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Cut

Splits a string at the first occurrence of a separator into "before" and "after" parts.

Common Properties​

  • Name - The custom name of the node.
  • Color - The custom color of the node.
  • Delay Before (sec) - Waits in seconds before executing the node.
  • Delay After (sec) - Waits in seconds after executing node.
  • Continue On Error - Automation will continue regardless of any error. The default value is false.
info

If the ContinueOnError property is true, no error is caught when the project is executed, even if a Catch node is used.

Inputs​

  • String - The string to cut/split.
  • Separator - The separator to cut at (first occurrence only).

Options​

This node does not have configurable options.

Output​

  • Result - An object containing:
    • before - The part of the string before the separator
    • after - The part of the string after the separator

If separator is not found, before contains the entire string and after is empty.

How It Works​

The Cut node finds the first occurrence of the separator and splits the string into two parts:

  1. Everything before the separator → result.before
  2. Everything after the separator → result.after
  3. The separator itself is not included in either part
  4. If separator not found: entire string goes to before, after is empty

Usage Examples​

Example 1: Split Email Address​

  • String: "user@example.com"
  • Separator: "@"
  • Result:
    • before: "user"
    • after: "example.com"

Example 2: Extract Domain​

  • String: "https://example.com/path"
  • Separator: "//"
  • Result:
    • before: "https:"
    • after: "example.com/path"

Example 3: Parse Key-Value Pair​

  • String: "name=John"
  • Separator: "="
  • Result:
    • before: "name"
    • after: "John"

Example 4: Separator Not Found​

  • String: "Hello World"
  • Separator: "@"
  • Result:
    • before: "Hello World"
    • after: "" (empty)

Example 5: Multiple Separators (Uses First)​

  • String: "one,two,three"
  • Separator: ","
  • Result:
    • before: "one"
    • after: "two,three"

Tips​

  • Only splits at the first occurrence of separator
  • The separator itself is removed from the result
  • Perfect for simple key-value parsing
  • Use Split node if you need to split at all occurrences
  • Access results using ${msg.result.before} and ${msg.result.after}
  • If separator not found, check if after is empty

Common Errors and Solutions​

Error: Can't access before/after values

  • Cause: Incorrect variable reference
  • Solution: Use ${msg.result.before} and ${msg.result.after}

Error: Need to split at all occurrences, not just first

  • Solution: Use Split node instead, which returns an array of all parts

Practical RPA Examples​

Example: Parse Email​

String: "john.doe@company.com"
Separator: "@"
Result:
  before: "john.doe" (username)
  after: "company.com" (domain)

Example: Extract File Extension​

String: "document.pdf"
Separator: "."
Result:
  before: "document" (filename)
  after: "pdf" (extension)
note

For files with multiple dots (e.g., "file.tar.gz"), this returns first split only. Consider using LastIndex for accurate extension extraction.

Example: Parse URL Protocol​

String: "https://api.example.com"
Separator: "://"
Result:
  before: "https" (protocol)
  after: "api.example.com" (host and path)

Example: Split First Name and Last Name​

String: "John Doe Smith"
Separator: " "
Result:
  before: "John" (first word)
  after: "Doe Smith" (rest)

Example: Parse Log Entry​

String: "[ERROR] Connection timeout occurred"
Separator: "] "
Result:
  before: "[ERROR" (level)
  after: "Connection timeout occurred" (message)

Example: Extract Subdomain​

String: "api.staging.example.com"
Separator: "."
Result:
  before: "api" (first part)
  after: "staging.example.com" (rest)

Working with the Result Object​

Access Before Part​

Variable: ${msg.result.before}
Use in next node

Access After Part​

Variable: ${msg.result.after}
Use in next node

Check if Separator Was Found​

If ${msg.result.after} is empty:
  Separator was not found
Else:
  Separator was found and string was split

Comparison with Other Nodes​

NodeUse Case
CutSplit at first occurrence into 2 parts
SplitSplit at all occurrences into array
IndexFind position without splitting
ReplaceReplace separator, don't split

Pattern: Cascading Cuts​

Parse complex strings with multiple separators:

Step 1: Cut by "://" → protocol and rest
Step 2: Cut rest by "/" → domain and path
Step 3: Cut domain by ":" → host and port

Example:

"https://example.com:8080/api/users"
Cut 1: "https" | "example.com:8080/api/users"
Cut 2: "example.com:8080" | "api/users"
Cut 3: "example.com" | "8080"
  • Split - Split at all occurrences into array
    • Find position of separator
  • Replace - Replace separator
  • Join - Opposite operation - join parts