How do I use the navigation pane in Playbooks?

Four panels shape how every Playbook works: Inputs, Artifacts, Tools, and Triggers. Inputs define what the Playbook accepts, artifacts set your output format, tools connect to external services, and triggers automate when it all runs. Understanding each one is foundational to building Playbooks that behave exactly as intended. This tutorial covers all four.

Key takeaways

  1. The navigation pane is where you manage every Playbook component: Inputs, Artifacts, Tools, and Triggers, all from one place.
  2. Inputs support multiple data types including text, numbers, JSON, files, Brand Kits, and Knowledge Bases; reference them in steps using {{ variable_name }}.
  3. Artifacts define the output format your Playbook produces, such as Markdown, HTML, JSON, CSV, or images.
  4. Tools connect your Playbook to external services; enable only what you need, and set up MCP Connectors in Settings before they appear.
  5. A single Playbook can have multiple triggers, so it can run on a schedule and respond to a webhook simultaneously.

Tutorial overview

The navigation pane is the vertical sidebar on the left side of the AirOps Playbook editor. It's where every key configuration lives, giving you quick access to Inputs, Artifacts, Tools, and Triggers from one place.

Inputs are the dynamic pieces of information that feed into your agent at runtime. Artifacts are the content formats your agent produces, such as Markdown, HTML, JSON, CSV, or images. Tools let your agent take actions and communicate with external services. Triggers automate when your Playbooks run.

Each section plays a specific role in how your Playbook behaves, what it produces, and when it fires. Understanding the navigation pane means you can build smarter Playbooks faster, with the right inputs, outputs, actions, and automations configured from the start.

Practice

  1. Open the Inputs Panel and Configure Input Variables

    The Inputs panel in AirOps Playbooks displays all currently defined input variables for the Playbook, accessible from the left navigation pane. To add a new input, configure the Type, Label, and Required setting — these fields define how the variable is presented and whether it must be supplied before the Playbook can run.

  2. Open the Artifacts Panel and Add an Output Artifact

    The Artifacts panel in AirOps Playbooks displays all output artifacts configured for the Playbook, accessible from the left navigation pane. To add an artifact, select the output type the Playbook will produce — this defines the format and structure of the content generated when the Playbook runs.

  3. Click the Tools icon to manage integrations

    Access the full list of connected and available integrations from the Tools icon in the Playbook editor. Use it to enable or disable the data connections available to this Playbook.

  4. Open Triggers panel to configure automation

    Automation starts here. Click the clock icon in the editor to open the Triggers panel, where schedule-based and event-based automations are configured to run the Playbook automatically.

  5. Download a Playbook as Markdown or JSON

    The AirOps Playbook editor allows exporting a Playbook as either a Markdown or JSON file. Use the download option from the Playbook settings to save the current Playbook structure locally for backup, version control, or sharing.

  6. Import a Playbook from Markdown or JSON

    Bring an existing workflow structure into AirOps directly from a Markdown or JSON file. Use the import option in the Playbook editor to upload the file and restore a previously exported Playbook or one created outside the platform.