Flow control nodes

Flow control nodes shape how data moves through a flow. They can be useful when a flow branches into several paths that you later need to bring back together.

Node	What it does
Document Chunker	Splits a long document into manageable sections for downstream extraction, then merges the results back into one article-level output
Gather	Combines the results of several upstream steps into a single, organized bundle

Document Chunker

Use Document Chunker when a single article is too long for reliable extraction in one pass. Place it immediately after an input node and before entity extractors such as Place, Person, Organization, or Custom Extract.

The chunker divides the document into sections, runs downstream extractors on each section, and stitches the results back together with grounded evidence attached to the original passages. Saved output looks like a normal processed item; internal chunking details are not kept in the durable result.

Agate validates chunker placement when you save or run a flow. Graphs that place the chunker incorrectly are blocked until the order is corrected.

Why Gather exists

Branches let independent work happen from the same article. A flow might extract people, organizations, and places on three branches. If a later output needs all three result sets together, Gather provides one point where those branches rejoin.

Gather does not interpret, deduplicate, or editorially approve the values. It preserves the named upstream results in a combined structure so a downstream step can consume them.

When to use it

Use Gather when the guided builder indicates that a later node needs several branches as one input. Do not add it merely to make the diagram look linear: branches that can feed the output independently may not need a gather step.

Like other deterministic nodes, Gather does not require an AI model. Its output can be inspected in a completed run when the node panel exposes an Output tab.