How Flowra works

This page is the single overview of how Flowra fits together. Other Product and Developers pages link here instead of redefining every term.

What Flowra is

Flowra is one workspace where you design, connect, and run AI automations:

Build agents and workflows in chat or the editor (fixed steps, AI-driven, or mixed)
Connect apps (OAuth) and use a large tool catalog plus your own JS/Python tools
Reach people via dashboard chat, Telegram / WhatsApp / Slack / Discord / Gmail, schedules, events, site widgets, MCP, or the API
Ground answers with Knowledge (RAG), tables, and files
Operate with executions, tool logs, optional human approval, sandbox, and live browser
Scale to many customers with external users under one project

You do day-to-day work in the dashboard. The same building blocks are available over the API when you embed Flowra in your product.

The story in seven steps

You work inside a project (workspace). Lists follow the project in the sidebar switcher. See Projects and API keys.
Inside the project, the End user switcher picks which external user you act as — connections, chat, and much of the data stay separate per person. See External users switcher.
You describe a job in chat, or open Workflows & Agents, and Flowra turns that into a workflow or agent.
The recipe uses tools (send Slack, read Gmail, run your code). Related tools live in toolkits; custom tools and MCP are configured on the project, while skills attach to that end user’s agents.
Apps that need login use an auth config once (project-level); each end user then creates a connected account (OAuth) so tools act as them.
You run it from entry points: dashboard chat, messaging channels, schedule, events, a widget, MCP, or the API. See Entry points and channels.
Each run is a thread with an execution log. Optionally ground it with that user’s knowledge and tables, project files, plus sandbox or browser when needed.

What lives where (nested)

Project
├── Shared: API keys · auth configs · tools/MCP · marketplace · external-user list · triggers · files
└── Each external user
    ├── Connections
    ├── Agents / workflows · skills · executions
    ├── Knowledge · tables · chat threads
    └── Tool calls using that user’s connections

Full nested map and when to split projects vs end users: Projects and API keys.

Workflow vs agent

Both appear under Workflows & Agents in the dashboard.

	Workflow (static)	Agent
Behavior	Fixed sequence of steps (graph)	AI decides the next tool each turn
Best for	Schedules, ETL, repeatable pipelines	Chat, support, open-ended tasks
How you run it	Manual run, cron, webhook/trigger	Chat, channels, embed, API threads

A static workflow can still include AI inside a step. An agent has no fixed graph at the top level. For the developer-facing detail, see Workflows and agents.

Glossary

Term	Meaning
Project	Your Flowra workspace: security and API-key boundary. Holds shared setup (auth configs, tools, MCP) and contains external users.
External user (eUID)	An end-user identity inside a project — not your dashboard login. Selected with the End user switcher / `x-username`.
End user switcher	Sidebar control that sets which external user you act as for connections, chat, and per-user data.
Tool	One action (e.g. send a Slack message). See Toolkits and tools.
Toolkit	Group of related tools (e.g. Slack, Gmail). See Toolkits and tools.
Auth config	OAuth or API-key setup for a toolkit (project-level) so Flowra can call that service.
Connected account	One external user’s linked third-party identity after OAuth.
Workflow / Agent	The automation you build and run.
Entry point	How a run starts: chat, messaging channel, schedule, event, widget, MCP, or API.
Messaging channel	Two-way surface (Telegram, WhatsApp, Slack, Discord, Gmail) — inbound message and reply.
Trigger	Rule that only starts a run (schedule or one-way event), without channel auto-reply.
Thread	Conversation or agent run session.
Execution	Recorded run with steps, status, and tool I/O.
Knowledge	Document collections for retrieval (RAG).
Table / collection	Structured data the agent can read and write.
Skill	Playbook or skill pack you attach so agents follow a procedure. See Skills.
MCP	Model Context Protocol — expose or consume tools via MCP clients/servers.
Widget / embed	Chat surface on an external site bound to a workflow.

Where to go next

Projects and API keys

Workspace boundary and nested scope map.

External users switcher

Act as the right end user for connections and chat.

Toolkits and tools

Project catalog, custom tools, and Select Tools.

Skills

End-user playbooks: My Skills, Browse, Select Skills.

Entry points and channels

Chat, messengers, schedule, events, and widgets.

First agent in chat

Build and test without leaving the dashboard.

Getting started

In the dashboard

Try this

How Flowra works

What Flowra is

The story in seven steps

What lives where (nested)

Workflow vs agent

Glossary

Where to go next

Projects and API keys

External users switcher

Toolkits and tools

Skills

Entry points and channels

First agent in chat

​What Flowra is

​The story in seven steps

​What lives where (nested)

​Workflow vs agent

​Glossary

​Where to go next

Projects and API keys

External users switcher

Toolkits and tools

Skills

Entry points and channels

First agent in chat

What Flowra is

The story in seven steps

What lives where (nested)

Workflow vs agent

Glossary

Where to go next