Choose the Right Builder
Ragtime has three builders that can look similar at first: each connects steps or decisions. They solve different problems, however, and they run at different points in the product.
The fastest way to choose is to ask: is this part of the conversation, or is it work that must continue independently of the conversation?
| Builder | What it controls | How long it lives | Use it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Actions | What the assistant can do, ask, or trigger | A chat turn or a chat session | The assistant needs to fetch data or call an API, the visitor should fill in details step by step, your page should react, or something should run when a chat starts or ends. |
| Conversation Stages | The assistant’s conversational modes, instructions, and available actions | A conversation | The assistant should move between focused roles such as intake, advice, and handoff. |
| Operational Workflows | Server-side business processes | Until the run completes, even after the chat ends | Work must run on a schedule or event, wait safely, update other systems, and leave an execution history. |
Your page can also talk to the conversation. Page Events let it report what the visitor is doing, such as the room they tapped on a map. They work alongside all three builders.
A practical example
Section titled “A practical example”Imagine a support assistant helping someone with a damaged delivery.
- An Action looks up the order while the visitor is chatting, and another collects the order number, damage category, and preferred resolution in a short form.
- Conversation stages move the assistant from initial triage to policy guidance, then to a handoff mode with different instructions and actions.
- An Operational Workflow creates follow-up work after the conversation, waits for a condition or scheduled time, updates a support ticket, and records whether every step succeeded.
These systems can work together, but one is not a more advanced version of another. A workflow does not replace the conversation, and conversation stages are not a background job runner.
Quick decision guide
Section titled “Quick decision guide”Use an Action for anything the assistant does or asks during the chat: a lookup, a form, a page event, or a step that runs when the chat starts or ends.
Use Conversation stages when the conversation itself needs distinct phases with focused instructions or restricted action access.
Use an Operational Workflow when the process belongs to your operations: it starts from an event, API call, webhook, or schedule; may outlive a session; and must be inspectable and recoverable.
What about n8n?
Section titled “What about n8n?”n8n workflows run in n8n, outside Ragtime. They remain useful when n8n is your organization’s shared automation layer or when a process spans many systems that n8n already connects. See n8n Setup and n8n Workflow Templates.
Operational Workflows are native to Ragtime. They can use published assistant snapshots, Ragtime events, configured endpoints, and organization integrations without handing execution to another automation platform.