Creating your first workflow in the Designer

A workflow in CloudRadial AutomationAI is a repeatable automation you build visually in the Designer. This article walks an Admin or Owner through creating a workflow, adding and connecting nodes, and saving a draft. It covers the canvas and palette; for the configuration details of each node type, see the Node reference articles.

• Creating a Workflow
• The Designer Canvas
• Adding Nodes From the Palette
• Connecting Nodes
• Editing a Node
• Saving Your Draft

Creating a Workflow

Open Workflows from the sidebar and select New. AutomationAI creates an empty workflow and opens it in the Designer. To bring in a workflow someone shared with you instead, use Import and select a .yml file.

The Designer Canvas

The Designer is the visual editor for a workflow. A new workflow starts with a Start node already on the canvas; the Start node is the entry point and cannot be deleted. The toolbar across the top of the canvas shows the current draft version, undo and redo, and the actions you use as you build:

• Properties opens the workflow's properties, where webhook and schedule settings live
• Publish turns the current draft into an immutable published version
• Export downloads the workflow as a shareable .yml file
• Save changes saves the draft and returns to the Workflows list
• Cancel returns to the Workflows list without saving

Adding Nodes From the Palette

The node palette groups the available nodes into sections:

• Scripts — PowerShell Script, Python Script, and C# Script
• AI — AI Prompt and Agent
• Logic — Condition
• Flow — End

To add a node, drag it from the palette onto the canvas, or select it to drop it in place. The For Each node is also available for running a step once per item in a collection. The Start node is not in the palette because it is created for you.

Connecting Nodes

Each node has connection handles on its edges. Drag from a node's output handle to another node's input handle to create a link, which sets the order in which steps run. A Condition node has two outputs, true and false, so you can branch the flow down separate paths.

Editing a Node

Select a node on the canvas to open its editor. Every node has a Name, and script, AI, and Agent nodes expose their own settings such as timeout, retry count, and parameters. For the full set of fields and how each node behaves, see the Node reference articles. From a node's editor you can also use Test node to try that node on its own, then Save changes or Cancel.

Saving Your Draft

Select Save changes in the toolbar to save your work as a draft and return to the Workflows list. A draft stays editable; publishing it creates a read-only version that can then be deployed and run. For how versions work, see the article on workflow versions.