Introduction
Hi, I am Akira, the editor-in-chief of Data Without Code. So, you have done it. You successfully built a sales data dashboard or automated your Excel reporting. You click “Execute All,” and hours of manual work are done in seconds.
As a DX manager, I know exactly what happens next: You want to share this magic with your colleagues.
In our previous tutorial, we learned how to package our logic into clean Components. But how do you actually send that logic to your coworker’s computer? If your company does not have the paid KNIME Business Hub (server) yet, don’t worry. You can share everything for free.
In this guide, I will show you how to export and share KNIME workflows safely with your team.
The Golden Rule of Sharing: Always Reset Your Workflow!
Before we export anything, we need to talk about data security. This is the most important lesson you will learn today.
When you run a workflow in KNIME, the traffic lights under your nodes turn green. This means KNIME is holding your actual data (like customer names, sales figures, or passwords) inside its memory. If you export a workflow while the lights are green, you are exporting the data along with the logic.
To share only the automation logic (the blank template) without leaking sensitive company data, you must Reset the workflow:
- Save your workflow.
- Click the double-yellow-arrow icon at the top of your screen (or press
Shift + F8). - All the green traffic lights will turn yellow. The data is now cleared from memory, and the workflow is safe to share!
How to Export a KNIME Workflow (.knwf)
The standard way to share a project is to export it as a single file, which your colleague can simply double-click to open on their machine.
Step-by-Step Export Process
- Make sure you have saved and closed the workflow in your center canvas.
- Go to your KNIME Explorer panel on the top left.
- Right-click on the name of the workflow you want to share.
- Select Export KNIME Workflow…
- A window will pop up. Choose the destination on your computer where you want to save the file (e.g., your Desktop).
- Make sure the “Reset workflow(s) before export” box is checked (just to be extra safe!).
- Click Finish.
You will now have a file on your Desktop ending in .knwf (KNIME Workflow File). You can attach this file to an email, drop it in a shared Microsoft Teams folder, or put it on a USB drive. When your colleague downloads it and double-clicks it, KNIME will automatically import it into their workspace.
Sharing Components via the KNIME Hub
What if you don’t want to share an entire workflow, but just a single, highly useful tool you built—like a custom Component that automatically cleans CRM data?
You can share Components effortlessly using the free KNIME Community Hub. Once you link your KNIME account in the Explorer panel, you get a personal Cloud space. You can literally drag your Component from your local workspace and drop it into your Public or Private Hub folder.
Once it is on the Hub, your colleagues can simply search for it and drag it into their own workflows. (I will dive deeper into this in our upcoming guide on how to navigate the KNIME Hub).
Conclusion: Your Next Steps
Sharing your no-code automation tools is how you scale Digital Transformation across your entire company. By teaching your colleagues how to use the .knwf files you create, you elevate yourself from a single user to an automation leader.
However, as you and your team start sharing larger workflows and processing bigger datasets, you might run into a very frustrating roadblock: your computer freezing or KNIME crashing due to lack of memory.
Don’t panic! This is completely normal when you transition from Excel to big data. Join me in our next essential guide where we cover troubleshooting common KNIME memory errors and performance tips.
