Migrate KNIME Workflows

PlaidCloud is a drop-in replacement for KNIME. 98.5% of KNIME node configurations convert fully, and 205 of the 207 core node types are Full: each becomes standard PlaidCloud workflow steps that do the node’s work. The converter turns a KNIME workflow archive into runnable Advanced workflows, keeps the original graph, and returns a conversion report that names anything you need to set. The KNIME Conversion Matrix lists every node.

Conversion reads only the archive you point it at. It never contacts the system a KNIME node reads from or writes to.

Conversion is a one-time step. Converting the same archive again creates new workflows, and edits you made in PlaidCloud are never merged with a later export.

What PlaidCloud Creates

One Advanced workflow for each KNIME workflow. A .knwf gives one workflow, and a .knar gives one for every workflow in the group.
Each KNIME node becomes the matching workflow step, project variable, or canvas object, with upstream and downstream relationships preserved. Metanodes and components are flattened into the workflow, so their nodes run as ordinary steps.
Flow variables, and Configuration and Widget nodes, become project variables holding their defaults. Switches and loops whose values are known when you convert are pruned and expanded into the steps they run.
The KNIME expression languages — Expression, String Manipulation, Math Formula, Column Expressions, and Rule Engine — convert to PlaidCloud expressions.
Data files that ship inside the archive are uploaded to a knime/ folder in the project’s default Document account, one folder per workflow, and the converted readers import them from there.
Views, charts, and color managers have no data effect. They are dropped and listed in the conversion report.

Before You Start

Export the workflow from KNIME Analytics Platform as a .knwf file. To convert several workflows at once, export their workflow group as a .knar file. Keep the files your readers use in the workflow’s data folder so they ship inside the archive.
Upload the archive to a Document account you can read.
Choose the PlaidCloud project that should receive the workflows. You must be an Architect or Manager of the project, and the project must have a default Document account.
Note the PlaidCloud tables, files, and connections you want the workflow’s readers and connector nodes to use. See Bind Sources.

Convert a Workflow

Convert through the REST API or an MCP-connected AI agent. Both take the same fields.

Fields

Field	Required	What it does
`source_account_id`	Yes	Document account that holds the KNIME archive.
`source_file_path`	Yes	Path of the `.knwf` or `.knar` file within that account.
`project_id`	Yes	Project where the workflows are created.
`workflow_prefix`	No	Prefix added to workflow names.
`step_prefix`	No	Prefix added to step names.
`table_prefix`	No	Prefix added to table names. Defaults to the workflow’s own name. A prefix that would reuse an existing table name is refused before anything is created. For a `.knar`, each workflow’s prefix is followed by that workflow’s name.
`source_bindings`	No	Binds readers and connector nodes to data and connections you already have, up to 500 entries. See Bind Sources.

REST

Send the fields as a JSON body to:

POST /rest/v1/analyze/knime/convert

{
  "source_account_id": "<document account id>",
  "source_file_path": "/knime/monthly-close.knwf",
  "project_id": "<project id>"
}

MCP

An MCP-connected AI agent calls the knime_convert tool with the same fields. See AI Agents (MCP) to connect an agent. The tool changes your project, so review the call before you approve it.

Bind Sources

Use source_bindings to point a KNIME reader at data that already exists in PlaidCloud instead of the copy in the archive. A key is a node id (such as 12:3), a node name, a bundled file path (such as data/sales.csv), or a file name; the first match in that order wins. A value is one of:

An analyzetable_ id for a table in the target project. The table replaces the reader.
{"project": "<project id>", "table": "<table id>"} for a table in another project you can read. The reader becomes an Import Project Table step that copies it. The source project must share Read with the target project, or the step warns. A table governed by row access is refused.
{"account": "<document account id>", "path": "/finance/budget.xlsx"} for a document you can read. The reader imports it.
{"connection": "<connection id>"} for a database or REST connector node, through the MCP tool. The converted steps run on that connection. From the REST API, pick the connection on the step after you convert.

"source_bindings": {
  "Sales": "analyzetable_1234",
  "data/budget.xlsx": { "account": "<document account id>", "path": "/finance/budget.xlsx" }
}

A bound table that does not exist, or a key that matches no reader, is a warning. The bindings applied, with their project and table names, are listed in the conversion report under bindings.

Unbound Inputs

A reader whose file is not in the archive reads from inputs/<file name> in the workflow’s folder of the default Document account, and the conversion report lists the path under missing_inputs with a warning. Upload the file there and run the workflow. Until the file is there, the import finishes with a warning and creates an empty table, and the workflow continues.

Credentials and Connections

KNIME credentials are never migrated. Each step that signs in to another system reads its credentials from a PlaidCloud connection or a project variable you set, and the step’s warning in the conversion report says which.

KNIME	What You Set
Database connectors	A database connection: bind it with `{"connection": "<id>"}` or pick it on the step.
REST and web service nodes that sign in	A REST connection: bind it with `{"connection": "<id>"}` or pick it on the step.
Speech Recognizer (IBM Watson)	A REST connection whose base URL is the Watson service URL the warning names, with the user `apikey` and your API key as its Basic login. Bind it to the node.
Email Connector, with Email Reader or Email Mover	A project variable holding the mail server password, with the name the warning gives. The host and user come from the Email Connector.
Excel Reader or Excel Writer with a workbook password	A project variable holding the password, with the name the warning gives.
LLM connectors and authenticators	An LLM connection on the AI step.

See Manage Workflow Variables to set project variables.

Read the Conversion Report

The response carries the conversion report. Read it before you run the workflows.

summary counts the steps created and how many mapped with high, medium, or low confidence.
warnings lists each warning with its node, step, and the action to take, including every credential or connection to set.
missing_inputs lists the Document paths to upload files to for unbound inputs.
bindings lists the bindings applied.
table_prefix is the prefix used. For a .knar, workflows lists each workflow with its own prefix.
uploaded_files, beside the report, lists the bundled files uploaded to the default Document account.
dropped_tools lists the views and charts that were dropped.

Placeholders

A node without a conversion path stays on the canvas as a named placeholder. The placeholder passes its data through and warns with the KNIME node’s name, and every step downstream of it is flagged in the report, so a missing result is never silent. Rebuild the capability with a standard step when its result matters.

Run the Converted Workflow

Open the new workflow in the project.
Set the project variables and connections the warnings name.
Upload files for unbound inputs to the paths in missing_inputs.
Run the workflow and review each step’s output table.

Edge Cases

These are the only known differences from KNIME.

Crosstab. Converts to Table: Pivot. A few settings combinations give results that differ from KNIME.
Loop End (Column Append). Converts to Table: Inner Join. A few settings combinations give results that differ from KNIME.
Random draws. Row Sampler, Table Partitioner, and Equal Size Sampling use the PlaidCloud random generator, so the rows they select can differ from KNIME’s. The conversion warns where this applies.