Task types

Every task declares a type that selects the tool it runs. This page covers the core task types; iteration lives on the Loops page.

`type: agent`

Runs an agent with a prompt.

Component	Description	Type
agent_ref	The agent to use within the `agents` directory, referenced by the agent’s `name`.	required for `type: agent`
prompt	The input prompt passed to the agent for this task.	required for `type: agent`
consistency_run	Number of times to run the agent and select the most consistent output. Must be > 1 to enable.	optional (default: 1)
consistency_prompt	Custom evaluation prompt for consistency checking. Overrides Automation-level prompt. Supports Jinja templating with variables: `submission_1`, `submission_2`, `task_description`.	optional

Agent task consistency runs

You can enable consistency checking on agent tasks by setting consistency_run to a value greater than 1. This runs the agent multiple times with the same prompt and selects the most consistent output:

# Automation-level consistency prompt (applies to all agent tasks)
consistency_prompt: |
  Your custom evaluation prompt here...
  Use {{ submission_1 }}, {{ submission_2 }}, and {{ task_description }}

tasks:
  - name: calculate_revenue
    type: agent
    agent_ref: default
    prompt: "What was our total revenue last quarter?"
    consistency_run: 5 # Run 5 times and pick the most consistent result

  - name: analyze_trends
    type: agent
    agent_ref: default
    prompt: "What are the key sales trends?"
    consistency_run: 3
    # Task-level prompt overrides Automation-level prompt
    consistency_prompt: |
      Compare these trend analyses focusing on directional consistency:
      Submission 1: {{ submission_1 }}
      Submission 2: {{ submission_2 }}
      Are they factually consistent? Answer A or B.

This is particularly useful for:

Critical calculations where consistency is important
Data analysis tasks that may have slight variations in output
Queries involving complex logic where you want to verify the agent’s reasoning

Consistency prompt configuration:

Automation-level: Add consistency_prompt at the root to apply to all agent tasks
Task-level: Add consistency_prompt to a specific task to override the Automation prompt
Default: If not specified, uses the built-in evaluation prompt optimized for data analysis (view the default prompt source)

Available template variables:

{{ submission_1 }} - First output
{{ submission_2 }} - Second output
{{ task_description }} - The task prompt

Note: Custom prompts completely replace the default. To adapt the default for your domain, copy the source and modify the specific rules you need. See the Testing documentation for more details on consistency checking.

`type: execute_sql`

Executes a SQL query either referenced by filename or provided inline.

Component	Description	Type
sql_file	The sql file within the `data` directory to execute	required (or use `sql_query`)
sql_query	Inline SQL query to execute (alternative to `sql_file`)	required (or use `sql_file`)
database	The name of the `database` to execute the query against	required

You can use either sql_file to reference a SQL file, or sql_query to provide the SQL inline. Note: These options are mutually exclusive—only one should be used at a time. Specifying both in a single task is not allowed.

# Using sql_file
- name: query_with_file
  type: execute_sql
  sql_file: my_query.sql
  database: local

# Using sql_query inline
- name: query_inline
  type: execute_sql
  sql_query: |
    SELECT * FROM users
    WHERE created_at > '2024-01-01'
  database: local

`type: formatter`

Formats the provided template using the outputs of other tasks, then passes the rendered template as output.

Component	Description	Type
template	The template to be rendered and passed as output.	required

`type: workflow`

Runs another Automation as a sub-step.

Component	Description	Type
src	Path to the Automation yml file to execute. Relative to the root of the oxy directory.	required
variables	Variables that are passed through, overriding the sub-Automation’s variables.	optional

Use this to break up complex Automations into smaller, easily testable chunks. The variables key allows parameterization by overriding the sub-Automation’s Automation-level variables. This is particularly useful when embedding an Automation task into a loop:

- name: loop_brands
  type: loop_sequential
  values: ["brand1", "brand2"]
  concurrency: 10
  tasks:
    - name: brand_stats
      type: workflow
      src: brand_stats.automation.yml
      variables:
        brand_rollup: "{{ loop_brands.value }}"

Next steps

Loops

Iterate over values with loop_sequential

Variables

Parameterize tasks with typed inputs

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Task types

`type: agent`

Agent task consistency runs

`type: execute_sql`

`type: formatter`

`type: workflow`

Next steps

Loops

Variables

​type: agent

​Agent task consistency runs

​type: execute_sql

​type: formatter

​type: workflow

​Next steps

Loops

Variables

`type: agent`

Agent task consistency runs

`type: execute_sql`

`type: formatter`

`type: workflow`

Next steps