Skip to navigation
Flows

Agent and flow templates

Use templates to start building Agents and Flows. A Flow template gives you a complete set of configured steps. An Agent template sets a model, a starter system prompt, and settings for its type. You can change all of it after you create the Flow or Agent.

Create a Flow from a template

To create a Flow from a template, follow these steps:

  1. On the Flows page, click Create flow. The Create New Flow panel opens.
  2. Click Use an example. The template picker groups templates by category and shows each template’s title, description, and step count.
  3. Click a template card. The Flow editor opens with the template’s name, description, and steps.
  4. Optional: edit the steps. For what you can change, see Customize a Flow after selecting a template.
  5. Click Create. Runtype saves the Flow. The Flow isn’t saved until you click Create.

Available Flow templates

The template picker includes the following Flow templates. The Inputs column lists the Record metadata fields that each template reads.

CategoryFlow templateDescriptionInputs
SupportAI Support AgentAutomates support ticket handling with routing and response generation.ticket_subject, ticket_content, customer_email
SupportAI Support Auto-Responder with Knowledge BaseResponds to support requests with AI, a Weaviate knowledge base, and Slack.message, slackWebhookUrl (sample values included)
ContentContent Creation PipelineResearches, creates, and publishes content with AI assistance.content_topic, content_type, target_audience, writing_tone, word_count, content_format, research_url
AnalyticsData Processing PipelineExtracts, transforms, and analyzes data from multiple sources.api_endpoint, api_key, analysis_period, focus_areas
TransformationConvert HTML to MarkdownExtracts content from HTML and converts it to Markdown.source_url
Data ExtractionContact Information ExtractionExtracts email addresses, phone numbers, and URLs from a webpage.source_url (sample value included)
Data ProcessingData Encoding and ValidationEncodes, decodes, and validates data in various formats.input_data_name, the name of the Record to process
DocumentInvoice GeneratorGenerates structured invoice data with AI, then renders an HTML invoice with a Liquid template.None. Describe the invoice in the user message.
ProductivityNew Granola Meeting NotesPolls Granola for new or updated meeting notes and produces a digest.None. The poll window comes from the Schedule that runs the Flow.
ResearchAutonomous Research PipelineResearches a topic, synthesizes sources, drafts long-form content, and outputs Markdown.topic, audience, tone, structure, seed_links, word_count_target, and other settings (sample values included)

Provide the template’s inputs

Most Flow templates read their inputs from Record metadata variables, such as {{_record.metadata.source_url}}. If you run the Flow without these values, the steps that use them get empty input and can fail.

Templates marked “sample values included” fill in example inputs when you run the Flow from the editor. Replace placeholder values with real ones before you rely on the output. For example, AI Support Auto-Responder with Knowledge Base includes a placeholder Slack webhook URL.

Some templates need setup before they work:

  • AI Support Auto-Responder with Knowledge Base searches a Weaviate class named KnowledgeBase with the properties title, content, category, and source. Set up Weaviate and create that class first. The Flow posts its reply to the Slack incoming webhook URL in slackWebhookUrl.
  • New Granola Meeting Notes needs a connected Granola integration. To connect it, go to Settings > Integrations. In the Fetch Updated Meeting Notes step, open the step’s tools and select your Granola connection for the Granola tool. The step doesn’t use your organization’s Granola connection automatically. Then attach a Schedule, for example, every 10 minutes. Each run fetches the notes created or updated since the previous run. The first run looks back 24 hours.

Customize a Flow after selecting a template

After you select a template, edit the Flow in the editor. Use the editor to:

  • Rename the Flow and update its description.
  • Add, remove, or reorder steps.
  • Change models, prompts, and step configurations.
  • Change variables and metadata.

Create an Agent from a template

Agent templates group configuration choices by use case. The type that you choose sets the default model, system prompt, tools, and turn limits.

To create an Agent from a template, follow these steps:

  1. On the Agents page, click New agent. The Create New Agent panel opens.
  2. Select AI Assistant, Autonomous Agent, Research Agent, or A2A Agent. To create an Agent without a template, click Start with an empty agent.
  3. Configure the settings for the selected type. The following sections describe each type’s settings.
  4. Click the button for the selected type: Create AI Assistant, Create Autonomous Agent, Create Research Agent, or Connect Agent for an A2A Agent. The Agent editor opens with the new Agent.

To create an Agent from inside a Product instead, see Creating and configuring agents.

AI Assistant

Choose AI Assistant for a single response to each message. Configure these settings:

  • Name your agent: Enter a descriptive name. This field is required.
  • Model: Choose the model that powers conversations.
  • Persona template: Select the starter system prompt for the Agent’s personality and tone.

The Persona template options are:

  • Helpful Assistant: General purpose, friendly tone.
  • Customer Support: Professional, solution-focused.
  • Technical Expert: Precise, detailed explanations.
  • Custom: Starts with a blank system prompt.

You can edit the system prompt in the Agent editor after you create the Agent.

Autonomous Agent

Choose Autonomous Agent for tasks that require multiple turns. Configure these settings:

  • Name your agent: Enter a descriptive name. This field is required.
  • Model: Choose the model that powers the Agent.
  • Enable Agent Loop: Selected by default, so the Agent iterates across turns. Clear it to limit the Agent to one turn.
  • Max Turns: Set the maximum number of turns to a value from 2 to 25. The default is 10. This setting appears when Enable Agent Loop is selected.

The Agent Loop stops when the Agent finishes the task or reaches Max Turns. The Agent does not have to use every turn.

The Autonomous Agent starts with a system prompt that tells it to break the task into steps and continue until the task is complete. You can edit it in the Agent editor.

Research Agent

Choose Research Agent for web research. Configure these settings:

  • Name your agent: Enter a descriptive name. This field is required.
  • Model: Choose the model that powers the Agent.
  • Exa - Semantic web search: Selected by default. Exa finds relevant web content by meaning.
  • Firecrawl - Web page scraping: Selected by default. Firecrawl extracts text from web pages.
  • Research cycles: Set the maximum number of search and scrape iterations to a value from 1 to 10. The default is 5.

The Research Agent starts with a system prompt that tells it to search, extract details from pages, and cite its sources. You can edit it in the Agent editor.

A2A Agent

Choose A2A Agent to connect an external agent that uses the Agent-to-Agent (A2A) protocol. Configure these settings:

  • Agent Card URL: Enter the URL of the external agent’s Agent Card, for example https://agent.example.com/.well-known/agent.json. Click the globe button next to the field to load the card. Runtype fills in the name, description, and endpoint from the card.
  • Agent Name: Enter a name. This field is required.
  • A2A Endpoint URL: Enter the JSON-RPC endpoint for the external agent, for example https://agent.example.com/a2a. This field is required.

Both URLs must start with https://. The Agent Card URL must be publicly reachable, because Runtype fetches the card from the internet.

When the Agent Card lists an A2A 1.0 endpoint, Runtype connects with A2A 1.0. Otherwise, and when you don’t provide an Agent Card, Runtype uses A2A 0.3.

If the external agent requires credentials, open the Agent after you create it. In External Agent Configuration, set Authentication to Bearer Token, API Key, or Basic Auth, then enter the credentials. For API Key, also enter the Header Name.

If the external agent returns input-required or auth-required, the run pauses and displays the request. Respond to the request to continue the conversation. For API and SDK behavior, see Elicitation pauses.

Troubleshoot the Agent Card

The following messages can appear when you load an Agent Card:

  • Could not reach followed by the host name: Runtype could not connect to the host. Check the URL, and make sure the host accepts requests from the internet.
  • Timed out fetching the agent card: The host did not respond in time. Check that the external agent is running, then try again.
  • Agent card loaded, but it lists no A2A endpoint: The card has no JSON-RPC endpoint. Enter the A2A Endpoint URL manually.
  • Failed to fetch agent card: The host returned an error, such as a 404 status. Check the URL, or enter the name and endpoint manually.

Customize an Agent after creation

After you create an Agent, open the Agent editor to change its configuration. Use the editor to:

  • Edit the system prompt and change settings such as the model, temperature, and Agent Loop.
  • Use the tools toolbar to add or remove Tools.

Choose a template, start from scratch, or import

Choose a template when you want a configured starting point for a common use case, such as support, research, data processing, or content generation.

Start from scratch when you need a unique workflow or want to configure each setting yourself.

To reuse a Flow from another workspace, click Import flow in the Create New Flow panel and upload a Flow JSON export. For details, see Creating and editing flows.

Next steps