Canonical page: https://docs.teloring.com/docs/product/studio Last modified: 2026-08-20T20:49:57.000Z # Studio **Studio** is Teloring's visual flow builder. You draw a flow on a canvas — *when this happens, do that* — and Teloring runs it automatically, around the clock, for every conversation, call, form, schedule, or external event you point it at. Anything a person does repeatedly in Teloring can usually be moved into Studio: greeting a new WhatsApp message, asking two qualifying questions and routing the answer to the right team, opening an IVR menu for phone calls, pushing a new lead into an external CRM, emailing a manager when a report crosses a threshold, or tagging and closing conversations on a schedule. Studio is built from three kinds of block: | Badge | Block kind | Question it answers | | --- | --- | --- | | **WHEN** | [Trigger](./studio/triggers.md) | What starts this flow? | | **THEN** | [Action](./studio/actions.md) | What should Teloring do? | | **IF** | [Condition](./studio/conditions.md) | Which way should the flow go? | You connect the blocks with lines, press **Publish**, and the flow is live.  ## Two ways to build a flow Every flow can be built by hand or by AI. You choose when you create it. | Way | How it works | Guide | | --- | --- | --- | | **I'll build my own** | You drag blocks onto the canvas and configure them yourself. | This page | | **Use AI to build** | You answer a short interview in plain language and **Hermes** builds the flow for you. | [Build a flow with AI](./studio/ai-flow-builder.md) | Both produce the same thing: an ordinary draft flow you can edit and publish. Building with AI requires the **AI Studio** switch in [AI World](./ai-world.md). ## Key facts | Fact | Meaning | | --- | --- | | Every flow starts with a trigger | A flow with no **WHEN** block can never run and cannot be published. | | Draft and live are separate | Editing never touches the running version. Only **Publish** does. | | One flow can have several triggers | For example one Incoming Message trigger for WhatsApp and another for Telegram, in the same flow. Only the trigger that matches the real event runs. | | Blocks can branch and fan out | One block can feed several blocks. All connected paths run. | | Studio respects human agents | If a human agent owns a conversation, Studio stays out of it completely. | | Values flow forward as variables | Anything an earlier block produced can be dropped into a later block as `{{a.variable}}`. | | Two kinds of flow | **Voice flows** (started by Incoming Call) and **messaging flows** (everything else). Each has its own blocks. | | Account-isolated | Flows, variables, and executions belong to one account and are never visible to another. | | Test before you publish | **Test Run** executes the draft with sample data and sends nothing to real customers. | | AI can build the first draft | With **AI Studio** enabled, [Hermes](./studio/ai-flow-builder.md) interviews you and lays out the whole flow. What it produces is a normal draft you edit and publish yourself. | ## Who uses Studio | Role | Typical use | | --- | --- | | Admins | Build and publish flows, connect webhooks and external systems, manage saved variables and versions. | | Team managers | Design routing, business-hours behavior, escalation, and follow-up rules. | | Agents | Benefit from the results — pre-qualified conversations, correct labels, auto-assigned queues, private notes with context. | ## Core concepts ### Flow A **flow** is one automation: a canvas holding blocks and the lines between them. Flows have a name, an optional description, and a status (**Draft**, **Live**, or **Paused**). ### Block A **block** is one step. Every block has: - a **badge** — WHEN, THEN, or IF — and a color that matches it; - an **input port** on top (except triggers, which start the flow); - one or more **output ports** on the bottom; - a **Configuration** panel on the right where you set its properties; - **output variables** it hands to every block downstream of it. | Badge | Color | Meaning | | --- | --- | --- | | **WHEN** | Coral | Trigger — the entry point | | **THEN** | Teal | Action — does something | | **IF** | Amber | Condition — chooses a path | | **NOTE** | Amber | Sticky note — a comment for your team, never executed | ### Connection A line from one block's **output port** to the next block's **input port**. The line shows the direction of travel with an animated dotted flow. Blocks with more than one output — a condition, an IVR menu, Forward to Agent, an Analytics Alert — have one port per outcome, labelled underneath. Wire each outcome to whatever should happen next; a port you leave unconnected simply ends that path. ### Messaging flows vs. voice flows The moment you drop an **Incoming Call** trigger on the canvas, the flow becomes a **voice flow** and the block library changes: | Flow kind | Starts with | Blocks available | | --- | --- | --- | | **Messaging flow** | Any trigger except Incoming Call | Reply Message, Wait, and every general block | | **Voice flow** | Incoming Call | Play Sound, IVR Menu, Wait / Pause, Forward to Agent, Forward to External Phone, Hang Up, and every general block | Studio hides out-of-scope blocks from the picker, flags them on the canvas if a flow somehow contains one, and refuses to publish a flow that mixes them. See [Voice call flows](./studio/voice-flows.md). ## The Studio list Open **Studio** from the left sidebar to see every flow in the account.  | Control | Use it to | | --- | --- | | **New Flow** | Create a flow. You are asked for a name, an optional description, and whether to build it yourself or with AI. | | **Search** | Filter the list by flow name. | | **All / Draft / Live / Paused** | Filter by status. | | **Flow card** | Click anywhere on the card to open the flow. | | **Card footer** | Shows when the flow was created, when it was last edited, and who edited it. | | **⚡ Continue with AI badge** | The flow has an unfinished [Hermes interview](./studio/ai-flow-builder.md). Clicking the card reopens the conversation instead of the canvas; the **Edit** button still opens the canvas. | | **Edit / Delete** | Row actions. Delete works on any flow, live included — you must type the flow's name to confirm. See [deleting a flow](./studio/publishing.md#deleting-a-flow). | | **Warning badge** | Appears when a flow depends on something that no longer exists (for example a deleted analytics alert). The flow is paused automatically until you fix and republish it. | ### Create your first flow 1. Click **New Flow**. 2. Give it a clear, specific name — `WhatsApp — after-hours auto reply` beats `Flow 3`. 3. Add a description so your teammates know what it does. 4. Choose **How would you like to build it?** — **I'll build my own** or **Use AI to build**. One of the two is required; the button stays disabled until you pick. Choosing AI opens the [Hermes interview](./studio/ai-flow-builder.md) instead of the canvas. 5. Click **Create Flow**. The editor opens on an empty canvas. 6. Drag a **trigger** from the left panel onto the canvas. 7. Drag a connector from the trigger's bottom port and release it on empty canvas — the **block picker** opens. 8. Pick an action, configure it on the right, and repeat. 9. **Test Run**, then **Publish**.  ## The editor  ### Top bar | Control | What it does | | --- | --- | | **←** | Back to the flow list. | | **Flow name** | Click to rename. Saved with the flow. | | **Status badge** | Draft, Live, or Paused. | | **Save indicator** | Shows *Saving…*, *Saved*, *Unsaved*, or *Save failed*. | | **Test Run** | Runs the draft with sample data. Nothing reaches real customers. | | **⚙ Flow Settings** | Auto-save switch, **Pause / Resume flow**, and the list of saved `var.*` variables. | | **Auto-save pill** | Shows whether auto-save is On or Off. | | **💾 Save now** | Saves the draft immediately (`Cmd/Ctrl+S`). | | **Publish** | Makes the current draft the live version. | ### Left panel — Block Library The left panel holds the two things you drag onto the canvas: - **WHEN — Triggers.** Every trigger available to the account. - **NOTE — Editor Tools.** The **Sticky Note**. Below them, the **Version** bar shows the current version number and the last save time. Click it to open [version history](./studio/publishing.md#version-history). :::tip Actions and conditions are **not** in the left panel. You add them from the block picker, which opens when you drag a connector out of a block and drop it on empty canvas. That way every new block is already connected to the one before it. ::: ### Adding an action or condition 1. Point at the bottom port of an existing block. 2. Drag out a line and release it on empty canvas. 3. The **block picker** opens. 4. Either type in **Search all blocks…** to search every block at once by name, description, or group, or browse the groups and open one to see its blocks. 5. Click a block. It is created on the canvas, already connected.  Blocks are organized into six groups: | Group | What's in it | | --- | --- | | **Conversations** | Reply Message, Private Note, Change Conversation, End Session | | **Flow** | Condition If/Else, Business Hours, Agent Availability, Wait, Save as Variable | | **CRM** | Contact Update, Customer Record | | **Voice** | Play Sound, Wait / Pause, IVR Menu, Forward to Agent, Forward to External Phone, Hang Up | | **External** | HTTP Request, Send Email | | **Tools** | Code, Date and Time | The picker only ever lists blocks that are legal in the current flow — a messaging flow never shows voice blocks, and a voice flow never shows Reply Message or Wait. ### Canvas | Gesture | Result | | --- | --- | | Drag empty canvas | Pan the view. | | Scroll wheel | Zoom in and out. | | Drag a block | Move it. | | Click a block | Select it and open its properties. | | Drag output port → input port | Connect two blocks. | | Hover a connection, click **✂** | Disconnect the two blocks. Both blocks stay on the canvas. | | Click a connection | Select it. | The bottom toolbar has zoom in/out, the zoom percentage, **Fit to View**, **Undo**, **Redo**, **Duplicate selected**, and **Delete selected**. A **minimap** in the bottom-right corner shows the whole flow and where you are in it. :::note You cannot connect anything *into* a trigger — triggers are always the start of a path. You also cannot connect a sticky note to anything. ::: ### Right panel — Properties Select any block and the right panel fills with its settings.  | Section | What it holds | | --- | --- | | **Configuration** | Every property of the selected block. Fields appear and disappear based on your choices — for example **Wait timeout** only appears once **Wait for client response** is on. | | **Available Variables** | Everything the blocks *above* this one produce, grouped by namespace (System, Message, Conversation, Contact, Channel, Reply, and more). Drag a variable straight into a text field, or click it to copy. See [Variables](./studio/variables.md). | | **Execution Log** · *Soon* | Per-block run history. Not available yet — the section is marked **Soon**, and an empty log there does not mean the block failed to run. | ### Warnings on a block A block shows a **⚠ warning badge** on the canvas, and an explanation at the top of its properties panel, when Studio can see it will not work: | Warning | What it means | | --- | --- | | This block is not connected to anything | Nothing points into it, so it can never run. Drag a connector from an earlier block into its top port. | | This is a voice block | It is in a messaging flow. Voice blocks only work in a flow that starts with Incoming Call. | | This block is not supported in Incoming Call voice flows | Use Play Sound, IVR, or a voice transfer instead. | | A required choice is missing | For example Send Email with no inbox, or Customer Record with no object type. | | Invalid JSON body | An HTTP Request whose JSON body no longer parses. | | The selected analytics alert no longer exists | The alert was deleted in Analytics. | You can keep editing with warnings on the canvas, but fix them before you publish — the publish dialog reminds you, and some warnings block publishing outright. ### Sticky notes Drag **Sticky Note** from **Editor Tools** onto the canvas to leave a comment for whoever opens the flow next: why a branch exists, what an external system expects, who to ask about it. Sticky notes have a title and a body, can be resized from the bottom-right corner, and have no ports. They are **editor-only** — they are never executed and are not part of the published flow. ### Keyboard shortcuts | Shortcut | Action | | --- | --- | | `Cmd/Ctrl + S` | Save the draft now | | `Cmd/Ctrl + Z` | Undo (up to 50 steps) | | `Cmd/Ctrl + Y` | Redo | | `Cmd/Ctrl + D` | Duplicate the selected block | | `Delete` | Delete the selected block or connection | Duplicating a block copies its type and all of its settings, but not its connections — wire the copy in yourself. ## How a flow runs 1. **An event happens** — a customer messages you, a call arrives, a form is submitted, a webhook is called, a schedule comes due, a record changes. 2. **Studio looks for live flows** whose trigger matches that event. Draft and paused flows are ignored. 3. **The matching trigger node runs.** If a flow holds two Incoming Message triggers — one for WhatsApp, one for Telegram — only the one whose settings match the event starts. 4. **The flow walks forward** along the connections. Where a block has several outgoing lines, **all** of them run. Where a condition chose a branch, only that branch runs. 5. **Each block adds its outputs to the flow's variables**, so later blocks can use them. 6. **A block can pause the flow** — Reply Message waiting for the customer's answer, or a Wait counting down. The rest of the flow resumes later, exactly where it stopped. Other branches keep running in the meantime. 7. **The run finishes** when every path has ended. Every run is recorded as an **execution** with a status: | Status | Meaning | | --- | --- | | `running` | Currently executing. | | `waiting` | Paused for a customer reply or a timer. | | `completed` | Every path finished. | | `failed` | A block returned an error. | | `timed_out` | A wait expired before the customer replied. | | `cancelled` | The run was stopped. | ## Studio and human agents When a flow starts handling a conversation, the conversation moves into the **Studio Bot** queue and shows that a flow owns it. This keeps bots and people from replying over each other. | Situation | What Studio does | | --- | --- | | Conversation has no agent | A matching flow can take it over and run. | | Conversation is assigned to a human agent | Studio **skips it entirely** — no triggers, no waiting flows, no replies. | | A flow hands the conversation to a human (**Human intervention**) | Studio releases ownership. Later messages go to the person, not back into the flow. | | The conversation is resolved | The handover marker is cleared, so a future re-open can be automated again. | | A flow runs **End Session** | Studio releases the conversation, and the next customer message starts trigger matching from scratch. | See [Change Conversation](./studio/actions.md#change-conversation) and [End Session](./studio/actions.md#end-session). ## Limits | Limit | Value | | --- | --- | | Blocks per flow | 200 | | Connections per flow | 500 | | Saved versions kept per flow | 50 (the most recent) | | Undo history | 50 steps | | Wait block | 1–15 seconds | | Voice Wait / Pause | 0–30 seconds | | Wait for a customer reply | Up to 30 days | | Recurring Schedule interval | 1 minute – 24 hours | | HTTP Request timeout | 1–60 seconds | | Email recipients per Send Email | 25 | | Custom email headers | 10 | ## Where to go next | Page | What it covers | | --- | --- | | [Build a flow with AI (Hermes)](./studio/ai-flow-builder.md) | Describe what you want, answer a few questions, and let AI lay out the flow. | | [Triggers — the WHEN blocks](./studio/triggers.md) | Every trigger, its properties, and the variables it produces. | | [Actions — the THEN blocks](./studio/actions.md) | Every action, its properties, and its outputs. | | [Conditions — the IF blocks](./studio/conditions.md) | Branching, operators, business hours, and agent availability. | | [Variables](./studio/variables.md) | The `{{variable}}` system and the full variable reference. | | [Voice call flows](./studio/voice-flows.md) | Building phone flows: greetings, IVR menus, transfers, recording. | | [Test, publish, and versions](./studio/publishing.md) | Draft vs. live, testing, publishing, rolling back. | | [Flow recipes](./studio/examples.md) | Complete, worked examples you can copy. | | [Troubleshooting](./studio/troubleshooting.md) | Why a flow didn't fire, and how to fix it. |