Canvas

The canvas is where you build a workflow - the top bar, the left rail, moving around, notes and headings.

The canvas is the workspace where you build a workflow. It shows every neuron and the connections between them, with a top bar across the top, a rail of sections on the left, and view controls in the bottom right corner.

Neurons whose DO uses Steps or Code can only be edited in the new canvas; the old canvas shows "This neuron uses Code. Edit it in the new canvas." (or Steps) on their DO and runs them as usual.

Rename a workflow

The workflow's name sits at the left of the canvas top bar.

Click the workflow name in the top bar. It is a text field.
Type the new name and press Enter. The change saves by itself.

About this workflow

A short description helps you, and anyone you share the workflow with, see what it is for.

Open the Neurons section in the left rail.
Under ABOUT THIS WORKFLOW, click Add a description (or Edit description).
Say what the workflow does in one or two sentences.

Saving changes on the canvas

The canvas saves your changes as you work. The save state next to the workflow name shows where things stand:

Saving… while a change is on its way.
Saved when everything is saved.
Unsaved when a change has not been sent yet. Click Save to send it now. Save changes in the More menu does the same.
Not saved when a save failed. Click Retry.

If you try to leave the page while a change is still unsaved, your browser asks you to confirm.

Add to the canvas

The Add button in the canvas top bar adds one of four things:

Neuron: a new neuron with all five stages ready to set up.
Agent flow: an agent you published or purchased, placed in the workflow as one sealed neuron. See Agent flows.
Note: a sticky note to explain part of the canvas.
Heading: a large label to name an area of the canvas.

You can also double-click an empty spot on the canvas to add a neuron right there, or click the + beside a neuron to add the next neuron after it.

The top bar's Go to… and profile menus

Go to…: click the Neuron logo at the left of the canvas top bar to open Dashboard, All workflows, Agent Store or Usage.
Profile menu: click your name at the right of the top bar for your credit balance (Add more) and your account pages: Profile, Transactions, Connections and API keys, plus Sign out.

More in the canvas top bar holds the view and help options:

List view / Canvas view: switch between the canvas and a plain list of flows and neurons.
Collapse all neurons / Expand all neurons: fold every neuron card to a short summary, or open them all.
Export as PNG: save a picture of the canvas.
Hide notes / Show notes: hide or show notes and headings.
Auto-detect mouse or trackpad, Mouse: scroll zooms, Trackpad: scroll pans: choose how scrolling behaves.
Help and guides (on a phone only): opens the Help panel, with the canvas tours and Build it with me. On a computer, Help is in the left rail.
Documentation, Builder guide and Contact support.

Save changes also appears in More while a change is unsaved. To switch between light and dark, use the moon or sun button (Switch to dark mode / Switch to light mode) in the top bar.

The left rail sections

The left rail opens one section at a time beside the canvas. Click a section again to close it.

Neurons: flows and the neurons in them. Run, rename and reorder neurons here.
Cortex: ask how to use any feature. Answers come from the docs. See Cortex.
Docs: tables, docs and slides that belong to this workflow. See Documents.
Dashboards: the workflow's dashboards and the neurons that send to them. Create one here, or click one to open it. See Dashboards.
Memory: what the workflow knows and remembers between runs. See Memory.
Runs: every run of this workflow and what it cost.
Versions: saved versions of the workflow. Restore any of them.
Help: short tips, the canvas tours and Build it with me, with links to the docs.

To make a section panel wider, drag its right edge, or click Expand panel at the top for a wide panel and Restore panel size to go back. The panel keeps its width in this browser. On a narrow window or a phone it keeps its usual size.

Move around the canvas

Pan: drag an empty part of the canvas. With a trackpad, scroll with two fingers.
Zoom: pinch, or hold Ctrl and scroll, or press Ctrl (or Cmd) with + or -, or use Zoom in and Zoom out in the bottom-right view controls. Click the zoom percentage between them, or press Ctrl (or Cmd) and 0, to go back to normal size. The browser page itself does not zoom while you are on the canvas. While a tour is showing, the canvas does not zoom.
Fit all neurons: in the view controls, fits every neuron on screen.
Mini map: Show minimap / Hide minimap in the view controls toggles a small map of the whole canvas.
Move a neuron: drag its card anywhere. Neurons can't overlap.

Auto-collapse neurons

Auto-collapse keeps a large canvas tidy. Turn on Auto-collapse in the view controls: neurons open when you click them and fold back to a short summary when you click away. You can also fold or open a single neuron with the Collapse neuron / Expand neuron button on its header.

Undo and redo canvas changes

Use Undo and Redo in the view controls, or the keyboard: Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on a Mac) to undo, and Ctrl+Shift+Z (Shift+Cmd+Z) or Ctrl+Y to redo. Undo covers changes made on the canvas in this browser tab.

Notes and headings on the canvas

Notes and headings explain parts of the canvas. They never affect runs.

Click Add in the top bar, then Note or Heading. A heading is a large label; a note is a sticky note. It appears beside the selected neuron, or, if none is selected, beside the neuron nearest the middle of your view: to its right, or to the left, below or above when that spot is taken. It never covers a neuron or another note. With no neurons on the canvas, it appears in the middle of your view.
Type the text. Double-click a note later to edit it again.
Drag the note or heading to move it, even before you have typed anything. Notes and headings always sit above neurons, so a neuron never hides one.
A note or heading left empty stays while you click or drag it; click it to type. It is removed when you click somewhere else on the canvas while it is still empty.
Open Note options to pick a colour (Yellow, Purple, Blue or Green), point the note at a neuron (Point at a neuron), or Edit text. Click Delete note to remove it.

Flows on the canvas

A flow is every neuron joined by connections. The canvas draws a frame around each flow, and the Neurons section lists each flow with its neurons. Neurons that are not connected to anything are listed under NOT IN A FLOW. To make a flow, connect one neuron to another. See Connections.

Rename and reorder neurons in the Neurons section

Rename: double-click a neuron's name in the Neurons section, or choose Rename in its menu (Run and options). To rename a flow, double-click its name, such as "Flow 1", in the Neurons section, or click its name on the canvas, above the flow. Press Enter to save or Esc to cancel.
Reorder: drag a neuron up or down in the list.

The canvas on a phone

On a phone or a narrow screen the left rail becomes a bar at the bottom of the screen, and the top bar keeps Add, Run and More. For an easier read, choose List view in More: it lists flows and neurons, each with what starts it, what it takes in, what it makes and where it sends the result. Use Canvas to switch back, and Run to run. To take a tour or run Build it with me on a phone, open More and choose Help and guides. On a phone, Build it with me asks you to widen the window, so the tours are the way to learn there.

How many neurons a workflow can hold

A workflow can hold as many neurons as you need: there is no fixed limit on the number of neurons. Group them into connected flows so each chain stays clear, and so the workflow can be published.

Common problems

A published workflow's canvas is read-only

When a workflow is published to the Agent Store, its canvas is read-only. Open Publish in the top bar and choose Unpublish to edit to change it.

The canvas says Older version

Older version means you are viewing a saved version from the Versions section. Click Back to current to return to the live workflow, or Restore to make that version current.

Scrolling zooms when I want it to pan

Open More in the top bar and choose Trackpad: scroll pans. Choose Mouse: scroll zooms for the opposite.