Core Concepts

Before you build complex applications, it helps to understand the mental model behind Culvii. The SDK gives you tools to structure tasks, manage state, and coordinate AI agents.

Workflows

A Workflow is a structured process that achieves a specific goal. Think of it as a blueprint for a task. It takes an input, runs through a series of operations, and produces an output.

Workflows help you break down large, complex problems into smaller, manageable pieces. They keep your logic organized and make it easier to test individual parts of your application.

Steps

A Step is a single unit of work within a Workflow. If a Workflow is a recipe, a Step is one instruction in that recipe.

Steps can do almost anything. They can run standard code, call external APIs, or trigger AI models. You chain Steps together to build your Workflow. Each Step receives context from the Workflow, does its job, and passes results to the next Step.

Programmatic Workflows vs Multi-Agent Engine

Culvii offers two main ways to build applications. You choose the approach that fits your problem.

Programmatic Workflows

Use Programmatic Workflows when you know exactly what needs to happen. You define the exact sequence of Steps. The execution path is predictable and explicit.

This approach is perfect for structured tasks like data processing, report generation, or any process where the rules are clear and unchanging. You write the code, and the Workflow follows it exactly.

Multi-Agent Engine

Use the Multi-Agent Engine when the path to the goal is dynamic. Instead of hardcoding the steps, you define a group of AI agents with specific roles and tools.

The engine looks at the goal and decides which agents to use and in what order. The agents collaborate, share information, and figure out how to solve the problem on their own. This is ideal for open ended tasks like research, creative writing, or complex problem solving where you can't predict every step in advance.