API / Developers
Build Around the Event, Context, and Outcome Your Application Actually Needs
The Flow Pilot AI developer path is for teams that need a custom connection between an application and an operational workflow. A useful API integration starts with a clear contract: what event begins the work, which context must be sent, which states can occur, and what the calling application should do with the result.
This page focuses on those implementation decisions so developers can define the integration before writing unnecessary code.
Define the Event That Starts the Workflow
Choose a specific system change that should create work in Flow Pilot AI. Examples include a record being created, a status changing, a request reaching a review state, an assignment being made, or a threshold being reached.
A narrow event definition makes the integration easier to test and helps prevent duplicate or unrelated requests from entering the workflow.
{
"type": "record.updated",
"source": "operations-app",
"record_id": "req_4821"
}
Send Only the Context Required for the Next Decision
The payload should contain the identifiers, fields, history, ownership, priority, or other context the workflow needs to understand the event. Avoid copying entire records simply because the source API exposes them.
Keeping the request purposeful makes validation simpler, reduces ambiguity, and gives both systems a clearer contract to maintain over time.
Design the Return Path Before You Build the Request
The calling application should know how to react when the workflow completes, pauses for review, needs more information, retries an action, or cannot continue. Define these states before implementation so the integration does not depend on a single success path.
Where practical, return the result to the system where the team already works so status and ownership remain visible in one place.
Scope Authentication and Permissions to the Integration Job
Credentials should provide the minimum access required for the connection. Decide which resources can be read, which actions can be performed, and whether separate environments or credentials are needed for development and production.
For broader workflow access and review considerations, see the Security page.
Treat Errors, Retries, and Review States as Part of the Contract
Production integrations need explicit behavior for validation errors, authorization failures, unavailable dependencies, duplicate events, incomplete context, and business states that require human review. These should be defined as expected integration behavior instead of edge cases left until launch.
Use stable identifiers or correlation IDs so activity can be traced across the calling application and Flow Pilot AI. If requests may be retried, make sure repeating the same event does not repeat the underlying business action unintentionally.
Use Webhooks When the Calling System Needs State Changes
When an application needs to react to a later workflow outcome, a webhook or similar event callback can be more appropriate than repeatedly polling for status. Define which state changes matter, how the receiver verifies the request, and what should happen if delivery fails.
The important part is not the transport alone. The receiving application should be able to understand the event and decide what to do next without reconstructing missing workflow context.
Information to Prepare Before Discussing a Custom API Integration
Bring the event you need to send, the fields or context it carries, the action or decision Flow Pilot AI should support, the possible result states, the system that should receive the outcome, and any human review point in the path.
If a standard connector may cover the workflow, review the Integrations Directory first. If the connection requires custom application behavior, this information gives the technical conversation a clear starting point.