chain-studio/assets/docs/flows.md
flemming-it 7ff4fda2a3
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refactor(brand): rename F∆I -> Ch∆In + hub binary fai -> chain
Studio follows the platform rename: product branding F∆I -> Ch∆In in UI
strings, command examples fai -> chain, and — critically — the spawned
hub binary path ~/.fai/bin/fai -> ~/.fai/bin/chain so Studio launches
the renamed binary. The fai_* Dart identifiers (FaiLog, widget files,
the generated SDK) stay = vendor/internal namespace. flutter analyze:
no issues.

Signed-off-by: flemming-it <stefan.a.flemming@googlemail.com>
2026-06-15 16:22:22 +02:00

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# Flow composition
A flow is a YAML file with three top-level keys: `inputs:`,
`steps:`, `outputs:`. Read top to bottom, it tells the hub
what kind of inputs to accept, which modules to call in what
order, and what to surface as the final result.
## Smallest possible flow
```yaml
name: hello
description: Echo a name back as a greeting.
inputs:
name:
type: text
steps:
- id: greet
module: debug.echo
inputs:
payload: "Hello, {{ inputs.name }}"
outputs:
greeting: "{{ steps.greet.outputs.payload }}"
```
`chain run flows/hello.yaml --input name=World` produces:
```json
{ "greeting": "Hello, World" }
```
## Real-world example: extract → summarize
The bundled `flows/extract-summarize.yaml` chains two modules:
```yaml
steps:
- id: extract
module: text.extract
inputs:
document: "{{ inputs.file }}"
- id: summarize
module: text.summarize
inputs:
text: "{{ steps.extract.outputs.text }}"
style: "three bullet points"
```
The `{{ steps.extract.outputs.text }}` template plumbs the
output of one step into the next. The flow engine type-coerces
JSON / FileRef / Text per the destination module's manifest, so
you don't need explicit conversion steps.
## Templating reference (short)
| Expression | Resolves to |
|------------------------------------|----------------------------|
| `{{ inputs.X }}` | input named X |
| `{{ steps.Y.outputs.Z }}` | output Z of step Y |
| `{{ env.OPENAI_API_KEY }}` | env var (must be declared) |
| `{{ now }}` | ISO-8601 UTC timestamp |
| `{{ flow.execution_id }}` | per-run id (audit-log key) |
## Audit posture
Every step emits four events:
- `step.started` — module name, version, manifest hash
- `step.completed` — duration, output size, well-known
fields auto-elevated (`model_digest`, `engine`, …)
- `step.failed` — error name + message
- `flow.completed` — sum of step durations, total events
All hash-chained into the same audit log. See the **Audit-log**
explainer for the chain mechanics.
## What you'll see in this app
- **Flows page**: list of saved flows under `~/.fai/data/flows/`.
Click `Run`, fill any required inputs, watch the result.
- **Audit page**: per-step events appear within seconds of a
flow finishing. Filter on `flow.` to see only flow-level
rows.
- **Store**: any installed module shows up as available for
`module:` in a flow YAML. Synthetic federated entries
(`mcp.<server>.<tool>`, `n8n.<endpoint>.<workflow>`) work
the same way.