When building flows with conditional logic in WhatsApp Flow Builder, it’s easy to overlook the condition field in the If component. But even a minor mistake, like leaving it blank or inserting just a space, triggers this error:

INVALID_PROPERTY_VALUE
Expected property 'condition' to contain at least one operand.

This error means Flow Builder was expecting a valid expression to evaluate (like a boolean check), but got nothing instead.

Quick Fix

Always provide a valid boolean expression in the "condition" field of an If component. An empty string, space, or null will break the flow. Replace

"condition": " "
with something meaningful like:
"condition": "${data.isUserActive}"

Why This Happens

The If component expects a "condition" field that resolves to true or false. An empty string (" ") is not a valid boolean expression, so the engine has nothing to evaluate.

Common Causes:

  • A copied placeholder left unchanged

  • Using " " instead of "${someCondition}"

  • Forgetting to bind data using ${}

How to Fix It

Update your condition with a valid expression or boolean flag from your data object. For example:

{
  "type": "If",
  "condition": "${data.hasAccess}",
  "then": [
    {
      "type": "Text",
      "text": "You have access"
    }
  ],
  "else": [
    {
      "type": "Text",
      "text": "Access denied"
    }
  ]
}

Best Practice

Always ensure your condition is:

  • Not empty

  • A valid expression

  • Properly referencing existing data

​For more troubleshooting insights related to WhatsApp Business API, check out heltar.com/blogs.