The HTTP integration in Alta Flows lets you call any REST API as a step in a workflow. Use it to push data to systems Alta doesn't have a native connector for, fetch information from internal services, trigger downstream automations, or build custom integrations of your own.

Who this is for: anyone building flows that need to talk to an external API — engineers, RevOps admins, and power users wiring Alta into the rest of their stack.

Before you start

The endpoint URL you want to call.
Any required credentials — username/password for Basic Auth, or a token for Bearer auth.
A flow you can edit. If you haven't built one yet, see How to Build and Manage Flows in Alta.

Add the Send HTTP Request step

Open your flow in Workflows and click + where you want the new step.
Search for HTTP and pick the Send HTTP Request action.
Fill in the fields below.

Configure the request

Method and URL

Method — required. Choose GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, or OPTIONS.
URL — required. The full endpoint, for example https://api.example.com/v1/orders. You can drop in variables from earlier steps using the variable picker.

Headers and query params

Headers — key/value object. Add things like Content-Type: application/json or X-Request-Id.
Query params — key/value object. These are appended to the URL as ?key=value&....

Authentication

Set Authentication to one of:

None — default. No auth header is sent.
Basic Auth — fill in Username and Password. Alta sends an Authorization: Basic … header.
Bearer Token — paste your Token. Alta sends Authorization: Bearer <token>.

If your API uses a different scheme (API key in a custom header, for example), leave Authentication on None and add the header under Headers instead.

Body

Pick a Body Type:

None — default. No body is sent. Use this for most GET, HEAD, and DELETE calls.
JSON — opens a JSON Body editor. Alta serializes the object you build here.
Raw — opens a Raw Body text area. Use this for plain text, XML, or pre-stringified payloads.
Form Data — opens a list of fields. For each item, set Field Name, choose Field Type (Text or File), and supply the Text Field Value or File Field Value. Alta sends a multipart/form-data request and adds the correct Content-Type header for you.

Response and network options

Response is Binary — enable for files like PDFs or images. The response body comes back base64-encoded so you can pass it to a later step.
Use Proxy — turn on to route the request through a proxy. When enabled, fill in Proxy Host and Proxy Port, plus optional Proxy Username and Proxy Password.
Timeout(in seconds) — how long Alta waits for a response before giving up. Leave blank to use the default.
Follow redirects — off by default. Turn on if the endpoint returns 3xx redirects you want followed automatically.

Handle failures

The On Failure dropdown controls what happens if the request errors out. Options:

Retry on all errors (4xx, 5xx) — retry up to 3 times for any non-2xx response.
Retry on internal errors (5xx) — retry only on 500-level responses; let 4xx fail immediately.
Do not retry — fail on the first error.
Continue flow on all errors — never stop the flow; the step returns the error payload and the next step runs.
Continue flow on 4xx errors — keep going on client errors, stop on 5xx.
Do not continue (stop the flow) — default. Any error stops the run.

Retries always cap at 3 attempts, no matter which retry option you pick.

What the step returns

On a successful request, the step output has three fields you can use in later steps:

statusCode — the HTTP status, e.g. 200.
headers — an object of response headers.
body — the parsed JSON response, or a string for non-JSON responses (base64 if Response is Binary is on).

If the request fails and you've set On Failure to one of the "Continue flow…" options, the output also includes error: true so you can branch on it with a Router step.

Tips and common pitfalls

JSON bodies need a header. If your API is strict, add Content-Type: application/json under Headers — Alta won't add it automatically when Body Type is JSON.
Use variables, not hardcoded values. Drop variables from earlier steps into the URL, headers, and body so the request adapts to each run.
Use Bearer tokens via a secret, not pasted in plain text where possible — store the token in your Compass or Settings and reference it instead of typing it into the step.
Test with a small payload first. Run the flow once, open the Runs tab, and inspect the request and response before wiring downstream steps.
Binary downloads pass through as base64. If you're pulling a PDF or image, turn on Response is Binary and feed the body to whatever step needs the file.
Form Data file uploads require you to pass a file reference into File Field Value — usually the output of a prior step that produced a file, not a path.