1. Choose a trigger
Pick the event that starts the workflow: manual, document imported, document processed, document published, email received, intake form, or scheduled. Choose the narrowest trigger that matches the business process. If the workflow should only run for a certain Vault, document type, team, intake form, or schedule, capture that in the workflow design instead of relying on manual filtering later.2. Add steps
Add action and condition blocks in the order they should run. Prefer specific actions when available, such as Apply Playbook, Lookup Record, Create/Update Record, Fill Template, Request Approval, Send Email, or API Request. Use Run General Action for reusable AI-led analysis that produces a named output for later steps. Common building blocks include:- Wait for document processing before reading extracted text or tags.
- Apply a playbook when the workflow needs reusable review rules.
- Fill a template when the output should become a document.
- Lookup or create a record when the output should become structured business data.
- Request approval before publishing, sending, or making high-impact changes.
- Send to Legislate when validated data or documents should be published to the Legislate archive.
3. Configure outputs
Use output labels and variables when later steps need values from earlier steps. Record, template, report, email, and API steps can all depend on prior outputs. Name outputs for the business meaning of the value, not just the step that produced it. For example, usecounterparty_name, renewal_notice_date, or risk_summary rather than step_2_output.
4. Test and monitor
Run the workflow manually first when possible. Use the builder warnings, preview/test tools, and run history to inspect trigger scope, step status, generated files, playbook applications, approval state, errors, and outputs. When testing with agents, ask them to summarize:- The trigger and input documents.
- Each completed, skipped, or failed step.
- Any records, reports, alerts, approvals, emails, or Legislate publications created.
- The identifiers a human should use for audit or follow-up.