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Version: DEV

Begin component

The starting component in a workflow.

The Begin component sets an opening greeting or accepts inputs from the user. It is automatically populated onto the canvas when you create an agent, whether from a template or from scratch (from a blank template). There should be only one Begin component in the workflow.

Scenarios​

A Begin component is essential in all cases. Every agent includes a Begin component, which cannot be deleted.

Configurations​

Click the component to display its Configuration window. Here, you can set an opening greeting and the input parameters (global variables) for the agent.

ID​

The ID is the unique identifier for the component within the workflow. Unlike the IDs of other components, the ID of the Begin component cannot be changed.

Opening greeting​

An opening greeting is the agent's first message to the user. It can be a welcoming remark or an instruction to guide the user forward.

Global variables​

You can set global variables within the Begin component, which can be either required or optional. Once established, users will need to provide values for these variables when interacting or chatting with the agent. Click + Add variable to add a global variable, each with the following attributes:

  • Key: Required
    The unique variable name.
  • Name: Required
    A descriptive name providing additional details about the variable.
    For example, if Key is set to lang, you can set its Name to Target language.
  • Type: Required
    The type of the variable:
    • line: Accepts a single line of text without line breaks.
    • paragraph: Accepts multiple lines of text, including line breaks.
    • options: Requires the user to select a value for this variable from a dropdown menu. And you are required to set at least one option for the dropdown menu.
    • file: Requires the user to upload one or multiple files.
    • integer: Accepts an integer as input.
    • boolean: Requires the user to toggle between on and off.
  • Optional: A toggle indicating whether the variable is optional.

Examples​

As mentioned earlier, the Begin component is indispensable for an agent. Still, you can take a look at our three-step interpreter agent template, where the Begin component takes two global variables:

  1. Click the Agent tab at the top center of the page to access the Agent page.
  2. Click + Create agent on the top right of the page to open the agent template page.
  3. On the agent template page, hover over the Interperter card and click Use this template.
  4. Name your new agent and click OK to enter the workflow editor.
  5. Click on the Begin component to display its Configuration window.

Frequently asked questions​

Is the uploaded file in a knowledge base?​

No. Files uploaded to an agent as input are not stored in a knowledge base and will not be chunked using RAGFlow's built-in chunk methods. However, RAGFlow's built-in OSR, DLR, and TSR models will still be applied to process the document.

How to upload a webpage or file from a URL?​

If you set the type of a variable as file, your users will be able to upload a file either from their local device or from an accessible URL. For example:

upload_file

File size limit for an uploaded file​

The maximum file size for each uploaded file is determined by the variable MAX_CONTENT_LENGTH in /docker/.env. It defaults to 128 MB. If you change the default file size, ensure you also update the value of client_max_body_size in /docker/nginx/nginx.conf accordingly.