Case Guide
In the Marketplace edition, one run of a workflow with registered agents placed is called a case. Each case holds its settings and artifacts as versions, and a review step decides by looking at those versions. This mechanism does not exist in the SaaS edition.
Starting a case
In a workflow with registered agents placed, the button at the top of the project screen is “Start case” rather than “Run now”. Press it and a screen for starting the case opens.
- For each placement, enter the parameters, connections and instruction files. Parameters left blank run with the values marked “Defaults”
- If needed, open “Advanced” and check “Environment passed to the Agent” and the settings files generated from the parameters. The environment variables are derived from the parameters and do not include Secret values or container settings
- Press “Start”. The agent on the first step starts
While required inputs that cannot be entered on the screen remain, it cannot start (“Required inputs cannot be entered on this screen”). This appears when a required input file is not bound under “Input bindings” in the step settings. Bind the output of a preceding step.
Only owners can start a case. Up to 3 cases can be in progress at once, counting those running and those awaiting review.
Cases can also be started from the external API and from time triggers. Those ways of starting cannot pass parameters, however. The case runs on the contract's defaults and the step settings alone (Trigger Guide).
The case screen
The case screen opens from “Case details” on a row in Workflow history, from “Case details” in a run record, or from “Open the case” on a review request. It has three tabs.
| Tab | What you see |
|---|---|
| Progress | Each step's agent, the number of attempts and the launch status. When awaiting review, the state of that review |
| Settings & files | The versions of the case settings, and the artifacts and files |
| Records | The audit record of this case. The run record for each step opens from Execution history |
Launch status
| Shown | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Waiting to launch | Waiting its turn to be launched |
| Launching | The launch has been requested from the runtime |
| Launched | The runtime has accepted the launch (this does not necessarily mean the agent has started working) |
| Launch failed | It could not be launched. The reason is given. The case ends there as failed |
| Cancelled | Because the case was cancelled, it was not launched, or the launched step was told to stop |
Settings versions
The case settings (each placement's parameters, connections and instruction files) are kept as versions. Each is numbered, as in “Settings revision 3”, and shows who changed it and when.
- The settings can be changed only while awaiting review. While running, “Settings cannot be changed while running. You can change them at the next review” appears. The settings of a finished case cannot be changed
- Change them with “Edit settings” and press “Save as a new revision” to make a new version. Saving also replaces the content of the open review with the new version
- “Revision history” shows earlier versions. Only the latest version can be edited. Past versions are read-only, and the review made at the time was made against that version
- “Differences from the Agent defaults” shows only the items changed from the contract's defaults
If someone else saved the settings first, “Someone else updated the settings” appears and the latest content is loaded.
Artifacts and files
“Artifacts & files” lists the agent's outputs and the versions people have edited.
- Open an agent's output and press “Edit as a new version” to correct the contents and “Save version”. Only text up to 1 MiB can be edited
- A saved version is marked “Edited by a person”, along with the version it was edited from
- What passes to the next step is the “Version passed to the next step”. If the version you edited from was the one to be passed, it switches to the new version you saved. Otherwise, “The next step still uses the previous version” appears, so choose the version you want to pass in the case settings
- Artifacts, too, can be edited only while awaiting review
Artifacts can be up to 20 MiB per file, and up to 100 MiB and 100 files in total per execution.
Only owners can edit the settings and artifacts. Even someone named as a reviewer cannot edit them unless they are an owner. Members can see the case.
Fixing things while awaiting review, then proceeding
A case stopped at a review step can be fixed and then moved on as follows.
- Open the review request and check the “Review content version”, the “Next Agent” and the artifacts
- If there is something to fix, an owner makes a new version of the settings or artifacts on the case screen. The review content is replaced with the new version too
- The reviewer decides whether to proceed to the next step, send it back or reject it
How a review is decided is in the Review Guide.
Cancelling a case
Stop it with “Cancel case” on the case screen. Only owners can use it.
- Steps not yet launched are not launched
- Open review requests are cancelled
- Running agents are told to stop. Once the stop of the running step is recorded, it becomes “Cancelled”. Until then, “Cancellation requested” is shown