Creating Workflows

Strongly.ai provides two methods for creating workflows: the STAN AI assistant, which builds workflows conversationally through natural language, and the visual workflow builder, which provides a drag-and-drop canvas interface. Both methods produce the same workflow structure and can be used interchangeably -- a workflow created by STAN can be edited in the visual builder, and vice versa.

Method 1: STAN AI Assistant (MCP)

STAN is an AI-powered workflow builder integrated into the platform. It uses the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to discover available nodes, create workflows, add and configure nodes, connect them, and save or deploy the result -- all through conversational interaction.

Starting a Conversation

1. Open the STAN assistant panel from the platform interface
2. Describe the workflow you want to build in natural language
3. STAN will create the workflow step by step, confirming each action

How STAN Builds Workflows

STAN follows a structured process using MCP tools:

1. Discover nodes -- STAN checks the available node catalog to find the right node types for your use case. It validates each node type before adding it.
2. Create the workflow -- create_workflow initializes a new workflow with a name and description.
3. Add nodes -- add_node adds each node to the workflow canvas, using exact node types from the catalog (e.g., webhook, s3, pdf-parser, ai-gateway).
4. Connect nodes -- connect_nodes creates data flow connections between nodes using source and target port names.
5. Configure nodes -- configure_node sets node-specific settings. STAN uses service discovery tools to find your available AI models, add-ons, and data sources before configuring nodes that require them.
6. Set input mappings -- set_input_mapping maps data from one node's output to another node's input using JSONPath syntax.
7. Validate and save -- validate_workflow checks for issues, then finalize_workflow saves and optionally deploys the workflow.

STAN MCP Tools Reference

The following tools are available to STAN during workflow creation:

Node Discovery

Tool	Description
validate_node_type	Verify a node type exists before adding it. Returns suggestions if not found.
search_nodes	Search for nodes by keyword or category. Categories include: triggers, sources, transform, ai, evaluation, memory, agents, control-flow, destinations, tools, utilities.
get_node_schema	Get the full configuration schema for a node type, including input/output definitions and available config fields.

Workflow Management

Tool	Description
create_workflow	Create a new empty workflow with a name (max 18 characters) and description. Returns a workflowId.
rename_workflow	Rename an existing workflow.
save_workflow	Save workflow changes without deploying.
finalize_workflow	Save and optionally deploy. Pass deploy: true to make the workflow active.

Node Management

Tool	Description
add_node	Add a node to the workflow by its type (e.g., webhook, ai-gateway). Returns a nodeId.
remove_node	Remove a node and all its connections.
configure_node	Update a node's configuration. Only fields defined in the node's editor schema are accepted; unknown fields are rejected.
set_input_mapping	Map data between nodes using JSONPath expressions.
move_node	Reposition a node on the canvas.

Connections

Tool	Description
connect_nodes	Create a connection from a source node's output port to a target node's input port.
disconnect_nodes	Remove a connection between two nodes.

Workflow State and Testing

Tool	Description
get_workflow_summary	View the current workflow state including all nodes and connections.
validate_workflow	Check for issues: missing trigger nodes, disconnected nodes, missing required configuration.
test_workflow	Run a test execution with optional sample inputs. Returns an execution ID.
get_execution_status	Check execution progress and node statuses.
get_node_output	Get the output data from a specific node in an execution.
stop_execution	Stop a running execution and clean up resources.

Service Discovery

Tool	Description
list_user_models	List available AI models. Required before configuring ai-gateway nodes.
list_user_addons	List managed add-ons (databases, caches). Required before configuring nodes with connectionType: "addon".
list_user_datasources	List external data source connections. Required before configuring nodes with connectionType: "datasource".

Layout

Tool	Description
auto_layout	Automatically arrange all nodes in a left-to-right DAG layout.

Example STAN Conversation

User: "Build a workflow that reads PDFs from S3 and extracts text"

STAN: I'll create that workflow for you. Let me set it up step by step.

1. Creating workflow "S3 PDF Extract"...
2. Adding S3 source node...
3. Adding PDF Parser node...
4. Connecting S3 Source -> PDF Parser...
5. Let me check your available S3 data sources...
   [calls list_user_datasources("s3")]
6. Configuring S3 source with your data source...
7. Workflow saved! View at /workflow-builder/<id>

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Method 2: Visual Workflow Builder

The visual builder provides a canvas-based interface for assembling workflows by hand.

Step 1: Create a New Workflow

1. Click Workflows in the main navigation
2. Click Create Workflow
3. Enter a workflow name and optional description
4. You are taken to the visual workflow builder canvas

The builder interface includes:

• A canvas for positioning and connecting nodes
• A node palette on the left listing available node types by category
• A configuration panel on the right for editing node settings
• A toolbar with save, validate, deploy, and test options

Step 2: Add Nodes

From the node palette, select a node type and add it to the canvas. Node categories include:

Category	Examples
Triggers	Webhook, Schedule, REST API, Form
Sources	S3, MySQL Source, PostgreSQL Source, MongoDB Source, REST API
Transform	Code, Filter, Map, Merge, Router
AI	AI Gateway, Entity Extraction, React Agent
Control Flow	Switch-Case, Loop, Parallel Branch
Destinations	S3, MongoDB Dest, PostgreSQL Dest, Webhook Response, Email
Tools	MCP servers, external tool integrations
Utilities	Various helper nodes

Every workflow should begin with at least one trigger node that determines how the workflow is initiated (HTTP request, scheduled interval, form submission, etc.).

Step 3: Connect Nodes

Connect nodes to define the data flow:

1. Click on the output port (right side) of a source node
2. Drag to the input port (left side) of a target node
3. Release to create the connection

Connections have labeled ports. The default ports are output and input, but some nodes expose additional ports:

• Switch-Case nodes have multiple output ports for each branch
• Parallel Branch nodes distribute to multiple paths
• AI Agent nodes may have ai and tools ports

Layout

After connecting nodes, use the Auto Layout button in the toolbar to arrange all nodes in a clean left-to-right flow. STAN's auto_layout tool does the same thing programmatically.

Step 4: Configure Nodes

Click any node to open its configuration panel. Configuration options vary by node type.

Node Configuration Structure

Each node has a definition from the node catalog. The definition includes:

• Type -- The node type identifier (e.g., ai-gateway, pdf-parser, mysql-source)
• Label -- Display name shown on the canvas
• Category -- The functional category
• Editor config fields -- The available configuration fields with types, defaults, and validation rules
• Default data -- Default configuration values from the node definition
• Input/Output definitions -- Schema describing what data the node accepts and produces

When you configure a node, the configuration is stored in the node's data object. The final configuration is determined by a merge order:

default_config (from node definition) -> node_data -> node_config (user settings win)

This means user-provided settings always take precedence over defaults.

Common Configuration Examples

AI Gateway Node

{
  "model": "<model_id from list_user_models>",
  "defaultTemperature": 0.7,
  "defaultMaxTokens": 1000,
  "defaultSystemPrompt": "You are a helpful assistant",
  "defaultUserPrompt": "Analyze the following data:"
}

MySQL Source Node

{
  "connectionType": "addon",
  "addonId": "<addon_id from list_user_addons>",
  "query": "SELECT * FROM customers WHERE active = 1",
  "limit": 1000
}

S3 Source Node

{
  "dataSourceId": "<datasource_id from list_user_datasources>",
  "operation": "download",
  "prefix": "invoices/2025/",
  "maxFiles": 100
}

REST API Node

{
  "url": "https://api.example.com/data",
  "method": "GET",
  "timeout": 30,
  "authType": "bearer",
  "authConfig": { "token": "..." }
}

Error Handling

Nodes support a continueOnError flag that allows the workflow to continue executing subsequent nodes even if the current node fails. This is the only error handling mechanism at the node level -- there are no per-node fallback values, error notification settings, or retry configuration beyond the workflow-level settings.

Workflow-level settings include:

• timeout -- Maximum execution time in milliseconds (default: 300,000 ms / 5 minutes)
• retryAttempts -- Number of retry attempts (default: 3)
• logLevel -- Logging verbosity (info, debug, error)

Step 5: Set Input Mappings

Input mappings define how data flows from one node's output to another node's input. Mappings use JSONPath syntax to reference fields from upstream node outputs.

JSONPath Syntax

Mappings are stored in a node's inputMappings field as key-value pairs where:

• The key is the input field name on the target node
• The value is a JSONPath expression referencing a source node's output

{
  "inputMappings": {
    "text": "$.output.rows",
    "metadata": "$.output.metadata.count",
    "filename": "$.output.files[0].name"
  }
}

The JSONPath expressions reference the output data structure of connected upstream nodes. The $ symbol represents the root of the upstream node's output object.

warning

The platform does not use template variable syntax like {{ nodeName.field }}. All data flow between nodes is configured through inputMappings with JSONPath expressions, or by using the set_input_mapping MCP tool.

Step 6: Validate and Save

Before saving, validate the workflow to check for issues:

Validation checks include:

• At least one trigger node exists
• All non-trigger nodes are connected
• Required configuration fields are populated

Save process:

When a workflow is saved (via the Save button or workflows.update method), the following steps occur:

1. Execution data stripped -- Output data, status fields, and progress indicators from any previous test runs are removed from nodes
2. Node references normalized -- Each node's _id and templateId are resolved against the node catalog to ensure they reference the correct system node definitions
3. Configuration merged -- Component configurations are automatically merged into an enhanced workflow definition used at execution time
4. Scopes computed -- For control flow nodes (loops, switch-case, parallel branches), scope boundaries are calculated automatically from nodes and connections. Scopes are stored in the workflow document and used at execution time
5. Version incremented -- The workflow version number is incremented on each update
6. Timestamp updated -- The lastUpdated field is set to the current time
7. Workflow persisted -- The workflow document is saved to MongoDB

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Workflow Data Model

A workflow document contains the following fields:

Field	Type	Description
name	String	Workflow name (max 18 characters for STAN-created workflows)
description	String	Description of what the workflow does
status	String	Current status: draft, saved, active, paused, archived
nodes	Array	List of node instances with their configuration
connections	Array	List of connections between nodes
scopes	Object	Pre-computed control flow scope boundaries
tags	Array	Tags for categorization and filtering
settings	Object	Workflow-level settings (timeout, retryAttempts, logLevel)
version	Number	Auto-incremented version number
ownerId	String	User ID of the workflow owner
organizationId	String	Organization ID for multi-tenant isolation
sharedWith	Array	List of user IDs the workflow is shared with
isTemplate	Boolean	Whether this workflow is a template
isPublic	Boolean	Whether this workflow is publicly visible
createdAt	Date	Creation timestamp
lastUpdated	Date	Last modification timestamp

Node Structure

Each node in the nodes array has:

Field	Type	Description
id	String	Unique instance ID (e.g., webhook-abc123)
type	String	Node type from the catalog (e.g., webhook, ai-gateway)
category	String	Node category (e.g., triggers, ai, sources)
label	String	Display name on the canvas
icon	String	Icon identifier
color	String	Node color on the canvas
position	Object	Canvas position with x and y coordinates
data	Object	Node configuration including inputMappings

Connection Structure

Each connection in the connections array has:

Field	Type	Description
id	String	Connection ID (format: sourceNodeId-targetNodeId)
source	String	Source node instance ID
target	String	Target node instance ID
sourcePort	String	Output port name (default: output)
targetPort	String	Input port name (default: input)

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Execution Order

The execution order of nodes is determined automatically based on the connections between them. Nodes execute after all their upstream dependencies have completed. There is no manual dependency configuration -- the graph structure defined by connections is the sole determinant of execution order.

For control flow nodes:

• Switch-Case routes data to one or more branches based on conditions. Inactive branches are automatically detected, and downstream nodes on inactive branches are skipped.
• Loop nodes iterate over arrays, executing their scoped child nodes for each item.
• Parallel Branch nodes execute multiple paths concurrently.

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Common Workflow Patterns

Data Retrieval and Processing

Webhook -> REST API Source -> AI Gateway -> Webhook Response

Document Processing

S3 Source -> PDF Parser -> AI Gateway (Entity Extraction) -> MongoDB Dest

Conditional Routing

Webhook -> Switch-Case -> [Branch A] -> Email
                       -> [Branch B] -> Slack
                       -> [Default]  -> Log

Database ETL with Per-Row Processing

Schedule -> PostgreSQL Source -> Loop -> AI Gateway -> MongoDB Dest

Parallel API Aggregation

Webhook -> Parallel Branch -> REST API 1 -> Merge -> Webhook Response
                           -> REST API 2 ->

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Best Practices

Naming

• Use descriptive workflow names that convey purpose (e.g., "Invoice Processor" not "Workflow 1")
• Workflow names are limited to 18 characters when created through STAN

Service Discovery

• Always use list_user_models, list_user_addons, or list_user_datasources before configuring nodes that connect to external services
• This ensures you reference valid, active service connections

Configuration Validation

• The configure_node tool validates fields against the node's editor schema and rejects unknown fields
• Use get_node_schema to understand what fields are available before configuring

Testing

• Use test_workflow or the Test Run button to execute the workflow with sample data before deploying
• Use get_execution_status and get_node_output to inspect results and debug issues

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Next Steps

• Learn about available node types
• Configure workflow triggers
• Test your workflows
• Deploy to production