When using a Form Router to check {{context.user.app_metadata.status}}, with the user.app_metadata set as the default { }, “exists” incorrectly returns true.
When using “has value”, this correctly returns false.
Hi @jarren.ong
The has value is the right operator to use when checking for the presence of data inside app_metadata .
The “exists” operator is returning true because it is performing a structural definition check, rather than a strict data check. Because the parent object (app_metadata ) is explicitly initialized as an empty object {} , the router considers the object path to “exist,” even if the specific leaf property (status ) is undefined.
→ When the router evaluates {{context.user.app_metadata.status}} using “exists”, it checks if the reference is structurally valid within the context. Because Auth0 initializes app_metadata as {} by default, the app_metadata object technically exists. The engine sees that the parent object is present and, rather than throwing an undefined error for status , it loosely evaluates the path’s existence as true .
→ When you switch to “has value”, the router performs a much stricter evaluation on the final leaf node (status ). It checks if the actual result of the expression is populated (i.e., not undefined , not null , and not an empty string "" ). Because status does not have a value inside the {} object, it correctly returns false .
When evaluating nested JSON properties like app_metadata or user_metadata in Auth0 Forms, you should default to using “has value” to determine if a property has been populated.
Kind Regards,
Nik