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What are Recipes?

A Recipe is a reusable, multi-step procedure that your AI agent runs for you. You describe the steps once — research, write, and produce deliverables — then run the same Recipe any time with new inputs. Recipes live under Automate in the sidebar. Open Automate → Recipes.

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Why use Recipes?

Some work repeats with the same shape but different details — the same content brief for a new keyword, the same page audit for a new URL. Workflows automate fixed block-by-block pipelines. Recipes give your agent a written procedure it can follow with judgment, calling tools as needed at each step. Use a Recipe when you want to:
  • Run the same multi-step process repeatedly with new inputs.
  • Combine research, analysis, and writing into one repeatable run.
  • Produce reviewable deliverables such as briefs, reports, or files.

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How a Recipe is built

Every Recipe is made of a few parts: A Recipe has two states: a Draft you edit, and a Published version you run. Publishing creates an immutable version (Published v1, v2, and so on) so existing runs stay consistent when you keep editing.

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Create a Recipe

  1. Go to Automate → Recipes in the sidebar.
  2. Click New Recipe.
  3. In the Create New Recipe dialog, choose one:
    • Blank Recipe — start from scratch.
    • A template — browse by category or search, then copy a published template into your workspace.
  4. The Recipe opens in the editor on the Recipe tab.
You can also click Import on the Recipes list to add a Recipe from a .slate-recipe.json file. During import, Slate asks you to map any referenced resources (such as workflows or sheets) to equivalents in your workspace. The Recipe is imported as a draft.

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Edit a Recipe

In the editor’s Recipe tab, build out the procedure:
  1. Name and describe the Recipe at the top.
  2. Add sections — one per step. Give each a title and instructions. Type / in the instructions to insert inputs, artifacts, tools, workflows, sheets, Brand Kit context, or a review gate.
  3. Add inputs the Recipe needs. Each input has a label, a type, and a Required switch. Supported types are text, long text, URL, number, boolean, select, date, file, brand kit, and JSON.
  4. Add artifacts the Recipe produces. Artifacts can be Markdown, Text, or JSON, or generated files: PDF, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX, CSV, and HTML.
  5. Set tool selection with the Tool selection menu. The mode applies to every section in the Recipe:
    • Auto (add as needed) — uses the tools you add, and Slate can pull in others when a section needs them.
    • Only what I select — uses only the tools you add.
    • No tools — works only from inputs and earlier results.
Add a review gate to any section that produces a deliverable you want to check. Open the section’s ⋯ menu and click Add Human Review. The run pauses after that section until someone approves.
Under Notify, choose who gets the review notification: Whoever runs the recipe (the default) or a Specific user.

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Publish a Recipe

When the Draft is ready, click Publish. Slate validates the Recipe and saves an immutable version. The status badge changes from Draft to Published vN.

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Switch the active version

Click the Published vN badge to see every published version. Click Switch next to a version to make it the active one.

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Add a webhook trigger

A webhook trigger lets another system start a run. Add trigger is available after you publish.
  1. Click Add trigger next to the Inputs and Artifacts chips.
  2. In Webhook triggers, enter a Trigger name and click Create.
  3. Copy the webhook URL and token. The token is shown only once.
Each trigger is pinned to the version that was active when you created it. Use the trigger’s switch to enable or disable it. To start a run, send a POST request to the webhook URL with the Recipe’s inputs in an input object.

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Run a Recipe

  1. Click Run (from the Recipes list or inside the editor). The Run recipe dialog opens.
  2. Choose the version to run:
    • Published vN — the active published version (recommended for consistent results). This option appears only after you publish.
    • Current draft — test changes before publishing.
  3. Fill in the inputs. Required inputs are marked with an asterisk.
  4. Click Run.
If the Recipe has no inputs, Slate skips the dialog and starts the run right away. While the Recipe runs, the run workspace shows:
  • A To Do checklist with each section as a step and its live status.
  • Inputs, with the values you passed in.
  • Details, with the run’s status, duration, and Cost in credits.
  • Artifacts as they are produced. You can view and edit markdown artifacts inline, save your changes, and download outputs.
  • An Activity panel showing the agent’s work as it happens. Use its message box (Type your response…) to reply to the agent during the run.

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Approve a review gate

When a run reaches a section with a review gate, it pauses and shows a Review required panel with the section and the artifacts to check. You can:
  • Edit an artifact before deciding. If you have unsaved edits when you approve, Slate asks you to Save & approve or Discard & approve.
  • Click Approve & continue to resume the run, or Reject to stop it.

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Track runs

Every run is saved to history.
  • The Run History tab inside a Recipe shows that Recipe’s runs with status and timing.
  • The Recent Runs tab on the Recipes list shows recent runs across every Recipe in the workspace.
Open any run to revisit its sections, inputs, and artifacts.

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Archive a Recipe

Recipes are archived, not deleted. On the Recipes list, open a Recipe’s ⋯ menu and click Archive. To archive several at once, select them and click Archive. Archived Recipes are hidden from the default list. Their published versions and run history are kept. To see them, set the Status filter to Archived.

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Share a Recipe

Export a Recipe to download it as a .slate-recipe.json file:
  • On the Recipes list, open the Recipe’s ⋯ menu and click Export. This exports the active published version, or the draft if the Recipe isn’t published.
  • In the editor, click the export icon (Export this Recipe). This exports the current draft.
Share that file, then use Import in another workspace to bring the Recipe in.

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What’s next

  • Cowork — work with the Slate agent on open-ended, one-off tasks.
  • Workflows — automate fixed, block-by-block pipelines.
  • Sheets — run automation in bulk across rows.
  • Brand Kit — give your agent brand context to use in Recipes.