# Lodash Helper Use the Lodash helper javascript library ## Overview With the Lodash connector it is possible to make use of the Lodash javascript library. Note that use is limited to operations that don’t have a function as an argument, so the simple operations which accept arrays, objects, strings etc. as arguments can be used. Examples of Lodash operations which can be used: > **Info:** When utilizing Lodash operations in the Tray connector, exclude the underscore and the dot `(`**`_.)`** prefix when invoking these operations. Instead, use the operation name directly. > \*\*Example: \*\*Instead of: `_.chunk`, use `chunk`. | Operations | Description | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [`_.size`](https://lodash.com/docs#size) | provides the length of an array or the count of own enumerable properties for objects. (see Example 1 below) | | [`_.split`](https://lodash.com/docs/#split) | Splits a string into an array of substrings based on a specified delimiter. | | [`_.map`](https://lodash.com/docs/#map) | Transforms each element in a collection using a specified function, returning a new array of the results.(e.g. give me the **name** of every item from a list of results) (see Example 2 below) | | [`_.uniqBy`](https://lodash.com/docs#uniqBy) | Returns a new array with unique elements, determined by a specific property, from the input collection. | | [`_.chunk`](https://lodash.com/docs/#chunk) | Divides an array into smaller arrays of a specified size, creating a nested array structure. | | [`_.differenceWith`](https://lodash.com/docs/#differenceWith) | Returns the difference between two arrays, using a custom comparator for element comparison. | | [`_.flattenDeep`](https://lodash.com/docs/#flattenDeep) | Flattens a nested array to a single-level deep array. | | [`_.join`](https://lodash.com/docs/#join) | Joins elements of an array into a string using a specified separator. | | [`_.union`](https://lodash.com/docs/#union) | Creates an array of unique values by combining multiple arrays. | | [`_.unzip`](https://lodash.com/docs/#unzip) | Transposes the elements of an array, effectively reversing the effect of **`_.zip`**. | | [`_.zip`](https://lodash.com/docs/#zip) | Combines multiple arrays into a single array of grouped elements. | | [`_.now`](https://lodash.com/docs/#now) | Returns the current timestamp in milliseconds. | | [`_.merge`](https://lodash.com/docs/#merge) | Recursively merges the properties of two or more objects. | | [`_.keys`](https://lodash.com/docs/#keys) | Retrieves an array of object keys. | | [`_.kebabCase`](https://lodash.com/docs/#kebabCase) | Converts a string to kebab case, separating words with hyphens. | | [`_.isArray`](https://lodash.com/docs/#isArray) | Checks if an input variable is an array. Returns true or false | | Refer to the [Lodash documentation](https://lodash.com/docs/) for a complete list of Lodash operations. | | | We will continue to add more examples of uses here! | | ## Example 1 - using the \_.size operation The below example shows how you can use the Lodash **\_.size** operation to get a total count on items output from another step. In this case, we are counting the results returned from the Stripe **List Customers** operation: ![lodash-workflow](https://tray.ai/documentation/images/connectors/helper/lodash/468682f9-2c93fb0b_lodash-workflow.png) From the debug output of a successful run you can see that the connector will return a simple count as a result: ![lodash-size-result](https://tray.ai/documentation/images/connectors/helper/lodash/468682f9-a7f15a16_lodash-size-result.png) This result can then be used in any downstream steps in your workflow. ## Example 2 - using the \_.map operation The below example shows how you can use the Lodash **\_.map** operation to group all the values together for a particular parameter. The below example imagines that we have just used the List Helpers connector to combine two project task lists from Asana (as per the [List Helpers](https://tray.ai/documentation/connectors/helper/list-helper/) example tutorial). Now we want to use the Lodash **\_.map** operation to obtain the **name** of each task: ![lodash-workflow-map-2](https://tray.ai/documentation/images/connectors/helper/lodash/468682f9-72af07c4_lodash-workflow-map-2.png) From the step editor on the right you can see that we just have to specify the `$.steps.list-helpers-1.result` and **name** as the parameter. The debug output of a successful run will show you the result: ![lodash-map-output](https://tray.ai/documentation/images/connectors/helper/lodash/468682f9-a5dc0093_lodash-map-output.png) You will see that the result is to list the names of each task that is found in the combined list. ## Example 3 - using the \_.isArray operation *** This lodash operation can be used to check if an item of data is an array. All you need to do is add a Lodash helper step and: 1. Set the 'Operation Name' to 'isArray' 2. Use the jsonpath output from a previous workflow step as a single 'Parameter' input to check if it is an array: ![lodash-isarray](https://tray.ai/documentation/images/connectors/helper/lodash/3oCw49Jr6w7DE3W0cApEHu_lodash-isarray.png) In this case the dummy array of customers pulled in from the previous step has resulted in a 'true' result. Note: to initiate a true / false path based on this result you will still need to use the boolean connector to check whether the output was true or false!