Introduction
Flows are the backbone of automation in Cofounder. They allow you to create powerful workflows that can run automatically based on triggers, schedules, or manual execution.Creating Your First Flow
Step 1: Navigate to Flows
Click on the “Flows” tab in the sidebar to access the flows page. Here you’ll see all your existing flows and can create new ones.Step 2: Define Your Flow
Describe what you want your flow to do in plain English. Cofounder will understand your intent and create the appropriate workflow.Be as specific as possible when describing your flow. The more context you provide, the better Cofounder can understand your requirements.
Alternative: Create From Chat
If you prefer, you can create your first flow entirely from Chat:- Open Chat
- Ask: “Create a flow that [your goal]” (for example: “Create a flow that emails me a daily summary of open tickets”)
- Confirm the draft details (name, trigger, and whether to use “Always Ask” or “Auto-Approve”)
Mention your preferred approval mode in your request. For example: “Create a flow that backs up my database weekly and set it to “Always Ask”.”
Step 3: Test and Enable
Use the test mode to ensure your flow works as expected before enabling it. You can choose between:- “Always Ask” mode for manual approval
- “Auto-Approve” mode for fully automated execution
”Always Ask”
In this mode, the flow will always ask you to approve actions before they affect external apps. This includes actions like sending an email, creating or updating a Linear ticket, posting to Slack, or creating a calendar event. Cofounder will present the exact action and wait for your confirmation each time.”Auto-Approve”
In this mode, the flow executes actions without asking for approval. It will never prompt you. Use this mode only after you have thoroughly tested the flow in “Always Ask” and you are confident in the inputs, conditions, and connected tools.“Auto-Approve” is powerful but dangerous. Turn it on only when you fully trust the flow’s behavior and data sources.
Human-in-the-loop exceptions
Some tools require manual approval every time, even when “Auto-Approve” is enabled:- Send calendar invites (when the invite involves an email address other than the current user)
- Send email (when the recipient includes an email address other than the current user email)
- Send email reply (when the recipient includes an email address other than the current user email)
- Forward email (when the recipient includes an email address other than the current user email)
Always test your flows thoroughly before enabling auto-approve mode to ensure they work as expected.
Explore the Flows Screen
The flows screen is organized into four sections:- Plan (where you define the plan)
- History (where you see flow “runs”)
- Approvals (for tool approvals)
- Logs (for all the activity related to a flow)
Plan
This is where you define the plan for the agent. Plans are written in natural language and should be comprehensive so Cofounder can fully understand the objective and constraints. Required integrations are determined automatically by Cofounder based on the plan. You can edit the plan quickly in two ways:- Press Command+K to edit the flow in natural language
- Click the plan text to edit the flow directly
Aim for clarity and completeness. Include goals, inputs, constraints, and success criteria.
History
Each flow “run” appears here whenever the flow is triggered. You can open a run to review the full conversation in Chat, understand the decisions made, and audit the work performed.Approvals
This tab lists tool calls that require your approval. Approve, reject, or request changes before the flow proceeds.Logs
The logs tab shows all activity related to the flow, including triggers and tool calls. It also surfaces your configured triggers. Triggers are like mini agents that check whether the flow should run and sometimes need to be prompted. Reviewing trigger logs helps you refine conditions and timing so the flow starts exactly when it should.Best Practices
When creating flows, keep these best practices in mind:- Start simple and iterate - Begin with basic workflows and add complexity as needed
- Test thoroughly - Always test in “Always Ask” mode before enabling auto-approve
- Use descriptive names - Give your flows clear, descriptive names to make them easy to manage
- Document your flows - Add descriptions explaining what each flow does and when to use it
Next Steps
Once you’ve created your first flow, you can:- Explore more complex automation scenarios
- Set up triggers based on external events
- Create flows that integrate multiple tools and platforms
- Learn about advanced flow features in the Key Concepts section