A workflow is an automation: a trigger starts it, steps run in order or in parallel, and BeyDock acts on the results. It can comment on a pull request, open a fix branch, ask you for approval or send a notification. Workflows run on your own machines with your own subscriptions. Every agent step is a real session you can open, read and take over.
Turn Workflows on
Workflows are off by default. Open Settings › Workflows and turn on Enable Workflows. A Workflows section then appears in the Home sidebar. Turning it off stops scheduling and polling.
Create a workflow
- In Home, click + next to Workflows, or New Workflow on an empty page.
- Pick a template: Blank, Repo health report, Fix TODOs, Write tests, Review pull requests, Fix failing CI, Fix on comment, Nightly maintenance, Weekly dependency update or Weekly summary. Or choose Describe It Instead: BeyDock starts from the Blank template (one agent step you run by hand) and opens the Assistant so you can describe what you want.
- Enter a Name, choose the device to Run on and the Repository.
- Click Create.
Templates that start on their own, on a schedule or a GitHub event, begin turned off. Review one, then choose Turn On Workflow from its menu.
The workflow page
Switch between four views at the top: Canvas, YAML, Steps and Runs. The workflow is a YAML file, and the canvas edits that same file. On the canvas you add nodes from the Library panel, edit the selected node in Inspector, and connect nodes to branch or run in parallel.
- Triggers: Manual, Schedule, Pull request, Actions run, Comment command (
/bey <command>) and Push to branch. - Steps: Agent, Run Command, GitHub steps (Comment, Review, Commit Status, Labels, Push branch, Open PR, Merge, Re-run), Branch, Switch, For Each, Queue, Approval and Notify.
Each agent step picks its own provider, account, model and effort, so one workflow can mix providers.
Safe by default
- Agent steps are read-only unless you set the step to
edit. A step that edits works in its own worktree. Changes reach your main branch only through an explicit merge, pull request or push step. - GitHub steps need a matching
permissions:entry in the workflow. - An approval step pauses the run until you decide. It appears under Needs attention in Overview and as a notification. A run can wait overnight.
Run and follow
Click Run. If the workflow has manual inputs, a sheet asks for them. It also has a Dry run switch that skips GitHub actions and notifications, so you can see what each step would have done. The Runs view lists runs. A run page shows Run #n, its steps, and buttons to Stop or Run Again. You can open any agent step's session and take it over. Click Done when you finish, and the run continues.
Workflows stored in a repository under .beydock/workflows on its default branch show up as available. They stay off until you read them and click Approve, and they stop again if the file changes.
Settings
Settings › Workflows has:
- Open at Login and Show in Dock when no windows are open. Schedules on this Mac only fire while BeyDock is running.
- Prevent sleep while running and Even with the lid closed. See Keep Awake.
- Default time zone and Show in menu bar.
- Limits for agents, worktrees and a usage ceiling, and Account pools that spread parallel steps over several accounts of one provider.
A workflow on an SSH host runs there, even while your Mac sleeps.
The Assistant
Click the robot icon in the workflow header to open the Assistant. Describe what you want in plain words. A real agent session edits the YAML in small steps. The canvas shows its cursor and changes as they happen. After each turn BeyDock validates the file and sends any errors back to the agent. The card shows what changed, for example "Changed 3 steps", with Revert. Start Over archives the conversation and keeps the workflow.
Sessions can also list, validate and run workflows through the Workflows tools in Home › Connections › BeyDock. Running one always asks you first.