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What are workflows?

Workflows are the backend logic that powers your Zite apps. They let you:
  • Connect to databases: Read and write data from Zite Database, Airtable, Google Sheets, and more
  • Send messages: Trigger Slack notifications or send emails (coming soon)
  • Run AI operations: Generate text, images, or structured data with OpenAI
  • Process data: Transform, filter, and combine data from multiple sources
  • Call external APIs: Connect to third-party services
Workflows are sometimes called endpoints or API routes.

Create workflows

1

Describe the logic

Tell Zite what you want the workflow to do. For example:
Create a workflow that searches for products by name 
and returns matching results with their prices.
2

Connect integrations

If the workflow needs access to a service (like Slack or Airtable), Zite will prompt you to + Connect it.Connect integration prompt
3

Review and test

Zite generates the workflow and shows you a visual preview of what it does. Use Test run to verify it works as expected. More info here.For authenticated workflows, choose which user context to test withTest run modal
Be specific in your prompts. Instead of “save user data,” try “when a user submits the form, create a new record in the Contacts table with their name and email.”

Available integrations

Workflows can connect to these services out of the box:
IntegrationWhat you can do
Zite DatabaseCreate, read, update, and delete records in your built-in database
AirtableCreate, read, update, and delete records in your Airtable bases and tables
Google SheetsRead rows, append data, and update spreadsheets
SlackSend messages to channels or users
OpenAIGenerate text, images, or structured data with AI
Learn how to link your accounts and use integrations in your app here.

View workflows

Click Workflows see all workflows in your app. Each workflow shows a name, its description, apps it uses (Database, Slack, OpenAI, etc.), and who has access. Workflows list Click any workflow to open the editor, where you can view the code, see a visual preview, or check the run history.
  • Name – The workflow’s identifier
  • Description – What the workflow does
  • Integration icons – Which services the workflow uses
Workflows list Click any workflow to open the editor, where you can view the code, see a visual preview, or check the run history.

Authentication

Workflows can require users to be logged in. When authentication is enabled:
  • Only logged-in users can trigger the workflow
  • The workflow has access to the current user’s info (ID, email, profile data)
  • Requests from non-logged-in users are automatically rejected

Add user login

Set up authentication for your app.

Workflow editor

The workflow editor has three tabs:
TabDescription
PreviewVisual diagram showing the workflow’s steps
CodeThe TypeScript code powering the workflow
HistoryExecution logs for debugging (learn more)
Workflow editor
You don’t need to write or understand code to use Zite Workflows. The code tab is there if you want to inspect or manually edit the logic.

Streaming workflows

For real-time AI chat experiences, workflows can stream responses back to the user as they’re generated—just like ChatGPT. Ask Zite to “create a chat interface” or “add an AI assistant,” and it will set up a streaming workflow automatically.

Example prompts

Here are some prompts to help you get started:
  • “Create a workflow to fetch all orders from the past 7 days”
  • “Add a workflow that creates a new contact when the form is submitted”
  • “Update the task status to ‘completed’ when the user clicks done”
  • “Send a Slack message to #sales when a new lead is created”
  • “Notify the team in Slack when a new order is placed”
  • “Post to #support when a ticket is marked urgent”
  • “Add an AI chat assistant that answers questions about our products”
  • “Generate a summary of the customer’s order history”
  • “Create a workflow that categorizes support tickets using AI”
  • “Fetch data from Airtable and sync it to Google Sheets”
  • “Calculate the total revenue from all orders this month”
  • “Filter contacts by status and return only active ones”

Best practices

  1. Keep workflows focused.Each workflow should do one thing well. Break complex logic into multiple workflows.
  2. Test before publishing.Use the live app preview and test your app to verify your workflows work correctly.
  3. Check the run history. When something goes wrong, the run history shows exactly what happened.
  4. Let AI debug for you. Ask Zite “why is my workflow failing?” and it can analyze the logs to help.
Need help? Contact our support team at [email protected].