Build Flows

Estimated reading: 4 minutes

A flow represents the logical sequence of an application workflow. It receives input, processes it, and produces output through a set of configurable components. Each component corresponds to a specific task in your application, such as connecting to a data source or invoking an AI model.

Robility flows are fully serializable meaning they can be saved and reloaded from the file system where Robility Flow is installed.

Quick Start Tip

To quickly get started with flow creation and execution, refer to the Robility Flow Quickstart guide.

Creating a Flow

You can create flows in Robility Flow using the following methods via the user interface:

1. Blank Flow: From the Projects page, select a project and click New Flow to start from scratch.
2. Flow from Template: Choose a project and select New Flow to create a flow using pre-defined templates.
3. Import a Flow: Use the Import and Export functionality to bring in existing flow files.

You can also create a flow with the Robility flow API, but the Robility flow team recommends using the visual editor until you are familiar with flow creation.

Creating a flow in local

You can create a flow locally to automate and work with agents on your system. This type of project does not have access to Robility Manager, meaning you cannot use Robility-specific components such as Credential Vault, Interact, RAG, and others.

Creating a Flow in Robility Manager

You can create a flow that is mapped to a project in Robility Manager to automate and utilize the resources available within the Manager. You can either create a new workflow or use an existing workflow that has already been published in Robility Manager.

Templates

Templates are pre-built flows that you can use as a starting point for your own flow. They range from basic flows with a few components to complex flows with many components and sub-flows.

For example, the Basic Prompting template demonstrates a small flow that passes both chat input and pre-defined instructions (as a prompt) to an LLM. In contrast, the Vector Store RAG template consists of two sub-flows that demonstrate how to create a Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) chatbot. One sub-flow populates the vector store with contextually relevant data and embeddings, and the other sub-flow queries the vector store for similar data to answer user questions.

Adding Components to a Flow

Flows are built using components, which are modular nodes representing individual tasks. You can add and configure components in the Robility Flow visual editor.

Steps:

1. Drag and Drop: Use the Components panel to drag components into your flow workspace.
2. Configure: Set up each component by defining its configuration properties. These may include inputs, outputs, parameters, and credentials.
3. Connect Components: Use edges (ports) to connect components. These ports define the type of data transferred between nodes, for example, text strings or structured objects.

For more information on component types, configuration, and support port types, refer to the Components Overview section.

Run a flow

Once your flow is designed, you can:

1. Test in the Playground: Validate the prototype by executing it in a safe, interactive environment.
2. Trigger via API: Use the Robility Flow API to programmatically invoke flows.
3. Explore Advanced Options: Configure custom dependencies or containerize your flow for deployment.

For production readiness or external access, refer to the Robility Flow Deployment Overview for guidance on setting up an MCP (Managed Control Plane) server.

Flow graphs

When a flow runs, Robility Flow builds a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) from the components and their connections. The system then:

1. Calls each component’s def_build function to validate and initialize it.
2. Sorts nodes based on dependency order.
3. Executes each node sequentially, passing the output to downstream components.

This architecture ensures efficient and predictable execution.

Manage flows in projects

The Projects page serves as your main hub for managing flows.

Organize Flows

Projects act as containers to group related flows. The default project is Starter Project, but you can create new ones as needed.

Project Operations

1. View Flows: Select a project from the Projects list.
2. Create Flows: Use the methods outlined in Creating a Flow.
3. Edit Flow Details: Click More on a flow and select Edit Details.
4. Delete Flow: Select Delete from the More menu.
5. Serve as MCP Tools: See Using Robility Flow as an MCP Server.

To create a new project, click Create New Project.

Flow storage and logs

By default, Robility Flow stores flows and logs locally:

Platform	Path
macOS	/Users/<username>/.Robility flow/cache
Windows	C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\com.Robility flow\cache
OSS (uv install)	<venv_path>/lib/python3.12/site-packages/Robility flow/cache
OSS (git clone)	<repo_path>/src/backend/base/Robility flow/cache

You can customize these locations:

Flow Storage: Set ROBILITY_FLOW_CONFIG_DIR
Log File Storage: Set ROBILITY_FLOW_LOG_FILE

Build Flows

Creating a Flow

Creating a flow in local

Creating a Flow in Robility Manager

Templates

Adding Components to a Flow

Run a flow

Flow graphs

Manage flows in projects

Organize Flows

Flow storage and logs

Build Flows

CONTENTS