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Nappai Documentation

Key Concepts

To master NappAI, it is important to understand its five fundamental concepts. Think of them as the pieces of a construction set: once you know each piece, you can build anything.

Projects (Flows)

A Project is the complete canvas where you design your automation. It is the “blueprint” of your work and the main term we use in NappAI. We sometimes refer to the internal logic of a project as a Flow. It contains all the components and the connections between them, representing the complete process from start to finish.

  • Analogy: A Flow is the complete recipe for a meal.

Components (or Nodes)

Components are the individual building blocks that you place in your flow. Each component has a specific, unique task: receiving a chat message, connecting to a database, calling an AI model, etc.

  • Analogy: If the Flow is the recipe, the Components are the ingredients and appliances (an oven, a blender, etc.).

Agents

An Agent is not a common component. It is an advanced component that acts as an “orchestra conductor” or a “brain.” Instead of just performing a task, an Agent can make decisions, use tools (like other models or components), and manage complex logic to achieve an objective.

  • Analogy: An Agent is the Expert Chef who, instead of following the recipe strictly, can improvise, choose the best ingredients, and decide the best course of action to create the perfect dish.

System Prompt vs. User Prompt

When you configure an Agent or a Language Model (LLM) component, you will encounter two types of “prompts” or instructions. Understanding their difference is key:

System Prompt

It is the main and persistent instruction that defines the Agent’s personality, goal, and behavioral rules. It is sent to the LLM in every interaction and acts as its “constitution.”

  • Purpose: To define the role (“You are a finance expert”), establish restrictions (“Only answer based on the tools”), or fix the output format (“Always respond in JSON format”).
  • Analogy: It is the mission briefing that a secret agent reads before starting work.

User Prompt (User Input)

It is the variable and specific instruction that the end user introduces in each turn of the conversation. It is the question or command that the Agent must solve at that moment.

  • Purpose: To represent the user’s current query (“What was Apple’s stock price yesterday?”).
  • Analogy: It is the specific order the secret agent receives via radio during the mission.

Credentials

Credentials are the secure way NappAI stores access information to connect to other services, such as your Google, OpenAI, or any other platform’s API keys. You save your key once as a credential and can then reuse it in any component without having to type it again.

  • Analogy: Credentials are the set of keys you give NappAI so it can securely access your other tools and services.

NappAI Native Concepts

In addition to reinterpreting classic concepts, NappAI introduces specific modes of operation to enhance your flows.

Tool Mode

Tool Mode allows versatile NappAI components, which usually operate sequentially, to be converted into usable tools within an AI flow.

  • Functioning:
    1. Connection: To activate Tool Mode, the component’s tool connector must be connected to the AI Agent’s tool connector.
    2. Transformation: When this connection is made, other ways of inheriting data disappear, and the components are transformed into artificial intelligence tools.
    3. Property Recognition: The component’s properties are automatically recognized. A button indicates that the component will receive these properties, which previously had to come directly from the agent as interaction parameters.
    4. Names and Description: Each tool has a name (e.g., sheet at row for the Google Sheet component) and a description.
    5. Orchestration: In this way, the agent can use the components, from the connection onwards, as a tool that can be orchestrated as part of the automation flow.

Batch Mode

Batch Mode is a functionality introduced in NappAI components designed to handle complex data structures that are not simple text data.

  • Functioning:
    1. Activation: When batch mode is enabled, NappAI transforms the component’s data input.
    2. Object Linking: An option is created that allows direct linking with data objects from other components.
    3. Direct Mapping: When accessing the mapping option, the user can directly drag the object they want to assign to a field, based on the structure of the previous component.
    4. JavaScript Use (Advanced Option): In addition to the direct option, the JavaScript option can be used. This option also enables the data structure of the previous component to be inserted into the new component.
    5. Data Combination: The JavaScript mode allows not only obtaining data from the previous structure but also combining it with code at the time of mapping, creating a new piece of data for the component (e.g., combining a folder ID with the text “new”). It is incredibly efficient. Internally, NappAI can process these elements in parallel, greatly speeding up execution time. In the end, it will deliver a single list with all the processed results.