Aria can build a workflow for you and keep refining it for the whole conversation. Switch the chat to Build, say what to automate, then keep asking for changes (“also post it to Slack”). Every change is shown in the chat and can be undone.
Chat or Build
Section titled “Chat or Build”The composer has a Chat | Build switch. It is per conversation and stays where you leave it.
| Mode | What your messages do |
|---|---|
| Chat | Aria answers. Nothing is built. |
| Build | Every message changes the workflow this chat is about. |
Press ⌥↵ (Alt+Enter) instead of Enter to send one message the other way: just ask in Build, build this once in Chat. The mode doesn’t change. The composer shows the hint under the box, and in Build it gets a highlighted ring.
You can also type /build at the start of a message to build once while in Chat.
In Build, obvious questions (“Why did you add a filter?”) are answered without touching the workflow. The reply says Looked like a question · no changes, with Apply as a change if you did mean it as an edit. Messages that start like an edit (“Also add a delay”) are built.
Which workflow a chat builds
Section titled “Which workflow a chat builds”In Build, the chat is bound to one workflow. The first time you turn Build on:
- With nothing in the chat yet, Aria builds a new workflow when you send your first message.
- Otherwise, Build which workflow? opens:
| Choice | What it does |
|---|---|
| In this chat | Continue a workflow already in this conversation. |
| New workflow | Start a fresh one. |
| Your workflows | Search your saved workflows (Active or Inactive) and improve one. |
The header shows the workflow’s name as a pill. Click it to open Build which workflow? and pick another workflow (your other drafts in this chat are kept), New workflow, or Stop building to switch back to Chat.
The home cards help you start: Automate something turns on Build for this chat, and Improve one of my workflows opens the picker on Your workflows.
While it builds
Section titled “While it builds”Aria builds with the whole conversation so far, so details you gave a few messages earlier (“only invoices over €500”) are taken into account.
A Building your workflow card shows each stage as it runs, with its time: Understand your request, Look for similar workflows, Choose an approach, Write the workflow and Check it’s valid (plus Fixing the problems when the check finds something). When it is done, the card folds into a line such as Built in 0:14 · 5 stages; click it to see the stages again.
The preview draws the workflow as it is written. Steps after an IF or Switch are laid out in side-by-side lanes, one per branch, in the order of the node’s outputs, and each branch is wired to the right output.
Stop on the card really stops the build: the model call in progress is cancelled and no more requests go to the model, so a stopped build costs nothing further. A Build stopped receipt stays in the chat with the stages that ran, Nothing was changed, Build again and Edit request.
Settings to check
Section titled “Settings to check”When the new workflow needs something from you before it can run — a credential, a sheet ID, a channel — a card lists N settings to check before it runs, one row per step. Click a row to open the preview on that step. The card also says when connections were fixed automatically.
Changes, undo and versions
Section titled “Changes, undo and versions”Each build reply ends with a change chip, such as Invoice saver · v3 · +1 step. It counts steps added, changed and removed since the previous version.
- View changes opens the preview with the differences highlighted.
- Undo reverts the latest change only, and goes back one version. Older changes can’t be undone from the chip.
- Keep building <name> appears after a one-off build made in Chat: it turns Build on for that workflow.
- Review & save appears when the workflow can be saved (see below).
If a message produces nothing usable, no version is added.
Improving an existing workflow
Section titled “Improving an existing workflow”Pick a saved workflow in the picker, or choose Improve with Aria in a workflow’s row menu in the Workflows list. Aria opens the most recent chat about that workflow, or starts a new one with Build on.
Changes to a saved workflow are staged in the chat; the workflow itself is untouched. A banner reminds you: N unsaved changes — <name> still runs the saved version. with Discard and Review & save.
Review & save lists what changed and asks Save changes to <name>?:
- Save into <name> updates the saved workflow.
- Save as a new workflow keeps the original as it is and saves the result as a copy; the chat then builds the copy.
Discard throws away the staged changes and goes back to the saved version.
A workflow built from scratch is saved with the usual save dialog. After that, the chat remembers it, so saving again updates it instead of creating another one.
Mentioning another workflow
Section titled “Mentioning another workflow”Type @ and pick a workflow to bring it into one message. A chip appears above the box, <name> · reference, where you choose its role:
| Role | What Aria does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Use as reference | Reads it and borrows from it. It isn’t changed. | “Build a weekly report like @invoice-saver” |
| Change it | Applies one change to that workflow, staged as above. Your current workflow stays the target. | “@invoice-saver also save a copy to Drive” |
| New workflow from it | Copies it into a new workflow (named “<name> (copy)”), turns Build on for it and applies the rest of your message. | “Make a version of @invoice-saver for receipts” |
| Ask about it | Answers questions about it. No changes. | “What does @invoice-saver do with failed rows?” |
Aria picks a role from your wording and the mode, and a hint under the box says what will happen. Your choice in the chip always wins. Mention one workflow per message.
You can still @-mention agents and teams in Chat as before.
Where it works
Section titled “Where it works”- Aria page and the side panel — full support, including the workflow pill, banner and Review & save.
- Canvas dock and the notch — the same Chat | Build switch and ⌥↵. Canvas dock chats belong to their workflow: see Canvas dock chats.
Canvas dock chats
Section titled “Canvas dock chats”The Aria dock in the canvas saves its chats with the workflow you have open:
- Close the canvas and come back later: the last chat reopens where you left it.
- The Saved chats button (a clock with a count) in the dock header lists this workflow’s chats. Click one to switch to it, or use the bin to delete it. New chat starts another one. All in Memory → opens the Memory page.
- Dock chats are listed on the Memory page under Canvas dock, not in Aria’s chat list.
- When you delete the workflow, its dock chats are offered for deletion with it.
A change the dock was proposing but you hadn’t kept yet is not saved with the chat: keep or discard it before you leave.