Automations

Automations connect existing Agent Tools into a repeatable sequence on a dedicated project-scoped authoring page.

Open Automations from the desktop command bar. ThinkForge keeps one Automations tab open per active project; invoking the command again activates that tab instead of creating another. The page remembers the selected automation.

Beta Status

The current automation system is a sequential runner.

Connections are used to calculate an order. ThinkForge then runs every tool in that flattened order and passes each tool's complete output to the next tool.

The beta does not implement:

  • Conditional connections
  • Runtime branch selection
  • Independent fan-out branches
  • Merge nodes or merge semantics
  • Input and Output nodes
  • Parallel execution
  • Automation schedules, file watches, or MCP invocation

Do not read the visual shape of a branched graph as evidence that only one branch will run. All connected tools are flattened into one list.

Tools and Automations

A tool contains one fixed pipeline of skills.

An automation references multiple saved tools and decides their broad sequence. Each tool still runs on its own; the automation passes the returned output forward.

Tool definitions are live references. Editing a referenced tool changes future automation runs without redeploying the automation.

Draft and Deployed Script

The editable canvas is saved with the project.

Deploying writes a separate JSON script to:

{ProjectPath}/.fire/automations/{automation-id}.json

The script contains:

  • Automation identity and deployment time
  • A sorted list of tools to run
  • The retained tool-to-tool connections
  • Sequential execution mode
  • Optional file or folder input bindings

Canvas positions and document cards are not included.

Canvas changes do not alter an existing script until you deploy again.

Building a Beta Automation

  1. Open the project-scoped Automations tab.
  2. Select an existing automation or use New to create one.
  3. Add at least two tools with Add Tool, or expand the page's Project Navigator column and drag tools onto the canvas.
  4. Right-click one tool to start a connection.
  5. Right-click another tool to complete it.
  6. Repeat until the intended sequence is connected.
  7. Use Run to test the canvas with empty input.
  8. Use Deploy to publish the automation. Deploy does not open a folder picker.
  9. Use Add from Library on the Tools page to create a Tools-page placement, or select the automation for a Power Strip Automation command.

A single unconnected tool cannot run or deploy as an automation in the current interface.

Document Cards

Documents can be dragged onto the automation canvas for visual reference. They do not become runtime input, are excluded from deployment, and do not affect execution.

For a deployed automation, an existing saved file or folder binding remains available. The current Automations page has no binding editor. Input dropped on Power Strip overrides a saved binding for that run.

Where Deployed Automations Run

Confirmed beta paths are:

  • The Tools page after using Add from Library
  • The Power Strip Automation command
  • Files, folders, or text dropped on that command
  • The Power Strip Run Automation browser command, after capturing the active Chrome page

Tool triggers and ThinkForge MCP do not run deployed automations.

Safety Guidance

Keep beta automations as one clear linear chain. Avoid fan-out or convergence drawings — the flattening order can make a downstream tool receive the output of a visually unrelated tool.

Verify every referenced tool exists before release. The deployer does not reject a missing definition, and the runners skip missing tools.