Guides

Guides are automation for procedures and runbooks. They execute a sequence of steps to accomplish a task—anything from password rotation to software upgrades to network configuration.

What Makes Guides Powerful

Like flows, guides can be:

• Fully automated — Every step executed by AI and tools
• Fully manual — Human performs each step, guide tracks progress
• Anywhere in between — Mix automated and manual steps as needed

The difference from flows is structure: flows branch based on diagnosis (triage → outcomes → remediation), while guides execute steps in sequence.

When to Use Guides

Guides are ideal for:

• Password rotation — Rotate credentials across multiple systems
• Software upgrades — Step through upgrade procedures
• Network configuration — Configure routers, switches, firewalls
• System integrations — Set up connections between systems
• Maintenance procedures — Scheduled maintenance tasks
• Onboarding processes — New team member setup
• Compliance workflows — Documented procedures with audit trail
• Any repeatable multi-step task

Browsing Guides

Navigate to Guides in the sidebar to see available guides.

Filtering

Filter guides by:

• My Guides — Guides you created
• Team Guides — Guides shared with your team
• Category — Group by topic or system
• Recent — Recently created or modified

Viewing Guide Details

Click a guide to see:

• Description and purpose
• Step overview
• Execution history
• Performance metrics

Running a Guide

From the Guides Page

1. Click a guide to view its details
2. Review the steps and purpose
3. Click Run to start execution
4. Provide any required input variables
5. Work through each step
6. Monitor automated steps or complete manual ones
7. Finish when all steps are done

From Chat

Ask the assistant to run a guide:

• "Execute the password rotation guide for production"
• "Run the network configuration guide"

The assistant starts the guide and tracks your progress.

During Execution

Automated Steps

When a step is automated:

1. The AI interprets what needs to be done
2. It selects and executes appropriate tools
3. Results are displayed
4. The guide advances automatically

You can configure automated steps to require confirmation before execution.

Manual Steps

When a step is manual:

• Instructions tell you what to do
• Command blocks provide copy-able commands (if applicable)
• You mark the step complete when done
• Add notes to record observations

Step Actions

For each step, you can:

• Complete — Mark the step as done
• Skip — Skip this step (with optional reason)
• Add Note — Record observations or issues

Progress Tracking

The guide view shows:

• Overall progress (steps completed / total)
• Time elapsed
• Current step highlighted
• Completed steps checked off
• Tool execution logs for automated steps

Creating Guides

Via Chat (Recommended)

Create guides through conversation:

1. Go to Chat
2. Describe your procedure:
   • "Create a guide for rotating database credentials"
   • "Build a runbook for the monthly maintenance window"
3. The AI generates structured steps based on:
   • Your description
   • Available tools
   • Knowledge base content
4. Review and refine through follow-up
5. The guide is saved as a draft for editing

Manually

Create guides from the editor:

1. Navigate to Guides
2. Click New
3. Enter title and description
4. Add steps one by one
5. Configure each step's automation level
6. Set up variables
7. Test and publish

See Guide Editor for detailed editor instructions.

Custom Agents and Guides

A powerful pattern: wrap a guide around a custom agent to extend the chat interface.

How It Works

1. Create a guide with the steps your agent should perform
2. Configure the guide's tools and automation
3. Create a custom agent that uses the guide
4. Users invoke the agent through natural conversation

Example: Database Admin Agent

1. Create a "Database Operations" guide with steps for:
   • Checking database status
   • Rotating credentials
   • Running backups
   • Clearing old data
2. Create a custom agent that uses this guide
3. Users can now say "rotate the database credentials" and the agent executes the appropriate steps

This makes it easy to add new capabilities without building custom integrations.

Guide Lifecycle

States

State	Description
Draft	Work in progress, not available for general use
Active	Published and available for team use
Archived	Deprecated, kept for historical reference

Ownership and Sharing

Every guide has an owner (the person who created it) and a sharing level that controls who can access it.

Sharing Levels

Level	Who Can View	Who Can Edit	Who Can Run
Personal	Only owner	Only owner	Only owner
Team	Your team members	Owner and team admins	Team members
Public	All users	Owner and admins	All users

Changing Sharing Settings

1. Open the guide's detail page
2. Click Settings or the sharing icon
3. Select the desired sharing level
4. Save

When to Use Each Level

Personal — Use for:

• Guides you're still developing
• Personal checklists and procedures
• Guides specific to your individual workflow

Team — Use for:

• Standard operating procedures for your team
• Runbooks for team-specific systems
• Guides that need team validation before wider release

Public — Use for:

• Organization-wide procedures
• Cross-team operational guides
• Onboarding and training materials

Permissions by Role

Action	Owner	Team Admin	Team Member	Other Users
View (Team/Public)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Public only
Run	Yes	Yes	Yes	Public only
Edit	Yes	Yes (Team)	No	No
Delete	Yes	No	No	No
Change sharing	Yes	No	No	No

Document Ownership

For critical operational guides, consider having team admins review and take ownership so the guide remains accessible if the original creator leaves.

Guides vs. Flows

Aspect	Guides	Flows
Structure	Sequential steps	Branching (triage → outcomes → remediation)
Automation	Fully manual to fully automated	Fully manual to fully automated
Decision Making	Steps execute in order	Triage determines which remediation path
Best For	Procedures, runbooks, repeatable tasks	Diagnosis, troubleshooting, root cause analysis

Choose guides when you know what needs to be done and want to execute steps in sequence.

Choose flows when you need to diagnose a situation first, and the remediation depends on what you discover.

Best Practices

Automate Where Possible

If a step can be automated, automate it. Manual steps are prone to errors and slow down execution.

Write for Clarity

Even automated steps should have clear descriptions. Future maintainers need to understand what each step does.

Use Variables

Parameterize guides with input variables. A single guide can work across environments, servers, or configurations.

Include Verification

After action steps, include verification steps to confirm success before moving on.

Test Your Guides

Run through the guide in a test environment to verify steps work correctly and in the right order.

Related Topics

• Guide Editor — Detailed editor guide
• Flows — Diagnostic automation
• Runs — Track guide executions
• Chat — Create guides through conversation