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Cycle

These steps take you through building a small cycle, checking that its agents sweep on the schedule you set, and stopping it.

This example is a simple one for seeing how sweeps run. What a cycle really suits is work that keeps picking items up and handling them, such as picking up incoming requests and giving a first response, or checking the state at a set interval and raising an alert when something is wrong (The two types, Joining the stages of a cycle).

Introduction​

When you create a cycle project, it comes with two steps already in place. This Quickstart adds one more step after them and places one agent on each of the three steps.

StepAgent you placeWhat that agent does
Step 1Tip writerWrites one tip on how to get work done
Step 2Term explainerPicks one business term and explains it
Japanese phrase (you add it)Phrase writerPicks one Japanese phrase useful at work and explains it

Nothing connects to an external service, so you do not need to add any connectors.

Work on a computer, with the browser window wide. These steps are written for the width at which the editor is laid out in three parts: left, middle and right. In a narrower window the layout changes, and at about the width of a smartphone some of the buttons used here do not appear.

Step 1: Create a project​

  1. Open “Projects” on the left, choose “Projects” at the top, and press “New project”
  2. Under “How do you want to create it?”, choose “Build it myself”, and leave Type as “Cycle”. It is selected from the start
  3. Enter a name and press “Create”

Once it is created, the editor opens straight away. “Editing tools” and a list are on the left, the diagram of the steps is in the middle (“Editing canvas”), and the settings for whatever you select are on the right (“Properties”).

Creating the project does not start anything. It starts only after you set sweep schedules and apply them.

Step 2: Create three agents​

  1. Under “Editing tools” on the left, choose “Add Agent” ＞ “New Agent”
  2. In “Create Agent”, enter a name and a goal (instructions), then press “Save”
  3. Create the other two the same way

The only two things you have to enter are the name and the goal (instructions). For example:

NameGoal (instructions)
Tip writerWrite one tip for colleagues on how to get work done, about 40 words. Only return the text
Term explainerPick one business term often used at work and explain it for new hires in about 40 words. Only return the text
Phrase writerPick one short Japanese phrase useful at work and explain what it means and when to use it, in about 40 words. Only return the text
Using what you already have in a Schedule or Claw

If you already use instructions in a Schedule or Claw, you can also turn them into an agent with “Add Agent” ＞ “Create from a Schedule / Claw”. Only the content is copied; triggers such as times are not carried over.

Step 3: Add one step​

  1. Under “Editing tools” on the left, press “Add step”. A “New step” is added at the end, and its settings appear on the right
  2. Under “Step settings” on the right ＞ “Name”, enter “Japanese phrase”

Step names are how you tell the steps apart in Execution history.

Step 4: Place the agents on steps​

  1. Select “Step 1” in the diagram in the middle
  2. Under “Step settings” on the right ＞ “Add Agent”, choose “Tip writer”
  3. In the same way, place “Term explainer” on “Step 2” and “Phrase writer” on “Japanese phrase”

In a cycle, output is not passed between steps. Each agent you place on a step (a placement) runs on its own schedule, without waiting for the other placements.

Step 5: Set the sweep schedules​

  1. In the diagram in the middle, select “Tip writer”, which you placed on “Step 1”
  2. Under “Agent on this step” on the right ＞ “Trigger” ＞ “Sweep schedule”, switch on “Enable sweeping”. It is set to every 15 minutes under “Interval”
  3. Do the same for “Term explainer” and “Phrase writer”

The schedule is set for each placement (each agent on a step). Here, leave all of them at every 15 minutes. You cannot apply while any placement has no schedule.

Step 6: Check and apply​

  1. Press “Check settings” at the top of the editor, make sure all three steps show “OK” and the sweeps show “Running 3 / Paused 0 / Not set 0”, and close it
  2. Press “Apply changes”, then “Apply” in “Review changes to apply”

Until you apply, the changes to the steps and schedules are not part of the project. Until then they are a draft, saved temporarily in this browser. You cannot apply while there is something left to fix.

Step 7: Wait for the first sweep​

  1. Go back to the project screen with “Back to the project”

A cycle has no button to run it now. Sweeps start on their schedules. With every 15 minutes, the first sweep starts within about 15 minutes of applying. It may take a few more minutes before the agent starts working.

Step 8: Look at the result​

  1. Open the “Execution history” tab. Rows with “Sweep” in the “Started by” column are listed for each agent. While the “Result” is “Running”, the agent is still working. The list updates by itself, so wait until it no longer shows “Running”
  2. Select the run time on any of those rows to open the run record for that execution. Check the agent's output under “What was done”
  3. Under “Agent activity” on the “Overview” tab, the sweeps of the last 24 hours are shown for each agent you placed

Each sweep adds rows to Execution history. There is nothing that gathers them into “one run”.

A “Completed” result in the run record means only that the agent neither reported that it could not finish nor said so in its final result. Look at the output to check that the text is what you meant.

Step 9: Stop it​

  1. Press “Pause” at the top of the project screen, then “Pause” in “Pause project”

The sweeps go on every 15 minutes until you stop them. Once paused, no new sweeps start. Sweeps that have already started are left as they are. To run it again, press “Resume”.