Response

The response is what the logic will return when it’s executed. It can be a value, a message, a JSON object; almost anything you want. Responses can be returned from a variable, or manually defined in the response itself. Not all primitives support responses; see below.

Primitive	Supports Response	Notes
API	Yes	Returns the JSON object defined in the response block
AI Agent	No	Your agent will return messages to the user, but you don’t directly define the response like other primitives
Trigger	Yes	Returns the JSON object defined in the response block
Background Task	No	No responses are supported
Custom Function	Yes	Returns the JSON object defined in the response block
Middleware	Yes	Returns the JSON object defined in the response block
AI Tool	Yes	Returns the JSON object defined in the response block
MCP Server	No	Your tools will deliver messages back to the MCP client, but you don’t directly define a response like other primitives

Adding a Response

Responses will usually come from a variable of some kind, but you can also manually define a static value, or use filters to create a combination of both. When building visually, Xano will automatically add a response of the first variable in the stack. For example, if you start by adding a Query All Records function, Xano will make sure that the response is the output of that function. Responses can be returned as self, meaning that it is not nested in another object.

Example of a self response

{
  "id": 1,
  "created_at": 1760368044972,
  "name": "Erin Porter",
  "email": "mei.payne@google.com"
}

You can also return each response as its own nested object.

Example of a nested response

{
  "user": {
    "id": 1,
    "created_at": 1760368044972,
    "name": "Erin Porter",
    "email": "mei.payne@google.com"
  }
}

Visually: Canvas View
Visually: Function Stack
XanoScript

Find your response block and choose Add a Response.

Give your response a name, and choose whether you want to return it as self or nested under another value.

Find your response block and choose Add a Response.

Give your response a name, and choose whether you want to return it as self or nested under another value.

The response block is placed towards the end of the primitive, after the logic and before any additional settings.

Example of a response in XanoScript

  response {
    value = {user: $model}
  }

To return a self response, forgo the object and keep only the value assignment.

Example of a self response in XanoScript

  response {
    value = $model
  }

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Adding a Response

​Adding a Response

Adding a Response