Playbooks
A playbook is the process your team follows for every job: an ordered list of steps, each run by a role on the team. You choose and edit it on the Force's Work tab.
Open the playbook
Open a Force and click the Work tab. The Playbook section has these buttons.
| Button | Who | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Versions | Everyone | Shows every version of the playbook |
| Save as template | Admin | Saves this playbook so any team can use it |
| Start from scratch | Admin | Replaces the playbook with one you write |
| Change template | Admin | Swaps in a ready-made playbook |
If the playbook cannot load you see "Couldn't load this team's playbook — Nothing has been changed or lost". Reload to try again. An empty playbook says to use Start from scratch.
Step kinds
Every step has a kind, which decides what it does.
| Step | What it does |
|---|---|
| Research (fan out to workers) | Sends the same read-only job to several members for independent answers |
| Synthesize | Combines the members' outputs into one working result |
| Review | Checks the result and can send it back for a limited number of revisions |
| Deliver | Performs the delivery action. It ends the run and is the only kind that can change things |
| Work | One member investigates and produces the step's work product |
| Decide | Sorts the work into the outcomes you declare so the flow can branch |
| Human | Pauses for a person to answer a structured question |
| Delegate | The team lead chooses which members handle the work |
| Coordinate | The team lead reconciles the work and decides what happens next |
| Present | The team lead packages the approved result for the requester |
| Parallel | Runs separate branches at the same time and collects the results |
Most kinds are linked to a role: manager, worker, synthesizer or critic. Deliver, Human, Delegate, Coordinate, Present and Parallel ignore the role. The default playbook is Managed Research Crew.
Read the overview
- The flow: each step's kind is shown as a pill with arrows. A Deliver step is highlighted. A turned-off step is struck through.
- Limits on the action steps: each Deliver or Parallel step shows Enforced or Not enforced, with its permanent limits or "No permanent limit". Every other step is read-only by design.
- Deliver switch: "Deliver the final result via an action step". Turning it off disables the Deliver step in place instead of deleting it. When on, give a member the Actor role.
- How to describe an incoming email to the team: write what incoming mail means, such as "Inbound operations timesheet — read the attachment and raise the invoice." Click Save framing ("Intake framing saved") or Reset. If empty, the team assumes every email is an accounts-payable vendor email.
- Max critique rounds: how many times a Review can send a draft back before it is accepted as it is. Click Save.
Edit the steps
Under The steps themselves you can change the structure. Admins only.
Add a step
Open Add a step
Click Add a step.
Choose the kind, role and position
Pick the kind, the role if it has one, and the position: At the end or Before step N. About this kind explains whether it ends the run or can act.
Screenshot placeholderScreenshot to add: The Add a step form with kind, role and position selectors. Add
Click Add. A toast says "Step added".
Reorder, change or remove
- Move earlier / Move later arrows reorder the steps. A move that sends a branch backwards asks "This sends a branch backwards" and explains the team will redo work. Choose Move it anyway if that is what you want.
- The kind menu changes a step's kind. A prompt, "Change step N to a different kind?", warns its settings and pinned guidance are cleared. Click Change the step. A toast says "Step changed".
- The trash icon (Remove step N) deletes a step after "Remove step N?". You cannot remove the last step ("A playbook needs at least one step"). If another step still sends work to it you see "This step can't be removed yet" with Repoint step N buttons.
- Step numbers keep gaps after a delete so that branches keep pointing at the right step.
Warnings you may see
| Warning | What to fix |
|---|---|
| A branch here jumps backwards | The team will repeat work. Intended loops are fine |
| A branch here sends the case back to its own step | It will repeat until the run fails |
| Step N (Deliver) ends the run, so every step after it never happens | Move Deliver last |
| No step gives this team any work to do | Add a Research or Work step |
| Delegate picks workers, but no later step runs them | Add a Research or Work step |
| This playbook never sends anything | Results come back to you. Add a Deliver step if you want it to act |
| Researchers are read-only | Information only |
Settings for each step
Click Edit on a step under Each step's guidance and settings.
| Kind | Settings |
|---|---|
| Human | Prompt. Who writes the wording: Use these words exactly, or Your team drafts the wording for each case. Options or Outcomes with a label and where each answer goes ("On this answer →"). When they reply in their own words (where free text goes). Also ask by email: addresses that may answer, which must be valid email addresses |
| Work | Focus: an optional hint |
| Deliver | Audience: Reply to sender, Escalate internally or Deliver. Follow-up rounds after approval: 0 to 3. Permanent limits |
| Decide | Outcomes, each with a name and a step to send the case to. If none of them clearly applies: a fallback outcome. Needs at least one outcome and a fallback or the step is skipped |
| Parallel | Branches, each with a member. Members must be distinct. Step-level Permanent limits. Require confirmation (advisory) |
| Review, Synthesize, Delegate, Coordinate, Present | No settings of their own, only guidance |
Written guidance is available on every kind. Pick a document from the team's shared knowledge and optionally a section and version. Badges tell you the state: Guidance, Guidance missing (the step will not run), Guidance out of date or Guidance not used here. If the team has no project, there is nothing to pin: "This team has no shared knowledge space yet". Click Save. It shows Saved.
Start from scratch
Open the dialog
Click Start from scratch. The dialog is titled "Start a playbook from scratch".
Describe it
Enter a Name (for example "Timesheet to invoice"), optionally What it is for, and How to describe an incoming email to the team.
Add steps
Click Add a step for each, choosing its kind and role, and reorder or remove them.
Create
Click Create playbook and confirm "Replace this team's playbook?". The old one is kept as an older version, and anything running finishes on it. A toast says "Playbook created". You then edit each step's settings.
Save as a template
Open the dialog
Click Save as template.
Fill it in
Enter a Template key (for example
timesheet_to_invoice_v1: 3 to 64 characters, starts with a letter, lowercase letters, digits and underscores only), a Name and a Description.Save
Click Save as template. If the key is taken, click Use "(key)_v2" instead. A toast says Saved as template "(key)".
Change template
Click Change template to see ready-made playbooks as cards with their steps and a description. The current one is marked Current. Choose one and confirm "Change playbook template?": it "replaces the current playbook and its per-step settings. This can't be undone." Click Change template. A toast says "Playbook template switched". You cannot do this while a job is running.
The platform includes templates such as Accounts Payable, News Analyzer, Onboarding, Managed Research Crew, Research Crew, Research & Deliver Crew and Triage Demo.
Versions
Versions lists each playbook version with In use now or Replaced, its number of steps, and whether it came from a template or was "written by hand". A line says how many cases still follow it.
Saving a change while a job is running creates a new version, and a banner says "Saved as version N" or "N case(s) are running". Click Got it.
Other limits to know
- The Work tab edits the Force's main playbook only.
- A step's role is chosen when you add it and cannot be changed later.
- A run stops with "step budget exceeded" if it takes far more steps than the playbook has, which protects against loops.
Back to Agent Force. To start work automatically, see Triggers and schedules.