# Split node to output complete:true when finished

**URL:** <https://discourse.nodered.org/t/split-node-to-output-complete-true-when-finished/94474>\
**Category:** Feature Requests\
**Tags:** split\
**Created:** [9 January 2025 08:28 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/split-node-to-output-complete-true-when-finished/94474 "2025-01-09T08:28:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 18

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**Author:** ![gregorius](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/gregorius/32/73816_2.png) [@gregorius](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/gregorius)\
**Post date:** [9 January 2025 12:24 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/split-node-to-output-complete-true-when-finished/94474/18 "2025-01-09T12:24:21Z")

</div>

> [@knolleary](#):
>
> If you have any async work in the flow (such as an HTTP Request) then it would be possible for the messages to get out of order.

This is something that I mentioned in my [transfer encoding chunked](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/http-transfer-encoding-chunked/94332) topic:

> This could be avoid by having something that checks the `parts` and ensures that messages are passed on in order, something like a order guarantee node - that would buffer only those messages that arrive out of order. The node would maintain the current parts number, i.e., last part sent was X therefore the next part to be sent will be X+1, all other messages are buffered until X+1 arrives - is there something like that?

Of course the simplest answer would be: use a join node. But in the context of the post, that makes no sense since I'm splitting large files into small messages and joining them altogether would be counterproductive. Having a node that _partially_ buffered messages and released them in order would - hopefully - avoid excessive memory usage.

How would this work?

For example ten messages sent in the following order:

```auto
4 5 0 1 8 2 3 7 6 9 

```

an order node would do the following:

```auto
Receive: 4
Internal Buffer: 4
Send: <nothing>

Receive: 5
Internal Buffer: 4 5
Send: <nothing>

Receive: 0
Internal Buffer: 4 5
Send: 0

Receive: 1
Internal Buffer: 4 5
Send: 1

Receive: 8
Internal Buffer: 4 5 8
Send: <nothing>

Receive: 2
Internal Buffer: 4 5 8
Send: 2

Receive: 3
Internal Buffer: 8
Send: 3
Send: 4
Send: 5

Receive: 7
Internal Buffer: 8 7
Send: <nothing>

Receive: 6
Internal Buffer: <empty>
Send: 6
Send: 7
Send: 8

Receive: 9
Internal Buffer: <empty>
Send: 9

```

So the node would maintain a buffer and an index to know which messages it has sent. Of course this would need to be group by some id but I believe the file read node already does this by grouping all data blocks it generates with an id.

Is there any node that does this already?

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_[View the full topic](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/split-node-to-output-complete-true-when-finished/94474)._