Building Workflows

Create custom automation apps with our visual workflow builder

Getting started as a builder

Building workflows in Nonlinear lets you create custom automation apps that your entire team can use. Whether you’re automating submittal reviews, RFI processing, or spec analysis, you’ll use our drag-and-drop interface to connect nodes into complete workflows.

Understanding workflow tabs

Every workflow has three main tabs that serve different purposes:

Preview

This view lets you run a workflow through the web app. It simplifies all the complexity of the underlying automation logic down to the inputs and outputs.

Important: The inputs in the preview come from any node properties on the nodes in the workflow editor that are left empty or disconnected.

Editor

This is where the workflow logic lives. Here you can:

• Drag and drop nodes onto the canvas
• Connect edges between nodes to create automation flows
• Configure individual node settings
• Build the complete automation logic

Executions

Displays all past runs of your workflow along with the state of the workflow editor at various points in time. This is valuable for:

• Debugging workflow issues
• Comparing results across different workflow versions
• Understanding how changes affect performance
• Tracking usage patterns

Workflow requirements

Every functional workflow must:

• Have only one output

Without this, your workflow cannot run in the Preview tab.

Create your first workflow

1. Start a new workflow

   Navigate to our app at www.nonlinear.build, sign in, and select Create New Workflow.

2. Add nodes

   Drag a node, like the Large Language Model Node, onto the canvas.

3. Fill in node properties

   Fill in node properties that the end user should not define themselves like the System Prompt and Model

4. Test and publish

   Run your workflow in the Preview tab with sample data, then publish it for your team to use by switching the workflow type from Private to Organization.

Learning from community workflows

Tip: When you import workflows from our community, switch to the Editor tab to see how they’re built. This is an excellent way to:

• Learn workflow design patterns
• Understand how nodes are connected
• Get inspiration for your own automations
• See best practices in action

Debugging workflows

• Run a simple version of your workflow to observe behavior
• Check that required inputs are connected and configured
• Review error messages on failed executions in the Executions tab

Best practices

• Logical grouping: Organize related steps visually on the canvas
• Test thoroughly: Try edge cases and different input types before publishing