--- title: Connect Elastic Agent Builder agents and Elastic Workflows description: Learn how Agent Builder works with Elastic Workflows, including creating workflows from chat, workflow tools, pre-execution and post-execution workflows, the `ai.agent` step, and conversation triggers. url: https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/ai-features/agent-builder/agents-and-workflows products: - Elastic Cloud Serverless - Elastic Documentation - Elastic Observability - Elastic Security - Elasticsearch - Kibana applies_to: - Elastic Cloud Serverless: Generally available - Elastic Stack: Generally available since 9.4, Preview in 9.3 --- # Connect Elastic Agent Builder agents and Elastic Workflows Elastic Workflows and Elastic Agent Builder combine deterministic automation with conversational reasoning. You can create workflows conversationally, make workflows available to agents, invoke agents from workflows, and start workflows from conversation events. ## Approaches Elastic Agent Builder and workflows work together in the following ways: - **Create workflows from Agent Chat**: Elastic Stack: Generally available since 9.5 Elastic Cloud Serverless: Generally available Create and edit workflows by describing what you want [in plain language](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/workflows/authoring-techniques/use-natural-language). Kibana generates and updates the workflow YAML for you, so you can quickly build without memorizing step types or Liquid syntax. - **Use workflows from agents:** - Elastic Stack: Preview since 9.3 Elastic Cloud Serverless: Preview Trigger an existing workflow from a conversation with a [workflow tool](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/ai-features/agent-builder/tools/workflow-tools). - Elastic Stack: Generally available since 9.4 Elastic Cloud Serverless: Generally available Assign [pre-execution workflows](#pre-execution-workflows) that run before the agent starts reasoning. - Elastic Stack: Planned Elastic Cloud Serverless: Generally available Assign [post-execution workflows](#post-execution-workflows) that run after the agent finishes responding. - **Use agents from workflows:** Invoke an agent from a workflow with the [`ai.agent` step](#use-ai-agent-workflow-step). To add context to a conversation without triggering an agent response, use the [conversation steps](#add-conversation-context-workflow) Elastic Stack: Planned Elastic Cloud Serverless: Preview. For advanced API operations, use the [`kibana.request` step](#use-kibana-request-workflow-step). - **React to conversation activity:** Elastic Stack: Planned Elastic Cloud Serverless: Preview Run a workflow when an attachment is added, updated, or deleted, or when conversation metadata changes. For supported conversation templates, you can also run a workflow when a conversation gets new messages or other changes. Refer to [Elastic Agent Builder triggers](/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/workflows/triggers/event-driven-triggers#agent-builder-triggers). ## Prerequisites Before you begin: - Familiarize yourself with the core concepts of [Elastic Workflows](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/workflows). - Turn on Elastic Workflows through the `workflows:ui:enabled` [advanced setting](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/kibana/tree/main/reference/advanced-settings#kibana-workflows-settings), which is on by default in 9.4 and later. When this setting is off, the workflow options in Elastic Agent Builder are hidden and assigned workflows don't run. - Make sure you have the appropriate subscription. Elastic Workflows requires an [Enterprise subscription](https://www.elastic.co/subscriptions) on Elastic Stack deployments, or the appropriate [project feature tier](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/deploy-manage/deploy/elastic-cloud/project-settings) on Serverless. - Make sure you have the correct privileges to create and run workflows. For details, refer to [Set up workflows](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/workflows/get-started/setup). ## Pre-execution workflows - Elastic Cloud Serverless: Generally available - Elastic Stack: Generally available since 9.4 Pre-execution workflows run after each user message, before the agent makes any calls to the large language model (LLM) in response. They let you use Elastic Workflows for deterministic preparation or control before the agent begins its reasoning loop. Configuring an agent's pre-execution workflows requires a role that grants wildcard (`*`) Kibana privileges, such as the built-in `superuser` role or the **Admin** role in Serverless. You can't grant this from the Kibana role management UI. Refer to [Users and roles](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/deploy-manage/users-roles) for how to assign roles.Changing the space setting works differently: it requires the `manage_advanced_settings` privilege, which you can grant through the **Advanced Settings** [feature privilege](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/deploy-manage/users-roles/cluster-or-deployment-auth/kibana-privileges). A pre-execution workflow runs once for each user message. It does not run before every LLM call or tool call within the agent's response. Pre-execution workflows can: - Add or rewrite prompt context before the agent starts. - Cancel the agent run when a workflow detects that the request should not continue. - Run multiple workflows in sequence when more than one workflow is assigned. You can assign pre-execution workflows to a single agent or to every agent in a space. If you do both, the agent runs the workflows from both settings. ### Assign workflows to an agent 1. Select **Manage components** at the bottom of the left sidebar to open the **Agents** list. 2. Select an agent, then select **Settings**. 3. Under **Pre-execution workflow**, select one or more workflows in **Workflows**. 4. Select **Save**. To confirm the setup, send a message to the agent, then check that the run appears in the workflow's [execution history](/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/workflows/authoring-techniques/monitor-workflows#workflows-execution-history). The following screenshot shows the **Pre-execution workflow** setting in the agent **Settings** view. ![Pre-execution workflow section of the agent Settings tab with an empty Workflows selector](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/ai-features/agent-builder/images/pre-execution-workflows.png) ### Assign workflows to every agent in a space - Elastic Cloud Serverless: Preview - Elastic Stack: Preview since 9.4 The [prerequisites](#prerequisites) apply here too. In addition, the **Agent Builder** section in **GenAI Settings** appears only when the [`agentBuilder:experimentalFeatures`](/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/ai-features/agent-builder/get-started#enable-experimental-features-optional) advanced setting is turned on. It's off by default. 1. Go to **Stack Management** → **AI** → [**GenAI Settings**](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/ai-features/manage-access-to-ai-assistant). 2. In the **Agent Builder** section, find **Pre-execution workflow** and open the **Workflows** selector. 3. Select one or more workflows. 4. Select **Save changes**. To confirm the setup, send a message to any agent in the space, then check that the run appears in the workflow's [execution history](/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/workflows/authoring-techniques/monitor-workflows#workflows-execution-history). Workflows that you assign here run for every agent in the space, in addition to any workflows you assign to an individual agent. If you assign the same workflow in both places, it runs only once. Agents keep running these workflows whenever Elastic Workflows is turned on, even if you later turn off [`agentBuilder:experimentalFeatures`](/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/ai-features/agent-builder/get-started#enable-experimental-features-optional) and the **Agent Builder** section disappears. To clear the setting when the section is hidden, use the API. Refer to [Remove the workflow from the space setting](/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/ai-features/agent-builder/troubleshooting/pre-execution-workflow-disabled#remove-from-space). ### Recover agents blocked by a disabled workflow Disabling a workflow doesn't remove it from the agents or spaces that use it. Until you remove the workflow, every message to the affected agents fails. Refer to [Disabled pre-execution workflow](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/ai-features/agent-builder/troubleshooting/pre-execution-workflow-disabled). ## Post-execution workflows - Elastic Cloud Serverless: Generally available - Elastic Stack: Planned Post-execution workflows run after the agent finishes each response. Use them to audit the exchange, open a ticket, notify a channel, or grade the response. They can't change the response, and Elastic Agent Builder ignores their output. You assign post-execution workflows to individual agents. Unlike pre-execution workflows, post-execution workflows have no space setting. ### Requirements - The [prerequisites](#prerequisites) for using workflows with Elastic Agent Builder. - A role that grants wildcard (`*`) Kibana privileges, such as the `superuser` role or the **Admin** role in Serverless. You need this role to configure an agent's post-execution workflows. Without it, the **Workflows** selector is disabled. You can't grant wildcard privileges from the Kibana role management UI. Refer to [Users and roles](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/deploy-manage/users-roles) for how to assign roles. - By default, each workflow runs as the user who sent the message, so its steps can do only what that user's privileges allow. If the workflow is private, that user must own it or have **Executor** or **Editor** access to it. ### Assign post-execution workflows to an agent 1. Select **Manage components** at the bottom of the left sidebar to open the **Agents** list. 2. Select an agent, then select **Settings**. 3. Under **Post-execution workflow**, select one or more workflows in **Workflows**. 4. Select **Save**. To confirm the setup, check that **Post-execution workflows** shows **Enabled** on the agent overview. Then send a message to the agent and check that the run appears in the workflow's [execution history](/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/workflows/authoring-techniques/monitor-workflows#workflows-execution-history).The following screenshot shows the **Post-execution workflow** setting in the agent **Settings** view. ![Post-execution workflow section of the agent Settings tab with an empty Workflows selector](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/ai-features/agent-builder/images/post-execution-workflows.png) To assign post-execution workflows through the [Agent Builder API](https://www.elastic.co/docs/api/doc/kibana/group/endpoint-agent-builder), set the agent field `configuration.post_execution_workflow_ids`. The following request assigns one workflow: ```json { "configuration": { "post_execution_workflow_ids": [""] } } ``` - The update replaces only the keys you send, so the agent keeps its instructions, tools, skills, and other settings. - Without wildcard (`*`) Kibana privileges, a request that changes `post_execution_workflow_ids` returns a `400` error: `Only administrators can configure post-execution workflows.` ### How post-execution workflows run A post-execution workflow runs only when the agent completes its response. It doesn't run in these cases: - The agent run fails, or the user stops it. - A [pre-execution workflow](#pre-execution-workflows) cancels the run. - The agent is paused on a [human-in-the-loop prompt](/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/ai-features/agent-builder/chat#human-in-the-loop-prompts). The workflow runs later, after the user answers and the agent finishes that response. - The agent reads an existing conversation without saving to it, such as an [`ai.agent` step](#use-ai-agent-workflow-step) that sets `ephemeral: true` and a conversation ID. When an agent has more than one post-execution workflow, they run in the order they're listed. Elastic Agent Builder waits up to 120 seconds for each workflow to complete, fail, or pause for input before it starts the next. A workflow that's still running after that wait doesn't block the workflows that follow. Elastic Agent Builder sets `execution.triggeredBy` to `agent-builder-hook` for these runs, so a workflow can check that value and skip runs that someone started directly. Refer to [`execution.triggeredBy`](/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/workflows/reference/context-variables#workflows-ctx-execution). If a workflow fails, the agent's response stays in place. Kibana logs the failure and still runs any later workflows assigned to the agent. In the following cases, Kibana logs the failure before it records an execution, so the failure doesn't appear in [execution history](/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/workflows/authoring-techniques/monitor-workflows#workflows-execution-history): - The workflow doesn't exist, for example, because someone deleted it. - The workflow is turned off. - The workflow has validation errors. - The workflow is private, and the user who sent the message doesn't have access to run it. ### Workflow inputs Declare the inputs you want the workflow to receive under its manual trigger, not at the workflow root. Elastic Agent Builder doesn't detect `inputs` declared at the root of a workflow saved in 9.5 or later. Refer to [`inputs`](/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/workflows/authoring-techniques/anatomy#workflows-anatomy-inputs). Inside the workflow, reference an input as `{{ inputs.prompt }}`. The following workflow logs each exchange: ```yaml name: log_agent_exchange enabled: true triggers: - type: manual inputs: properties: prompt: type: string response: type: string steps: - name: log_exchange type: console with: message: "User asked: {{ inputs.prompt }}. Agent answered: {{ inputs.response }}" ``` Elastic Agent Builder always sends `prompt`, `response`, `round_id`, and `tool_calls`. It also sends `conversation_id` and `agent_id` when the run has them, even if the workflow doesn't declare them. It sends `round_connector_id`, `workflow_context`, and `tool_results` only when the workflow declares them. To keep one of these three out of the workflow, remove it from the manual trigger. | Input | Description | |----------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | `prompt` | The user message for this response, including any rewrite by a pre-execution workflow, or an empty string when there's no user message. | | `response` | The agent's final answer, or an empty string when the response has no answer text. | | `round_id` | The ID of the completed conversation round, meaning one user message and the agent's response to it. | | `tool_calls` | One entry for each tool call, with `tool_id`, `tool_call_id`, and `params`, or an empty array when the agent called no tools. | | `conversation_id` | The conversation ID. If the run doesn't save the conversation, no saved conversation has this ID. | | `agent_id` | The agent ID. | | `round_connector_id` | The connector the agent used for this response. Not sent when the connector ID isn't available. | | `workflow_context` | Data that pre-execution workflows returned as `workflow_context` for this response, keyed by namespace. Each namespace has a numeric `version` and a `data` object. Not sent when there's none. | | `tool_results` | One entry for each tool call that has results, with `tool_id`, `tool_call_id`, and `results`. A workflow that declares `tool_results` as an array receives an empty array when no tool call has results. Elastic Agent Builder truncates this data, so it might not be complete. Refer to the limits after this table. | The `tool_results` data is truncated and might not be the complete tool output. To limit size, Elastic Agent Builder truncates `tool_results` before the workflow receives it: each string to 4,000 characters and each array to 50 items. If a result's data is still larger than 32,000 characters, Elastic Agent Builder replaces it with `type: other` and `data` set to `{ "omitted": "result data exceeded 32000 characters" }`. If the workflow sets `additionalProperties: false`, declare every input that Elastic Agent Builder sends, including `conversation_id` and `agent_id`. Otherwise, the run fails input validation and appears as a failed execution in the workflow's execution history. ```yaml triggers: - type: manual inputs: properties: prompt: type: string response: type: string conversation_id: type: string round_id: type: string agent_id: type: string round_connector_id: type: string workflow_context: type: object tool_calls: type: array items: type: object additionalProperties: true tool_results: type: array items: type: object additionalProperties: true additionalProperties: false ``` ## Use the `ai.agent` step Follow these steps to invoke an `ai.agent` as a step within a workflow. 1. Open the **Workflows** editor and create or edit a workflow. 2. Add a new step with the type `ai.agent`. 3. Set the **`agent-id`** parameter at the top level of the step to the unique identifier of the target agent. If you omit it, the step uses the built-in Elastic AI Agent. 4. In the **`with`** block, set the **`message`** parameter to your natural language prompt. 5. Optionally, in the **`with`** block, set the **`schema`** parameter to a JSON Schema object to receive structured output from the agent instead of free-text. 6. Optionally, route the step to a specific model by setting **`connector-id`** or **`inference-id`** at the top level of the step. These parameters are mutually exclusive. The following example demonstrates a workflow that searches for flight delays and uses the **Elastic AI Agent** to summarize the impact. To follow along with this example ensure that the [Kibana sample flight data](https://www.elastic.co/docs/extend/kibana/sample-data) is installed. ```yaml version: "1" name: analyze_flight_delays description: Fetches delayed flights and uses an agent to summarize the impact. enabled: true triggers: - type: manual steps: # Step 1: Get data from Elasticsearch - name: get_delayed_flights type: elasticsearch.search with: index: "kibana_sample_data_flights" query: range: FlightDelayMin: gt: 60 size: 5 # Step 2: Ask the agent to reason over the data - name: summarize_delays type: ai.agent agent-id: "elastic-ai-agent" with: message: | Review the following flight delay records and summarize which airlines are most affected and the average delay time: {{ steps.get_delayed_flights.output }} # Step 3: Print the agent's summary - name: print_summary type: console with: message: "{{ steps.summarize_delays.output }}" ``` ### Parameters Set `agent-id` and other configuration keys at the top level of the step. Set inputs like `message` in the `with` block. | Parameter | Location | Type | Required | Description | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------|---------|----------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | `agent-id` | Top level | string | No | The unique identifier of the target agent (must exist in Elastic Agent Builder). Defaults to the built-in Elastic AI Agent. | | `connector-id` | Top level | string | No | The Generative AI connector to use for model routing. Mutually exclusive with `inference-id`. Generative AI connectors are deprecated, so use `inference-id` for new workflows. | | `inference-id` | Top level | string | No | The inference endpoint ID to use for model routing. Mutually exclusive with `connector-id`. | | `create-conversation` | Top level | boolean | No | When `true`, persists the conversation so that follow-up steps or later requests can continue it. | | `public-conversation` Elastic Stack: Planned Elastic Cloud Serverless: Generally available | Top level | boolean | No | When `true`, makes the conversation this step creates public. Any user who can access the agent can read and continue the conversation and see it in their conversation list. Only applies when `create-conversation` is `true`. Defaults to `false` (private). Refer to [Conversation access control](/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/ai-features/agent-builder/permissions#conversation-access-control). | | `message` | `with` | string | Yes | The natural language prompt to send to the agent. Can include template variables to reference data from previous steps. | | `schema` | `with` | object | No | A JSON Schema object that defines the structure of the expected response. When provided, the agent returns structured data matching the schema instead of free-text. | | `conversation_id` | `with` | string | No | Continue an existing conversation by ID. | | `attachments` | `with` | array | No | Attachments to provide to the agent. | For the complete step reference, refer to [`ai.agent`](/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/workflows/steps/ai-steps#ai-agent). ## Add context to a conversation without an agent response - Elastic Cloud Serverless: Preview - Elastic Stack: Planned A workflow can add events, such as notes, and user messages to an Elastic Agent Builder conversation. The agent reads user messages and notes the next time it runs on the conversation. For example, a workflow can post incident updates as they arrive, and a later `ai.agent` step or chat request can summarize them. Use these steps: - [`ai.conversation.create`](/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/workflows/steps/ai-steps#ai-conversation-create): Create a conversation and get its ID. - [`ai.conversation.add_event`](/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/workflows/steps/ai-steps#ai-conversation-add-event): Add an event, such as a note. - [`ai.conversation.add_user_message`](/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/workflows/steps/ai-steps#ai-conversation-add-user-message): Add a user message. ## Use `kibana.request` step Use the generic `kibana.request` step to interact with Elastic Agent Builder APIs programmatically. 1. Add a new step with the type `kibana.request`. 2. Set the method (for example: `GET`, `POST`). 3. Set the `path` to the specific [Agent Builder API endpoint](https://www.elastic.co/docs/api/doc/kibana/group/endpoint-agent-builder). This step retrieves a list of all agents currently available in Agent Builder. ```yaml name: list_agents enabled: true triggers: - type: manual steps: - name: list_agents type: kibana.request with: method: GET path: /api/agent_builder/agents ``` ## Examples The [`elastic/workflows` GitHub repo](https://github.com/elastic/workflows) contains more than 50 examples you can use as a starting point. ## Related pages - [Tools overview](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/ai-features/agent-builder/tools) - [Workflow tools](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/ai-features/agent-builder/tools/workflow-tools) - [Author workflows with natural language](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/workflows/authoring-techniques/use-natural-language) - [Event-driven triggers](/elastic/docs-content/pull/8921/explore-analyze/workflows/triggers/event-driven-triggers#agent-builder-triggers) - [Agent Builder API](https://www.elastic.co/docs/api/doc/kibana/group/endpoint-agent-builder)