Build and edit agents on the canvas

The agent page shows every step of an agent on a canvas, with a sidebar on the right that always shows the node you select. To change steps, inputs, or outputs directly, switch the canvas into edit mode with Edit manually. You need edit access to the agent; people with view-only access see the canvas but no edit controls.

Canvas layout

The canvas shows the agent as a graph: the input node at the top, the steps in order, and the output nodes at the bottom.

Canvas: the node-and-edge graph of the agent. Use the zoom buttons or Fit graph to view to see the whole agent.
Sidebar: details for the selected node, or its editor while you are editing. Use the previous and next arrows at the top of the sidebar to move through the steps in order.

Enter and exit edit mode

The Edit button opens the agent in chat so you can describe changes. Use edit mode when you would rather change the steps yourself.

On the agent page, open the menu next to Edit and choose Edit manually.
Make your changes on the canvas and in the sidebar.
Click Save to apply them, or Cancel to discard them. Both buttons appear in the bar at the bottom of the page.

August checks the agent for problems before saving and shows the first issue it finds, for example a missing agent name.

Edit on the canvas

In edit mode, editing controls appear on the graph and on each step.

Add a step

Click the + button on any edge to insert a step between the two connected nodes. Give the step a Name, a Goal, and a type, then click Add step. Adding a step on a branch edge places it on that branch.

An agent with no steps shows Add your first step in the middle of the canvas.

Delete or reorder a step

Hover over a step to reveal its controls:

Click the X to delete the step.
Click the up or down arrow to move the step earlier or later in the flow.

You can also right-click a step and choose Add step after or Delete step.

Edit the agent name and description

In edit mode, the agent name and description above the canvas become text fields. Click either one to change it.

Select a node to edit it in the sidebar.

Input node: the documents, folders, playbooks, tabular reviews, and other agents applied to every run, plus Run questions for the person starting the run. Each question has a Question, an Answer type (File, Folder, Playbook, Tabular review, Agent, Multiple choice, Text, or Recipients), optional Help text, a Default answer, and a Required switch.
Step: Name, Goal, and type (Analyze, Create Artifact, Take action, Question, or Branch). Question steps add What to ask the person. Branch steps add How should it decide?, their Paths, and the Path rejoin behavior.
Output node: Output name, Format (Text, File, or Table), Description, and Comes from step. Click Add output to add another.

Question and Branch steps are explained in Agent Control Steps, and outputs in Agent output contracts and branch-specific outputs.

Control where branches rejoin

After a Branch step, the paths either merge back into one flow or stay separate. Set Path rejoin behavior on the Branch step:

Auto-detect shared step: August finds the first step the paths have in common and rejoins there. This is the default.
Rejoin at a step: choose the Rejoin step yourself.
Never rejoin: each path runs to its own end, usually with its own output.

When you open a run, the sidebar follows the run so you always see the step that matters:

A step waiting on human input comes first, so its reply box is visible right away.
Otherwise, the sidebar shows the step that is running, or the step where the run failed.
A finished run shows the output it produced.

Clicking any node overrides this and shows that node instead. Skipped or cancelled steps appear faded on the graph.