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Chat node

The Chat node answers a question with grounded context it retrieves itself: the flow’s embedded documents (vector search), a live web search, and any text files wired into its Files handle. It is the “chat with your data” node.

Handles

HandlePurpose
QuestionThe incoming question (a Start input, Prompt or text payload)
FilesText files to ground the answer on (Upload File nodes)
Answer{ answer, sources } — the answer and its grounding sources

Configuration

  • Answer model — the language model that writes the answer.
  • Instructions — an optional system prompt.
  • Search embedded data — retrieve matching chunks from the flow’s vector namespace (needs the flow to have embedded documents, see Embed Data). Set the embedding model, chunk count (Top K) and an optional rerank model.
  • Search the web — add a live web search (provider + model + depth).
  • Files — wire text files into the Files handle; their content becomes part of the context.

How it answers

The node retrieves context (embedded chunks → web result → wired files), caps the assembled context, and hands it to the answer model with your question. Every retrieval failure degrades to “no context” — the answer just has less grounding, the node does not fail. Only the final answering call can fail.

Test chat

The inspector has a Test chat box: ask one question and see one grounded answer, using the node’s current configuration — no saved history.

Full chat page

Each Chat node has a shareable chat page — click Open chat on the node (or visit the URL). A flow can hold several Chat nodes, so the page addresses exactly one by its node id (the “chat id”):

/<shortId>/chat/<nodeId>

On the page you can chat back and forth; the conversation is saved, the answer streams in as it is generated, and the view auto-scrolls to the latest message.

  • Public flows — anyone can open the page, but sending a question requires signing in (each asker pays their own tokens).
  • Private flows — only the owner and members can view or ask.
  • Each signed-in user gets their own conversation per chat node.

Output

The node returns:

{
  "answer": "…",
  "sources": [
    { "kind": "vector", "label": "a:0", "text": "…" },
    { "kind": "web", "text": "…" },
    { "kind": "file", "label": "notes.md", "text": "…" }
  ]
}

Notes

  • Requires a saved flow for embedded-data retrieval (the flow id is the vector namespace).
  • Retrieval and answer costs are billed through the gateway’s usage tracking.

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