Workflow Reader

Reads a single workflow into a workflow port object.

Notes:

the workflow will be reset on read and internal data disregarded (except data that has been added to the workflow via the Workflow Writer node)
workflow annotations will be read but will get lost as soon as the workflow gets modified
the node will fail if the workflow requires extensions (e.g. for contained nodes) that aren't installed
components are not supported to be read in

This node can access a variety of different file systems. More information about file handling in KNIME can be found in the official File Handling Guide.

Options

Settings

Read from

Select a file system to read the workflow from. If the selected file system is not a KNIME file system, the workflows are represented by '.knwf' files.

Local File System: Allows you to select a workflow ('.knwf'-file) from your local system.
Mountpoint: Allows you to read a workflow from a mountpoint. When selected, a new drop-down menu appears to choose the mountpoint. Unconnected mountpoints are greyed out but can still be selected (note that browsing is disabled in this case). Go to the KNIME Explorer and connect to the mountpoint to enable browsing. A mountpoint is displayed in red if it was previously selected but is no longer available. You won't be able to save the dialog as long as you don't select a valid i.e. known mountpoint.
Relative to: Allows you to choose whether to resolve the path relative to the current mountpoint or current workflow. When selected a new drop-down menu appears to choose which of the three options to use.
Custom/KNIME URL: Allows to specify a URL (e.g. file://, http:// or knime:// protocol). When selected, a spinner appears that allows you to specify the desired connection and read timeout in milliseconds. In case it takes longer to connect to the host / read the file, the node fails to execute. Browsing is disabled for this option.

To read from other file systems, click on ... in the bottom left corner of the node icon followed by Add File System Connection port. Afterwards, connect the desired file system connector node to the newly added input port. The file system connection will then be shown in the drop-down menu. It is greyed out if the file system is not connected in which case you have to (re)execute the connector node first. Note: The default file systems listed above can't be selected if a file system is provided via the input port.

Select version

If available, select the version of the workflow to read. A limited number of versions will be fetched and provided in a dropdown menu. If the desired version is not included in the dropdown list, the option hubItemVersion can be set with a flow variable (e.g. "333" for version 333 on the hub).

File

Enter a URL when reading from Custom/KNIME URL, otherwise enter a path to a file. The required syntax of a path depends on the chosen file system, such as "C:\path\to\file" (Local File System on Windows) or "/path/to/file" (Local File System on Linux/MacOS and Mountpoint). For file systems connected via input port, the node description of the respective connector node describes the required path format. You can also choose a previously selected file from the drop-down list, or select a location from the "Browse..." dialog. Note that browsing is disabled in some cases:

Custom/KNIME URL: Browsing is always disabled.
Mountpoint: Browsing is disabled if the selected mountpoint isn't connected. Go to the KNIME Explorer and connect to the mountpoint to enable browsing.
File systems provided via input port: Browsing is disabled if the connector node hasn't been executed since the workflow has been opened. (Re)execute the connector node to enable browsing.

The location can be exposed as or automatically set via a path flow variable.

Workflow name

An optional custom name for the workflow. If not specified, the original name will be kept.

Remove input and output nodes

If checked, all Container Input * and Container Output * nodes are removed and implicitly represented. This allows one to, e.g., combine the resulting workflow segment with other workflow segments via the new implicit input and output ports.

Input/Output ID prefix

Prefix to be used as ids for the implicit input and output ports of the workflow segment.

Output flow variable indicating whether workflow got reset during loading

If selected, the node creates and exports a flow variable workflow_got_reset denoting whether the workflow was (partially) executed prior import. As soon as the original workflow had at least one executed node, this property will be true. Note that the workflow in the output will be reset in either case.

Input Ports

…: An optional file system connection.

Output Ports

: The read workflow

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Installation

To use this node in KNIME, install the extension KNIME Integrated Deployment from the below update site following our NodePit Product and Node Installation Guide:

v5.9

A zipped version of the software site can be downloaded here.

Plugin provider: KNIME AG, Zurich, Switzerland

Plugin version: 5.9.0.v202511130853

On NodePit since: 2025-12-11

Last update: 2026-01-22

KNIME versions: Since v4.4

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