What Are Workflows?
Workflows in PropellerDeck are visual, node-based AI automation pipelines. Instead of a single AI agent handling everything in one conversation, a Workflow breaks complex tasks into a series of connected steps — each step handled by a specialized node.
How Workflows Are Structured
Every Workflow follows a simple pattern: input → processing → output. Data enters the workflow, passes through one or more processing nodes, and produces a final result. You can see this flow visually on the canvas, where nodes appear as blocks and connections appear as lines between them.
What Is a Node?
Each node in a Workflow is a single step that performs a specific role:
- AI Agent nodes use reasoning and language understanding to handle open-ended tasks
- Function nodes run deterministic code for data transformation or API calls
- Decision nodes branch the flow based on conditions in your data
- Human nodes pause execution to wait for a person to review or approve
- System nodes mark the entry and exit points of the workflow
For a full breakdown of every node type, see Node Types.
Why Use Workflows Instead of a Single Agent?
Workflows let you divide complex problems into specialized roles. A customer service pipeline might classify an inquiry, route it to the right department, and generate a tailored response — each handled by a different node. This produces more reliable, auditable results than asking one agent to do everything at once.
To build your first Workflow, see Creating a Workflow.