Workflows overview
What a workflow is, the canvas you build it on, and how building works.
A workflow is a graph of steps that turns an input into an output. You build it visually on the canvas: drop nodes onto the board, wire them together so the output of one feeds the next, and the result is a pipeline you can deploy and run.
Workflows are the right tool when you want to lay out the steps yourself — fetch some data, run an agent over it, transform the result, call an API — with the order and connections made explicit.
Workflows and agents
Workflows and agents are the two ways to build in Compass, and they're equal partners. An agent is one AI worker that decides how to use its tools; a workflow is an explicit graph of steps you arrange. They also combine — a workflow can contain agents as steps, and an agent can call a workflow as a tool. Reach for a workflow when you want explicit, multi-step structure.
The Workflows page
Studio → Workflows lists the project's workflows with their state — Live · vN, Paused · vN, or Draft, with draft ahead when there are changes not yet deployed — their shape, and when they last changed. New Workflow creates an empty workflow and opens it on the canvas; each row's menu can Rename, Duplicate, or Delete it.
Workflows shipped by a solution are grouped under the solution's name. They're read-only on the canvas — Duplicate one to make your own copy to change.
The canvas at a glance
The workflow editor has three parts:
- Node palette (left) — a searchable catalog of the nodes you can add, grouped into I/O, Intelligence, Processing, and Integrations.
- Canvas (center) — the board where you place nodes and draw connections. Select a node or wire and press Backspace to delete it.
- Toolbar (top) — the workflow's name (click to rename) and status, an Unsaved indicator, the Validation button, the YAML view, Duplicate, and Deploy.
Each node is a compact card. To configure one, click the part you want to change — its settings, an input to bind, its instructions or template — and it opens in a centered editor. Changes there are drafts until you click Save (or press ⌘S); Cancel or Esc discards them.
How building works
Add nodes
Drag nodes from the palette onto the canvas, or double-click one (or use its +) to drop it in the middle of the board.
Wire them together
Connect each node's output to the next node's input to define the flow of data. See Wiring & data binding.
Configure each node
Click a field on a node to set it up — pick a connection, choose an integration action, write a template, bind its inputs.
Watch for issues
The editor validates as you go; the Validation button counts what's wrong. Errors block deployment; warnings don't.
Try it
Open Chat from the top bar while you're on the canvas: with a model from this project selected, the workflow you're editing is already in chat's tools, running its draft. Ask chat to run it and read the trace.
Deploy
When it's valid, Deploy freezes the draft into a numbered version and publishes it live. See Versioning & deployment.
Your work auto-saves
The canvas saves your draft a couple of seconds after each change, and when you leave the page; the Unsaved indicator shows while a save is pending. A draft isn't live until you deploy, so you can leave and come back to a work-in-progress safely.