Building on the Canvas
Building an automation is like laying out a board game: you place pieces on a board, draw the paths between them, and set the rules on each piece. In Nirvai, the board is the canvas — creating an automation drops you straight onto it, with the trigger already placed as the first block.
The canvas at a glance
| Area | What it does |
|---|---|
| Trigger block (top) | Click it to set what starts the automation (Choosing a Trigger) |
| + button | Opens the block drawer — everything you can add |
| Toolbar | Save, the activation switch, Test Run, the version pill, and Options |
| Tidy up | Re-arranges all blocks into a clean layout when things get messy |
| History | Your saved versions (Versions & Safety) |
Here's a small canvas to explore — click any block to see what its settings panel holds:
- Rules:
{{item.amount}}greater than 5000. - Only items that pass continue to the next block.
- An empty result ends the branch quietly — no error.
Adding blocks
Click + (or the + that appears on any connection line) to open the block drawer. It has three sections:
| Section | Contains | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AI | Agent Step, Decision / Router | Uses credits |
| Logic | Condition, Switch, Filter, Loop, For Each | Free |
| Actions | Tool, Code, Database | Free |
Pick a block and it lands on the canvas; click it to open its settings. Each block type has its own setup panel — see AI Steps and Logic & Action Blocks.
Connecting blocks
Drag from the dot at the bottom of one block to the top of another — that line means "then do this." Branching blocks (condition, switch) grow one line per path. To remove a block, hover it and use the delete button; its connections go with it.
Saving — and the safety net
Click Save to keep your work; the canvas also saves as you edit. If a teammate changed the same automation from another tab, Nirvai refuses to overwrite them silently: a dialog shows who edited last and lets you either load their latest version or knowingly keep yours.
"Save mine anyway" replaces your teammate's changes. When in doubt, load the latest version first — you can always restore your own work from a saved version.
Testing and activating
- Test Run (toolbar) runs the automation now and opens the live view, where you watch each block light up and inspect what it produced — details in Testing & Runs.
- The activation switch makes it live: schedules start firing, app triggers start listening, manual automations get their Run button.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| I can't connect two blocks | Drag from the bottom dot of the first to the top of the second. Blocks inside a loop can only connect within that loop. |
| The canvas is a tangle | Click Tidy up — it re-lays out everything from scratch (your manual positions are discarded). |
| A dialog says someone else edited this automation | A teammate (or another of your own tabs) saved after you opened it. Load the latest version, or keep yours knowingly. |
| My change doesn't show in a test run | Save first — Test Run always runs the saved automation, and it will stop and tell you if the save didn't land. |
What's next
Set up your thinking steps in AI Steps, or your free workhorses in Logic & Action Blocks.