Domain 1 of 3 · Chapter 19 of 22

Configure advanced agent responses with API and Send HTTP requests

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Included in this chapter:

  • When the canvas is the right place to call an API
  • What one Send HTTP request node is made of
  • Method and URL: what the call says it does
  • Headers: what the API needs before it accepts the call
  • The body: three content options and one correct default
  • Typing the response so the topic can read it
  • Choosing what a failure does to the conversation
  • Reading an error body that has no type yet
  • The timeout, and the problem a longer timeout does not solve
  • Where an API credential actually lives
  • Calling an API as the signed-in user instead
  • How these choices show up in questions

Ways a topic can reach an external API

DecisionConnector toolAgent flowSend HTTP request nodeREST API tool (preview)
What it isA prebuilt or custom Power Platform connector operation added as a toolA multi-step workflow with conditional branching, callable from more than one topicAn ad-hoc REST call built directly on the authoring canvasTools generated from an OpenAPI specification you upload
Fits whenA connector already exists for the target systemThe operation needs several steps or reuse across topicsNo connector exists and the integration is one self-contained requestThe API publishes an OpenAPI specification and you want several operations as tools
Where it is configuredAdd tool panelFlow designer, then added as a toolThe node itself, plus its HTTP Request properties panelAdd a tool, then New tool and REST API
Reusable beyond one topicYesYesNo; the node belongs to the topic it sits inYes
What can start itGenerative orchestration or an authored Action node, depending on placementGenerative orchestration or an authored Action node, depending on placementOnly the topic path that reaches the nodeGenerative orchestration or an authored Action node, depending on placement
Where failure handling is setOn the flow or topic around the callRun after settings inside the flow, plus the tool call siteError handling on the node: Raise an error or Continue on errorOn the topic around the call

Decision tree

Connector exists forthe target system?YesConnector toolprebuilt or custom operationNoSeveral steps, or reuseacross topics?YesAgent flowcallable from more than one topicNoAPI publishes an OpenAPIspecification?YesREST API toolspreview; one tool per operationNoSend HTTP request nodeone topic, one self-contained requestWhatever the mechanism: the credential lives outside the topic
Cheat sheet

Cheat sheet

  • Insert Send HTTP request at the exact point an API must run
  • Select the API's required HTTP method and endpoint
  • Configure required authentication and content headers
  • Store the HTTP response in a variable for later topic logic
  • Use JSON Content for a structured request body
  • Keep No Content when the API request has no body
  • Derive a typed response schema from representative sample JSON
  • Parse an Any-typed error body before reading its fields
  • Use Raise an error when the HTTP failure should stop the topic
  • Use Continue on error for an authored recovery path
  • Set the HTTP request timeout to the scenario's latency budget
  • Keep API secrets in secured configuration or connections

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References

  1. Retrieve and send data using the HTTP request node
  2. Extend your agent with tools from a REST API (preview)
  3. Make HTTP requests
  4. Variables overview
  5. Use system topics
  6. Work with variables
  7. Use Azure Key Vault secrets in environment variables
  8. Add user authentication to topics