if-not-empty

NAME

if-not-empty - check if a value has content (is not empty)

SYNOPSIS

state-name:
  tool: if-not-empty
  arguments:
    value: <expression>
  goto:
    true: <has-content-state>
    false: <empty-state>

DESCRIPTION

The if-not-empty tool is the negated version of if-empty. It returns "true" if the value has content, or "false" if it is empty, whitespace-only, or null.

A value is considered “not empty” if it:

Contains non-whitespace characters
Is not the literal string "null"
Is not null

This tool is useful when the positive case (having content) is the expected path.

ARGUMENTS

Argument	Required	Default	Description
`value`	Yes	-	The value to check for content

EXIT CODES

Code	Meaning
`0`	Success (outputs “true” or “false”)
`1`	Missing required argument

OUTPUT

The tool outputs "true" if the value has content, or "false" if it is empty.

EXAMPLES

Validate User Input

validate-input:
  tool: if-not-empty
  arguments:
    value: "{{ user_input }}"
  goto:
    true: process-input
    false: prompt-for-input

Check File Exists with Content

read-config:
  tool: bash
  arguments:
    command: cat config.yaml 2>/dev/null || echo ""
  output: var(config_content)
  next: check-config

check-config:
  tool: if-not-empty
  arguments:
    value: "{{ config_content }}"
  goto:
    true: parse-config
    false: create-default-config

Verify API Response

call-api:
  tool: bash
  arguments:
    command: 'curl -s https://api.example.com/data | jq -r ".result"'
  output: var(api_result)
  next: check-result

check-result:
  tool: if-not-empty
  arguments:
    value: "{{ api_result }}"
  goto:
    true: use-result
    false: handle-empty-response

Continue If Value Present

check-token:
  tool: if-not-empty
  arguments:
    value: "{{ auth_token }}"
  goto:
    true: authenticated-flow
    false: login-required

COMMON PATTERNS

Guard Clause

ensure-value:
  tool: if-not-empty
  arguments:
    value: "{{ critical_value }}"
  goto:
    true: continue-workflow
    false: abort-with-error

Conditional Processing

check-changes:
  tool: bash
  arguments:
    command: git diff --name-only
  output: var(changed_files)
  next: has-changes

has-changes:
  tool: if-not-empty
  arguments:
    value: "{{ changed_files }}"
  goto:
    true: process-changes
    false: nothing-to-do