Guide Mode

Step-by-step workflow navigation through a decision tree

Guide Mode walks you through building a workflow one decision at a time. You start with a natural language goal. The system presents options at each step – which tool to use, what parameters to set, what to do with the output. You select choices by ID, and at the end you can compile the session into a reusable skill.

Start a Session

From the Playground

  1. Open the Playground.
  2. Switch to Guide mode using the mode selector.
  3. Type your goal and press Enter.

From the Conduit SDK

session = client.guide(goal="export all invoices as PDF")

From the discovery.guide Tool

Call discovery.guide directly:

{
  "name": "data-grout/discovery.guide@1",
  "arguments": {
    "goal": "export all invoices as PDF"
  }
}

Navigate the Decision Tree

After you submit a goal, the system returns a message and a set of options.

Message: "Which billing system do you want to export from?"

Options:
  1.1  QuickBooks Online
  1.2  Stripe
  1.3  SAP

Select an option by its ID:

session = client.guide(choice="1.1")

The system advances to the next step and presents new options:

Message: "What date range?"

Options:
  1.1.1  Last 30 days
  1.1.2  Last quarter
  1.1.3  Custom range

Continue selecting until the workflow is complete.

Choice IDs

Each option has a hierarchical ID (e.g., 1.2.3) that reflects its position in the decision tree. Use the exact ID string when selecting.

Going Back

Pass back: true to return to the previous step:

session = client.guide(back=True)

The system restores the options from the parent step. Your previous selection is undone.

Complete the Workflow

When all decisions are made, the system shows the assembled workflow:

Workflow complete:

  Step 1: quickbooks@1/get_invoices@1 (last 30 days)
  Step 2: data-grout/prism.export@1 (format: PDF)

Estimated cost: 6 credits

Options:
  - Execute now
  - Save as skill
  - Modify

Execute

Run the workflow immediately. Each step executes in sequence, and you get results and a receipt.

Save as Skill

Compile the session into a reusable skill. The system validates the workflow (type safety, policy compliance, credential availability) and, if it passes, mints a Cognitive Trust Certificate and saves the skill.

skill = client.guide(save_as_skill=True, skill_name="monthly_invoice_export")

If validation fails, you get a structured response explaining what went wrong. No broken skill is created.

Once saved, the skill appears as a callable tool:

result = client.call_tool("skills@1/monthly_invoice_export@1", {})

See Cognitive Trust Certificates for how verification works.

When to Use Guide Mode

Guide Mode is most useful when you:

  • Explore an unfamiliar integration and want to see what is available step by step.
  • Build a workflow interactively rather than writing the full plan upfront.
  • Want to save a verified workflow as a skill for repeated use.
  • Need to understand the decision points in a complex multi-step process.

For known workflows where you already have the full plan, use flow.into directly. For single-step tool calls, use discovery.perform or call_tool.

Example: Invoice Export

You: "Export last month's invoices from QuickBooks as CSV"

System: "I found QuickBooks on your server. Which invoice filter?"
  1.1  All invoices from last month
  1.2  Only paid invoices
  1.3  Only overdue invoices

You: 1.1

System: "Export format confirmed as CSV. Include line items?"
  1.1.1  Yes, include line items
  1.1.2  No, summary only

You: 1.1.1

System: "Workflow ready."
  Step 1: quickbooks@1/get_invoices@1 (filter: last month)
  Step 2: data-grout/prism.export@1 (format: CSV, include line items)
  Estimated cost: 5 credits

  [Execute] [Save as skill]

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