Processes

A process is the layer above a flow. Where a flow is a DAG of steps inside one agent session, a process is an ordered sequence of phases — each phase runs a complete flow, and the output of one phase feeds the input of the next.

For phase types and inputMapping syntax, see Phase templates below.

Why processes exist

One flow automates one job. A process chains several flows into a supervised, multi-phase line of work — the output of a whole team, as one auditable run. An operator supervising a process board sees every phase of every run at a glance.

Example: a content production process

📥 Intake flow A
      ↓
🔎 Research flow B
      ↓
✍️  Draft flow C
      ↓
⏸  Review — human gate
      ↓
✅ Approve flow D
      ↓
🚀 Deliver flow E

Each phase is a full, independently durable flow. If the review gate pauses the run, flows A–C are not re-executed when a reviewer approves.

Three core mechanisms

Data handoff

Each phase's output feeds the next via a JSONPath mapping you configure in the process definition — no glue code, no manual copy-paste. The outputKey of a phase is the root for downstream inputMapping selectors. The schema is validated at process compile time.

Approval anywhere

Any phase can carry requireApproval: true. When the phase completes, the run pauses and the configured reviewers are notified. The run resumes only after a reviewer approves (or rejects, sending it to the configured fallback).

Kanban supervision

The process board shows every phase of every run as a card in a kanban view. One operator can supervise what used to require a full team — intake is queued, drafts are in progress, reviews are waiting, deliveries are done.

Phase templates

AKOS ships built-in phase templates (prd, issues, dev, review, qa, security, custom) plus the full inputMapping / outputKey schema. The custom phase type accepts any flow template, making processes usable in any industry vertical.

Related topics

• Flows — the building block of every process phase.
• HITL gates — how human approval works inside a flow node.
• Run lifecycle — how a process run is traced and audited end to end.