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Quickstart

What you will build

This quickstart builds a minimal but realistic pipeline:

Buffer -> Conversation -> Writer

It demonstrates the core mechanics you will reuse in larger workflows:

  • entry readiness
  • slot references ($1)
  • deterministic routing
  • explicit output boundary via Writer

Step 1: Create a workspace and network

  1. Create or open a workspace.
  2. Create a new network tab (for example quickstart-summarizer).
  3. Confirm your canvas is empty before placing nodes.

Step 2: Place nodes in left-to-right order

Add three nodes from the node panel:

  1. Buffer (entry)
  2. Conversation (model step)
  3. Writer (output boundary)

Keep layout simple and linear for first run debugging.

Step 3: Configure Buffer as entry

Paste or type input text into Buffer content.

This gives the run an initial payload so the first node can transition into a Ready/executable state for cycle progression.

Important requirement:

  • In any network, the starting node must be in Ready state for execution to begin.
  • If the entry node is not Ready, pressing Run will not start propagation.

Step 4: Configure Conversation

Set:

  • Variant/model: your configured model target
  • Instructions: You are a concise summarizer. Return a 3-sentence summary.
  • Messages: one User message with content $1

$1 means "take whatever arrives on input slot 1 at runtime."

Step 5: Configure Writer

For a local downloadable output:

  • Variant: Raw
  • Path: ./summary.txt
  • Template: optional (leave empty to write slot 1 directly)

Why ./ matters:

  • Paths with ./ trigger browser download behavior.
  • Without ./, behavior follows directory-handle or virtual-file rules.

Step 6: Connect routes

  1. Hover Buffer, press 1, click Conversation.
  2. Hover Conversation, press 1, click Writer.

You now have two data edges from slot 1 to slot 1.

Remember:

  • Keyboard 1 is slot 1.
  • Keyboard 0 is bulk connect, not slot zero.
  • In Code node APIs, slot 1 would be inputs.get(0).

Step 7: Run and observe

Press Command + Enter (or click Run).

Observe logs by cycle:

  1. Buffer routes payload to Conversation.
  2. Conversation executes and produces output.
  3. Conversation output routes to Writer.
  4. Writer executes and emits file output.

If no node becomes eligible, check entry readiness first (Buffer content, route wiring, and flags).

Common first-run pitfalls

  1. Empty Buffer input, so first step never becomes eligible.
  2. Wrong slot references ($2 while only slot 1 is populated).
  3. Writer path missing ./ when expecting direct download.
  4. Optional flags enabled too early, allowing partial-context execution.
  5. Activated flag enabled without activation edges.

Make it production-strong in 5 minutes

After first success, add these hardening moves:

  1. Add Decision gate between Conversation and Writer for quality threshold checks.
  2. Add retry bound (Max) for controlled refinement loops.
  3. Add structured schema output if downstream logic depends on fields.
  4. Route low-confidence output to review branch instead of direct write.

Next docs to read