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[ARTICLE · art-149530] src=loomcycle.dev ↗ pub= topic=ai-agents verified=true sentiment=· neutral

A canvas for state-machine workflows

Loomcycle shipped a loomboard teams canvas that lets users describe multi-agent state-machine workflows by drawing them, with states as nodes, transitions as edges, and cursor sync between Canvas, JSON, and Split views. The canvas arrived in three arcs, adding inline state editing, live run visualization with abort control, channel and variable nodes with drag-to-inject, and a Check button that calls TeamDef op=verify on the current unsaved definition. Three limits remain: no multi-user editing (last-write-wins at save), live run visualization requires the operator token, and channel nodes show message counts rather than previews.

by read2 min views3 publishedOct 7, 2026

A multi-agent workflow in loomcycle is a state machine. It has an input, an output, and a graph of transitions between states where each state is a sub-agent run. You can describe one in YAML. You can also describe one by drawing it on a canvas. The teams canvas on loomboard shipped in three arcs. First, states as nodes and transitions as edges, with inline edit of a state's full definition in a side pane and live run visualization (states highlight as a walk progresses, click a running state and the sub-agent's conversation opens streaming live, abort control at the top stops a walk mid-flight). Second, channel and variable nodes with drag-to-inject (drop a channel onto a state and the state binds without typing YAML; drop a variable onto a prompt and it interpolates at the cursor), plus an Input node that starts a walk from a form and an End node that shows the terminal output chunk. Third, the tri-view (Canvas, JSON, Split) with cursor sync between the canvas and the JSON (click a node, the JSON jumps; click a JSON path, the canvas selects), New / Save / Import / Copy / Download, and a Check button that calls TeamDef op=verify on the current unsaved definition and surfaces refused or unrunnable or advisory findings next to the JSON cursor and on the offending node. Three limits: no multi-user editing yet (last-write-wins at save); live run visualization requires the operator token; channel nodes show message counts, not previews. What this makes possible: a workflow prototyped on the canvas by someone who thinks in diagrams can be reviewed in JSON by someone who thinks in text; both halves see the same definition. The canvas and the self-contained team file arrived in the same arc because they are the same work from two sides.

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