# Your first flow

> Getting started · https://spoletta.com/docs/quickstart

Build a flow in which a person names a topic and an AI agent writes a short post about it, then run it and watch it work.

*Diagram: What you will build.*

## Build it

1.  **Create the flow**
    
    On the flow list, type a name such as *Short post* under **Flows** and press **New flow**. Its board opens, empty but for the **Start** node.
    
2.  **Add a person's step**
    
    Drag **Process** from the **Building blocks** in the sidebar onto the board (or double-click the empty canvas). Name it *Ask for topic* and press `Enter`. Open its settings with the gear and set **Type** to **Human**.
    
3.  **Point the start at it**
    
    Drag from the Start node's handle onto *Ask for topic*. A run now begins there.
    
4.  **Add what the person fills in**
    
    Hover *Ask for topic* and press the **+** below it (“Add an object the person fills in”). Name the new object *Topic*. Because the person doesn't take Topic, they fill it in.
    
5.  **Add the agent**
    
    Press the **+** below *Topic* (“Add a process that takes this object”) and name it *Write post*. A new process is an agent. In its settings, write the **Prompt**:
    
    *Write a 150-word post about the Topic for our engineering blog: concrete, friendly, no buzzwords.*
    
6.  **Add its output**
    
    Press the **+** below *Write post* and name the object *Post*.
    

> **Tip:** Open **OPL** in the toolbar to read back what you drew. You should see *“Ask for topic” has a person fill in “Topic”*, *“Write post” takes “Topic”* and *“Write post” yields “Post”*.

## Run it

1.  **Press Run**
    
    The round play button at the right of the toolbar starts a run. The run opens on the board and the board becomes read-only while you watch it.
    
2.  **Fill in the topic**
    
    *Ask for topic* turns orange and pulses: it is waiting for a person. A dialog opens, **Waiting for your input**. Type a topic and press **Submit**.
    
3.  **Watch the agent**
    
    *Write post* turns yellow while it runs. In the run panel, open its step and **What the agent did** to follow its work live.
    
4.  **Read the result**
    
    When the step turns green, *Post* is generated. Its value is under **Output** in the step, and hovering the object on the board shows it too.
    

## Where next

Add a review: have a person approve the post or send it back with instructions. That is the next idea, covered in [People in the loop](https://spoletta.com/docs/people.md) and [Review loops](https://spoletta.com/docs/loops.md). To understand each piece you just used, start with [What is OPM](https://spoletta.com/docs/opm.md).