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Agentic Workflowdocs
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use the app / chat and agents

Build and try an agent

Every tab of the agent builder, how Try it runs the real agent, and how an agent's look and eyes show what it is doing.

Open an agent from Agents to edit it. Changes save automatically.

Build an agent, step by step

Section titled “Build an agent, step by step”

Step 1:Start a blank agent

Open Agents & teams in the sidebar and click Blank agent. To start from a sentence or a template instead, see Create an agent.

Step 1, close-up of the app: Blank agent, outlined.Step 1, close-up of the app: Blank agent, outlined.Full screen: the whole screenshot for step 1
Blank agent
The Agents tab of Agents & teams: a Describe an agent box with a Create agent button, the card for Aria (Your assistant, On-device AI) with a Chat button, and four templates to start from: Chief of staff, Inbox triager, Price watcher and Study buddy. Import and Blank agent buttons are at the top right.The Agents tab of Agents & teams: a Describe an agent box with a Create agent button, the card for Aria (Your assistant, On-device AI) with a Chat button, and four templates to start from: Chief of staff, Inbox triager, Price watcher and Study buddy. Import and Blank agent buttons are at the top right.

Check: the builder opens on the Identity tab, for an agent called New agent.

Step 2:Name it

On Identity, enter a Name (its @handle follows) and a One-line role. Pick a look if you like.

Step 2, close-up of the app: Name, outlined.Step 2, close-up of the app: Name, outlined.Full screen: the whole screenshot for step 2
Name
The Identity tab of the agent builder for a new agent, Price checker: the look options (color, texture, eyes, accessory) above the Name, One-line role, Greeting and Conversation starters fields, with the builder tabs on the left and a preview of the agent in the list, a new chat and a team thread on the right.The Identity tab of the agent builder for a new agent, Price checker: the look options (color, texture, eyes, accessory) above the Name, One-line role, Greeting and Conversation starters fields, with the builder tabs on the left and a preview of the agent in the list, a new chat and a team thread on the right.

Check: the preview on the right shows the new name.

Step 3:Write its instructions

On Instructions, say what its job is, how to work and what to avoid. Insert variables like {today}, or click Improve with Aria.

Step 3, close-up of the app: Instructions, outlined.Step 3, close-up of the app: Instructions, outlined.Full screen: the whole screenshot for step 3
Instructions
The Instructions tab of the agent builder for Price checker: Write and Generate from a description, the insert chips {today}, {my name}, {current tab} and {memory}, Improve with Aria, and the instructions editor with Your job, How to work and Never sections. On the right, the Try it panel shows what is in effect (Same as Aria, Rules: Balanced, 25 steps) and a message box.The Instructions tab of the agent builder for Price checker: Write and Generate from a description, the insert chips {today}, {my name}, {current tab} and {memory}, Improve with Aria, and the instructions editor with Your job, How to work and Never sections. On the right, the Try it panel shows what is in effect (Same as Aria, Rules: Balanced, 25 steps) and a message box.

Check: the token count under the editor says the instructions fit the model.

Step 4:Choose its model

On Model, keep Same as Aria or pick an on-device, Ollama or cloud model, then set Creativity and Max steps per task.

Step 4, close-up of the app: Choose a model, outlined.Step 4, close-up of the app: Choose a model, outlined.Full screen: the whole screenshot for step 4
Choose a model
The Model tab of the agent builder for Price checker: Choose a model with Same as Aria selected and on-device models to download (Llama 3.2 1B and 3B Instruct), then Behaviour: Creativity, Max steps per task (25) and Fall back to on-device when offline.The Model tab of the agent builder for Price checker: Choose a model with Same as Aria selected and on-device models to download (Llama 3.2 1B and 3B Instruct), then Behaviour: Creativity, Max steps per task (25) and Fall back to on-device when offline.

Check: the Try it panel shows the model in its chips.

Step 5:Turn on its skills

On Skills, switch on what it may use: browser control, web search, workflows, on-device AI, teammates or MCP servers.

Step 5, close-up of the app: Turn a skill on, outlined.Step 5, close-up of the app: Turn a skill on, outlined.Full screen: the whole screenshot for step 5
Turn a skill on
The Skills tab of the agent builder for Price checker: switches for Browser control, Web search, Workflows, On-device AI (on, Allowed), Teammates and MCP servers. In the web app, Browser control and Web search say they need the AWFlow extension.The Skills tab of the agent builder for Price checker: switches for Browser control, Web search, Workflows, On-device AI (on, Allowed), Teammates and MCP servers. In the web app, Browser control and Web search say they need the AWFlow extension.

Check: the Skills tab shows the number of skills that are on.

Step 6:Try it

Send a message in the Try it panel on the right. Edits apply on your next message; changes save automatically.

Step 6, close-up of the app: Try it: message the agent, outlined.Step 6, close-up of the app: Try it: message the agent, outlined.Full screen: the whole screenshot for step 6
Try it: message the agent
The Instructions tab of the agent builder for Price checker: Write and Generate from a description, the insert chips {today}, {my name}, {current tab} and {memory}, Improve with Aria, and the instructions editor with Your job, How to work and Never sections. On the right, the Try it panel shows what is in effect (Same as Aria, Rules: Balanced, 25 steps) and a message box.The Instructions tab of the agent builder for Price checker: Write and Generate from a description, the insert chips {today}, {my name}, {current tab} and {memory}, Improve with Aria, and the instructions editor with Your job, How to work and Never sections. On the right, the Try it panel shows what is in effect (Same as Aria, Rules: Balanced, 25 steps) and a message box.

Check: the agent answers in the Try it panel, using your settings.

The builder tabs

Section titled “The builder tabs”
Tab What you set
Identity Its look, name, @handle, role, greeting and conversation starters. The preview shows how it looks in chat.
Instructions How it works and what it avoids. Use variables like {today}, {my name}, {current tab} and {memory}. Improve and Generate ask your model for help; earlier versions are kept.
Model Same as Aria or a specific on-device, Ollama (detected automatically when it is running) or cloud model, its creativity, max steps per answer, and whether to fall back to on-device when you’re offline.
Skills What it can do: Browser control, Web search, Workflows, On-device AI, Teammates, MCP servers. See Give it skills.
Knowledge The knowledge bases it uses in every chat, routine and team it joins, when to look things up, whether it shows sources or may search on its own, and Try it. See Knowledge for an agent.
Memory Whether it learns from chats, whether it also reads Aria’s memory, its suggested facts, and its memories: edit, forget, or share one with a team. See Assistant memory.
Rules What it does alone, what it asks about, and what it never does. See Browser control & safety.
Routines Run it on a schedule, when a page opens or changes, or record the steps once (Show it once). See Routines.

A cloud model needs a key in Settings › Providers: see All connections for your provider.

Try it

Section titled “Try it”

The right panel lets you Try it: chat with the agent as you edit, and on the Rules tab, Test a rule with a sentence like “click Reserve on booking.example”.

Try it runs the real agent: its model, skills, rules, approvals and max steps, exactly what a chat with it would use. A row of chips shows what is in effect (the model and where it runs, each skill, marked off when it can’t be used, the rules preset and the step limit). Edits apply on your next message.

You see the same work timeline, step limit card and approval receipts as in a chat, and a banner when a skill is off. Reset starts over with a fresh chat, tools and browser session.

Looks and living eyes

Section titled “Looks and living eyes”

Every agent is a character. On the Identity tab, pick its shape, color, texture, eyes and an accessory, or press Shuffle. The preview shows it at every size, and its eyes follow your pointer. New agents get a look that suits their job; press Try another look before creating one.

The eyes show what an agent is doing, wherever it appears:

Eyes Meaning
Blink and glance around Idle
Drift upward Thinking
Scan side to side Working: browsing or using a tool
Look at you and bounce Needs your ok
Happy squint and a hop Done
Worried brows Can’t: a step failed or a skill is unavailable
Closed Offline: its model isn’t ready

Aria’s look (orange, with sun rays) is fixed so you always recognize her. To calm the motion, go to Settings › Preferences › Agent animations: Lively, Calm (blinks and states only) or Off. Faces stay still when your system asks to reduce motion.

Ask Aria