Tasks

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Overview

Tasks are GitHub Actions-style workflows that define multi-step actions in Julep. Think of them as recipes that tell an agent exactly how to accomplish a goal. For example, a task might outline the steps to “Summarize a Research Paper” or “Debug a Code Issue”.

Here are some of the key features of tasks:

• Connect multiple AI operations seamlessly
• Make decisions based on intermediate results
• Run operations in parallel for efficiency
• Integrate with external tools and APIs
• Maintain state throughout execution

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Components

A task consists of several key components which can be broadly classified into:

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Input Schema

name: Summarize Document
description: Create a concise summary of any document
input_schema:
  type: object
  properties:
    document_text:
      type: string
      description: The text to summarize

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Tools

Tools are functions that can be used by an agent to perform tasks. Julep supports:

• User-defined functions
• System tools
• Integrations
• API calls

Learn more about tools here.

tools:
  - name: internet_search
    description: Performs an internet search using Brave
    type: integration
    integration:
      provider: brave
      method: search
      setup:
        api_key: <BRAVE_API_KEY>

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Sub-Workflows

A task can be made up of multiple sub-workflows. These sub-workflows can be named and can be used to break down complex tasks into smaller, more manageable pieces.

name: Summarize Document
description: Create a concise summary of any document

sample_sub_workflow:
  - prompt: |-
      Tell me a joke about {{inputs[0].topic}}:

main:
- workflow: sample_sub_workflow
  arguments:
    topic: "'AI'"

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Steps

Below is a table of all the steps that can be used in a task.

You can learn more about workflow steps as to how they work in the Workflow Steps section.

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Context Variables

Tasks have access to three types of context:

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Input Variables

Access input parameters:

- prompt: "Hello {{inputs[0].user_name}}"

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Step Results

Use outputs from previous steps:

- evaluate: len(_.search_results)
- if: _.count > 0

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Environment Context

Access agent and session data:

- prompt: "Agent {{agent.name}} is helping you"

Here’s how these components work together:

name: Process Customer Feedback
description: Analyze and categorize customer feedback
input_schema:
  type: object
  required: ["feedback_text"]
  properties:
    feedback_text:
      type: string
    sentiment_analysis:
      type: boolean
      default: true

tools:
  - name: categorize
    integration:
      provider: classification
      method: categorize

main:
  - prompt: Analyze customer sentiment
  - tool: categorize
    arguments:
      text: inputs[0].feedback_text

Learn more about tools here.

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Metadata

Metadata is a key-value pair that can be used to categorize and filter tasks.

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How to Use Tasks ?

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Creating a Task

Here’s a simple task that summarizes a document and checks if the summary is too long. We first define the task in a YAML file and then create it using the Julep SDK.

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Executing a Task

Here’s how to execute a task:

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Relationship to Other Concepts

This section will help you understand how tasks relate to other concepts in Julep.

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Agents

Julep agents can power tasks by providing memory, context, or tools. Tasks are multi-step workflows designed for complex, automated execution. Whenever you create a task, you can associate it with an agent if you want to leverage that agent’s capabilities. Unlike sessions, tasks are not meant for real-time interaction; they run through a defined workflow to achieve a goal.

For example:

# Create an agent with specific tools
agent = client.agents.create(
    name="Customer Support Agent",
    tools=["email", "ticket_system"]
)

# Create a task that inherits these tools
task = client.tasks.create(
    agent_id=agent.id,
    name="Handle Support Request",
    main=[
        {"tool": "email", "arguments": {"to": "{{inputs.customer}}"}}
    ]
)

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Tools

Task can leverage tools to perform complex operations. Tools can be defined in the task definition or can be associated with an agent. When you define a tool in the task definition, it is available to all steps in that task only. On the other hand, when you associate a tool with an agent, it is available to all the Tasks associated with that agent.

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Best Practices

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Next Steps

• Workflow Steps - Learn about all available step types
• Tools - Learn about tools and how to use them in tasks
• Sessions - Learn about sessions and how to use them in tasks