Build a workflow

A workflow is how you make a repeatable operation run on its own. Every workflow is a chain: one trigger that starts it, followed by one or more actions that do the work. This page covers the vocabulary and walks you from an empty list to a working, activated workflow.

Where workflows live

Workflows live in the left navigation under Workflow. The Workflows tab lists every workflow in your workspace along with its status and labels. From here you open an existing workflow or create a new one with New.

Create a workflow

1. Open Workflow, then the Workflows tab.
2. Click New, then choose Create Workflow.
3. Enter a Name and an optional Description.
4. Click Save changes.

The workflow opens on the canvas editor and starts as a Draft, so nothing runs until you activate it. The empty canvas prompts you to add a trigger.

Triggers and actions

The two building blocks play different roles:

• A trigger decides when a workflow runs. A workflow has exactly one trigger.
• Actions decide what the workflow does once it starts. You chain several in order, and each can read from or write to your data objects, files, and the rest of the workspace.

You build the chain visually: drop a trigger, then add actions after it. A node picker with a Search actions... box and tabs that group the blocks (All, Trigger, Data, Custom, Analytics, and Collaboration) helps you find the block you want.

Add a trigger

Open the node picker and the Trigger group offers one trigger per kind of event:

The Manual and Schedule triggers carry no data into the run; the others pass the arriving item (the file, record, or task) to the actions that follow. A workflow started by another workflow doesn't use a trigger node at all; it's made callable through its invocation settings instead (see Invocation).

Add actions

Actions are the steps that run after the trigger, in order.

1. Add a node to open the picker again, and search or browse the tabs such as Data and Custom.
2. Pick a block, for example Parse (Read) CSV, and configure its fields in the side panel.
3. Add another, such as Filter Records, to narrow the rows the first action produced.

Some of the most common blocks:

The Ask Agent action is where deterministic automation meets judgment: use plain actions for steps that must run the same way every time, and hand the parts that need reasoning to the Agent.

Configure an action

Select an action on the canvas to set its options in the side panel. A few you'll reach for often:

• Ask Agent runs an agent as a step. Pick the Agent, write a User instruction (the prompt), and optionally turn on Use previous action data to feed it the prior step's output. Its Output tab shows the agent's activity and token usage.
• Parse (Read) CSV reads a CSV. Set the delimiter, and under More options skip a number of header or footer rows. Fixed-width text files instead use a Fixed Width mode with a Column ranges editor, one start,end range per line.
• Filter Records keeps only the records that match conditions you add: a field, an operator (equals, contains, greater or less than, is null, and so on), and a value.

For how each action reads its input data and the types Spark checks between steps, see Action Inputs.

Save, activate and run

As you edit, an Unsaved changes banner appears. Click Save Workflow to keep your chain. Saving does not make the workflow live: its Status stays Draft so you can lay out and check the whole thing safely.

1. In the Workflows list, use the workflow's row menu to choose Activate. Its status becomes Active; a workflow must be active before it can run, and Deactivate returns it to Inactive.
2. Start a run with Run from the same menu, and confirm in the Run workflow? dialog. For a scheduled workflow, set the timing in Scheduling instead.
3. Open the Executions tab to watch the run and confirm each step succeeded.

The row ⋮ menu also lets you Rename and Archive a workflow. Archiving is separate from status: it hides a workflow and stops it running, while keeping its run history; Restore brings it back, and the Show archived toggle next to New reveals archived workflows.

Organize workflows with labels

The Workflows list has a Labels column for tagging workflows. Open a workflow's labels cell and use the Set labels picker to apply existing labels or type a new name to create one (each label carries a color). Labels are shared across the workspace. To narrow a long list, open Filter, which lets you filter by Name, Status, or Labels.

Where to go next

• Watch and troubleshoot runs: Executions.
• Wire data between steps: Action Inputs.
• Parameterize a workflow: Context variables.
• Run one workflow from another: Invocation.
• Add a person's sign-off: Human-in-the-loop.