# Group

> Drag nodes into a Group frame to organize the canvas. Color it to mark a section, and use its outputs to pass the members' results on by type.

Source: https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/automate/group

The **Group** node is a frame that organizes related nodes on the canvas. Drag nodes into the frame, and they move with it. Color the frame to mark a named section, such as "References" or "Generation". A Group also has one output per type of result among its members, so it can pass all their text, images, videos or audio on together. It is free.

- Found in: Automate › Canvas
- Output: data
- API type: `group`

## When to use it
- Divide a large workflow into named, colored sections.
- Keep related nodes together when you move them around the canvas.
- Send the pictures of several image nodes in the frame to one [Image Collage](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/image/image-collage), for example to post a single picture with [Telegram Post](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/publish/telegram-post).
- Gather the texts of several [Text](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/automate/text) nodes into one list for [Merge Lists](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/automate/merge-lists).

## Quick start
### Add the node

Press Tab on the canvas and choose **Automate › Canvas › Group**. Select the frame and drag its edges to resize it. An empty frame says "Drop nodes here".

### Drag nodes in

Drag a node so that at least 70% of it lies inside the frame, then release it. The node becomes a member and moves with the Group.

### Name and color it

Double-click the Group's label to rename it. Select the Group to show the color strip above it, and choose a color.

### Use the outputs

An output appears on the Group as soon as a member of that type is inside the frame. Connect it like any other output.

Workflow: The image output of a Group hands the pictures of its three members to Image Collage, and the collage is posted to Telegram.

- Group → Image Collage (image)
- Image Collage → Telegram Post

## Membership

- **Join.** A node becomes a member when at least 70% of it lies inside the frame at the moment you release it.
- **Leave.** A member leaves when you drag it until more than 30% of it is outside the frame.
- **Move together.** When you drag the Group, its members move with it.

## Outputs
The Group has one output for each type of result among its members: **text**, **image**, **video** and **audio**. An output appears as soon as a member of that type is inside the frame, even before anything has run.

- Each output sends a list of the members' results of that type. For example, three [Text](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/automate/text) nodes and one [Generate Image](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/image/generate-image) inside a Group give a text output with 3 items and an image output with 1 item.
- Each output keeps its type, like the outputs of [Collect](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/automate/collect): the **image** output connects to image inputs, the **video** output to video inputs, and so on.
- A list fits nodes that use several items, such as Image Collage or Merge Lists. An input that takes a single value receives only the first item.

Only members whose main result is text, an image, a video or audio count. The Group skips members with several outputs, such as a [List](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/automate/list) or Merge Lists, and pickers, such as [Lighting](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/creative-controls/lighting) or [Framing](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/creative-controls/framing). Use [Collect](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/automate/collect) for those.

## Colors

Select a Group to show a strip of colors above it: the same colors as sticky notes, plus **No colour**.

| Choice | How the Group looks |
| --- | --- |
| **No colour** (default) | A quiet gray frame, with a small caption above it. |
| A color | The frame is tinted, and its label becomes a solid banner of the same color on top of the frame. |

The banner grows with the Group's height, so the title stays readable when you zoom out to see the whole workflow. The color is only visual: it never changes membership, outputs or how the workflow runs.

## Credits
Group is free. It is a frame on the canvas, not a step that runs.

## Tips
- **Color by purpose.** For example, a cyan "References" section that feeds a pink "Generation" section makes the flow of the workflow easy to see.
- **Explain a section.** Put a [Sticky Note](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/automate/sticky-note) inside or next to the Group to say what the section does.
- **Choose Collect for order.** A Group's members come from where they sit on the canvas. When you need explicit connections and an order you set yourself, use [Collect](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/automate/collect).
- **Choose a Sub-Workflow to reuse.** A Group organizes one canvas. To reuse a set of nodes in other workflows, make it a [Sub-Workflow](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/automate/sub-workflow).

## Frequently asked questions

### How do I put a node into a Group?

Drag the node so that at least 70% of it lies inside the Group's frame, then release it. To remove it from the Group, drag it until more than 30% of it is outside the frame.

### What do a Group's outputs send?

The Group has one output per type among its members, text, image, video and audio. Each output sends the members' results of that type as a list. For example, three Text nodes and one Generate Image give a text output with 3 items and an image output with 1.

### Does the color of a Group change how it works?

No. The color only changes how the frame looks. It never changes membership, outputs or how the workflow runs.

### Why is a node inside my Group missing from its outputs?

A Group skips nodes with several outputs, such as a List or Merge Lists, and pickers, such as Lighting or Framing. To gather the results of those nodes, connect them to a Collect node.

### Does the Group node cost credits?

No. A Group is a frame on the canvas, not a step that runs, and it is free.