operation.

Invert payload

Type	Name	Description
Input	value	Boolean value to invert
Output	value	The inverted boolean

core/Coallesce

Returns the first non-UNRESOLVED value from multiple inputs. Useful for providing fallback values.

Coallesce payload

Type	Name	Description
Input	a	First value to check (optional)
Input	b	Second value to check (optional)
Input	c	Third value to check (optional)
Input	d	Fourth value to check (optional)
Output	value	The first truthy value found, or UNRESOLVED if none are truthy

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Coallesce node will show activated paths

Currently there exists a display bug where all paths leading into a coallesce node will be shown as activated. This is a known issue and will be fixed in a future update.

But we can see from the log out put that the node is working as expected.

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Practical Patterns

Conditional Execution

Use a Switch node to conditionally execute a branch:

1. Check condition → Switch
2. Connect processing nodes to yes output
3. Connect bypass or alternative to no output

Value Selection

Use RSwitch for inline value selection:

1. Condition → RSwitch.check
2. Primary value → RSwitch.yes
3. Fallback value → RSwitch.no
4. Result → RSwitch.value

Complex Conditions

Combine multiple conditions with logical routers:

1. Individual checks → ORRouter inputs a, b, c
2. If any are true → ORRouter.yes activates
3. If all are false → ORRouter.no activates

Multi-way Routing

Use Case for routing based on specific values:

1. Input value → Case.value
2. Define cases in properties
3. Connect different processing to each output