Key Concepts
To master NappAI, it is important to understand its five fundamental concepts. Think of them as the pieces of a building 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 will sometimes refer to the internal logic of a project as a Flow. It contains all the components and the connections between them, representing the entire 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 on your flow. Each component has a specific and 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 the appliances (an oven, a mixer, 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 one task, an Agent can make decisions, use tools (like other models or components) and manage complex logic to achieve a goal.
- Analogy: An Agent is the expert Chef who, instead of following the recipe exactly, can improvise, choose the best ingredients, and decide the best course of action to create the perfect dish.
System Prompt vs. User Prompt
When configuring 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 personality, goal, and behavioral rules of the Agent. It is sent to the LLM in every interaction and acts as its “constitution.”
- Purpose: Define the role (“You are a financial expert”), set constraints (“Only respond 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
It is the variable and specific instruction that the end-user inputs in each turn of the conversation. It is the question or command that the Agent must resolve at that moment.
- Purpose: Represent the user’s current query (“What was Apple’s stock price yesterday?”).
- Analogía: It is the specific order that 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 API keys for Google, OpenAI, or any other platform. 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 operating modes 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:
- Connection: To activate Tool Mode, the component’s tool connector must be connected to the Artificial Intelligence Agent’s tool connector.
- Transformation: When this connection is made, the other ways of inheriting data disappear, and the components become artificial intelligence tools.
- 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.
- Names and Description: Each tool has a name (for example, sheet at row for the Google Sheet component) and a description.
- Orchestration: In this way, the agent can use the components, via the connection, as a tool that can be orchestrated as part of the automation flow.
Batch Mode
Batch Mode is a functionality introduced in NappAI components that is designed to handle complex data structures that are not simple text data. Functioning:
- Activation: When mapping mode is enabled, NappAI transforms the component’s data input.
- Object Linking: An option is created that allows direct linking to data objects from other components.
- Direct Mapping: By accessing the map option, the user can directly drag the object they wish to assign to a field, based on the structure of the previous component.
- 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 so that it can be inserted into the new component.
- Data Combination: The JavaScript mode allows not only obtaining data from the previous structure but also combining them with code at the time of mapping, creating new data for the component (for example, combining a folder ID with the text “new”).