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A Workflow chains steps into one automated process that always runs the same way: read a document, decide something about it, produce a result. Each step is a module you pick from a menu and configure in the editor, without code unless you want it. This section explains every module, how steps pass values to each other, and how you run, debug, test and publish the result. If you have never opened a Workflow, start with Your first Workflow. This section goes deeper.

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The running example

Every page in this section uses the same process, a contract routing Workflow:
  1. Extract Data (AI Module) reads a contract and returns the counterparty, the total value, the dates and a short summary.
  2. Route by value (Condition) checks the total value.
  3. If the value is above 100,000, Draft Escalation Note (AI Module) writes a note for the legal team. Otherwise, Approval Letter (Document Templater) fills a .docx template and generates the letter.
A second variant splits a long contract into pages and extracts each one with a Map, then merges the pieces with a Code Execution step.
The finished contract-routing Workflow in Craft, showing Extract Data, Route by value and the two branches

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Workflow, Canvas or Agent?

A Workflow can reuse an existing Canvas or Agent as one of its steps, so you can start with a Canvas and grow it into a Workflow later. See Key concepts for the full comparison.

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Anatomy of the Workflow page

The Workflow page has four experiences at the top: Craft, Debug, Test and Usage.
Workflow header with the experience selector, version button, Share and Publish
In Craft:
  • Left side: the steps. A new Workflow opens with the module picker. Each step is a card; hover the connector below a card and click + to add the next one. Clicking a step opens its configuration. A Condition opens branches side by side, and a Map shows the steps that run inside it.
  • Right side: Inputs and Run. The Inputs section is where you declare what the Workflow receives (Add Variable) and where you fill in values before a run. Below it, Run starts the Workflow, and the result of each step appears in the same pane when the run finishes, in the Preview and Debug tabs.
Craft experience with the module picker open on the left and the Inputs panel on the right
The header also holds the title, the version button (for example VER-3), Share, Publish and the … menu with Move to project, Connect via API, Execution, tags, credentials, rename, export and delete. The other experiences:
  • Debug lists every run of the Workflow, whatever started it (Craft, a Test case, a Workstation App, the API or a schedule), and lets you inspect each step of a run.
  • Test keeps your Test Cases and their results, like a Canvas.
  • Usage shows the executions of the published Workflow, when enabled for your Workspace.
Test is hidden when file storage is disabled for your Workspace, and Usage requires monitoring to be enabled. If you do not see them, contact your Tela team.

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The modules

The module picker groups modules in tabs: Everything, Modules, Resources, Templates and Actions.
Module picker with the Modules and Resources groups visible
The Templates tab inserts a ready-made Workflow template into your graph.
The picker shows a fixed list of modules. What differs between Workspaces is whether the Workflow feature itself is enabled.

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How a run flows

  1. You fill in the Inputs and click Run.
  2. Steps run in order. Each step receives the values it references: Inputs and the outputs of the steps before it. See Inputs and references.
  3. A Condition picks one branch; steps on the other branches are reported as Skipped.
  4. A Map runs its inner steps once per item, in parallel, and returns the list of results.
  5. The run ends at the last step of the path it took. That step’s output is the result of the run, and every step’s output stays available in the result pane, in Debug and through the API. See Outputs and results.
By default steps run one after another. Under … → Execution, Parallel execution lets independent steps run at the same time; steps that depend on each other’s data still run in order.

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Lifecycle: Draft, Project, publish, App and API

  • A Workflow created from the Dashboard starts as a Draft, visible only to you. You can build, run and test it fully as a Draft.
  • Move to project (from the … menu, or automatically asked when you click Publish) makes it visible to your team. This cannot be undone.
  • Publish creates a stable version and places it in an environment (Production by default). Apps, API calls and schedules use the published version, so you can keep editing without affecting them.
  • In the publish dialog, Deploy App creates a Workstation App where your team sends documents and reviews results. Connect via API gives you the ID and a snippet to run the Workflow from your systems.
See Running, testing and publishing for each of these steps.

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In this section

Inputs and references

Declare what the Workflow receives and pass values between steps with the @ menu

AI Module and Classifier

Prompt, model and Output Format per step; typed judgments with the Classifier

Conditions and branches

Route the run with cases, Else, Stop and Connect

Split, Crop and Map

Work page by page or document by document

Code Execution

Transform data with a small function, with credentials and libraries

Reusing Canvases, Agents and templates

Existing Canvas, Existing Agent and Document Templater

Outputs and results

What a run returns and where to read it: result pane, Debug, App, API, Test

Running, testing and publishing

Run, run one step, Debug, Test Cases, Publish, Deploy App, API and schedules