Write a workflow
Choose when a workflow runs, write the job as a brief, and write the checklist each run is held to.
A workflow is a job written in plain words that Kavela runs again and again. Kavela draws the steps from your text, runs them in your tools and checks each run against the workflow's checklist.
Triggers
| Trigger | Runs |
|---|---|
| Schedule | At set times, for example every weekday at 9 |
| Event | When another service sends an event, when data arrives at the workflow's address, or once for each new item Kav finds in an app it checks |
| Manual | When you press Run |
The brief
Name the source, the rule for choosing, the limits, the output and where it goes. The HN AI agents TLDR workflow:
Read the front page of news.ycombinator.com. From those front-page posts, pick the 3 that are most relevant to AI agents. Skip any post older than 24 hours. Then write a 5-line TLDR to reports/hn-ai-tldr.md, one line per point, with each post's link. Overwrite the file each run so it always holds the latest TLDR. Report back which 3 posts were picked and the 5 lines written.
Specific risks
Name the risk you want checked and when it should be checked:
Every time a pull request merges to main, check that sign-up still works end to end.
A specific check gives the reviewer something it can verify on every run.
The checklist
Write each line as a fact the reviewer can verify. A checklist holds up to 12 lines. The TLDR workflow's checklist:
- reports/hn-ai-tldr.md exists and contains a 5-line TLDR dated today
- The TLDR covers exactly 3 posts and each one has its news.ycombinator.com link
- The 3 posts were actually on the news.ycombinator.com front page and are about AI agents
Failed checks
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| A run misses a line | The work goes back to the agent with the gap |
| Three attempts miss | Kav tells you what is missing |
| A line fails in two runs of the same version | You get an alert for that line |
Versions
Describe a change in plain words and Kav updates the workflow. Each change creates a new version with its own pass rate. Kavela compares two versions once each has 10 checked runs.
Save a job as a workflow
When you ask for the same job a day or more after it was first finished, Kav offers to save it as a workflow, including your corrections.