Files by Agent OS

Agents and automations often need to hand back more than a short message: a list of low-stock inventory, a summary report, a set of records pulled from a system.

Instead of sending that data as a message, the Files by Agent OS connector lets an agent or automation export it, whether that's content from your stack or any data produced during its run, into a proper file (CSV, JSON, TXT, or Markdown) and share a secure download link instead.

The link only works for people signed in to your organization, and it's automatically cleaned up after a set period of time.

With the Files by Agent OS connector, you can:

• Export content (for example, all content types in a stack, or any other data produced during an automation/agent run) into a file.
• Automatically deliver the file via email, Mailgun, or as a Contentstack asset, with a downloadable link.
• Control how long the generated file remains available for download.

Note The Files by Agent OS connector currently supports export only. Importing data through this connector is not supported.

• Create a File is opt-in. It only works for agents or automations where it has been explicitly added as a tool/connector; it is not included by default.
• The person setting up the agent or automation decides when a file should be created, based on what the agent or automation is doing.

Perform the following steps to set up the Files by Agent OS connector in an automation:

1. Click Configure Action Step in the left navigation panel.
2. Click Action Step to configure third-party services.
3. Within the Configure Action Step, click the Files by Agent OS connector.
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4. Under Choose an Action, select the Create a File action.
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5. On the Configure Action page, enter the following details:
   1. Data (required): Enter or map the data you want written to the file (for example, the output of a previous step, such as all content types fetched for a stack).
   2. File name (required): Enter a name for the generated file, including its extension (for example, export.md). The extension determines the file format (CSV, JSON, TXT, or MD).

Note The Create a File action only generates the file and its download link. To deliver the file to a user, add a follow-up step using a delivery connector, for example, Email (to send the file or link by email) and reference the URL (or other fields) from the output of the previous Create a File step.

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1. Once done, click Proceed.
2. Click Test Action to test the configured action.
3. On successful configuration, you see the output, which includes a download link for the generated file. Click Save and Exit.
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Follow the steps to add the tool:

1. Open the agent you want to add file creation to, in the builder.
2. In the Tools section, click Add Tool.
   
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3. From the list, click Files, enter the Data and the File name similar to automation.
4. Save your changes.
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Once added, the agent can generate a file as part of its response, any time it runs.

Note If the data does not match the requested format (for example, plain text data is passed in but the filename ends in .csv), the file is not created and the agent/automation reports that the export failed. Every time the agent or automation runs and creates a file, it is a brand-new file: nothing is ever overwritten. Each run has its own file, tied to that specific execution.

Create a File itself only creates the file and a download link; it doesn't send the file anywhere on its own. To actually deliver it to people, pair it with a delivery step using an "Attach File / Image by URL" field to pass the file along:

Examples:

• Email: attach the file to an email sent through the built-in Email connector.
• Mailgun: attach the file to an email sent through a connected Mailgun account.
• Contentstack: use the file to create a new asset, or update an existing one, in your Contentstack organization.

Note Sending files through Slack is not yet available for everyone.

Every time an agent or automation runs and creates a file, you can find that file from the execution details view for that run.

Look for the File step in the execution details. Instead of raw output, you'll see a file card with the file's information.

While the file is still available, the card shows:

• The file name and its format (CSV, JSON, TXT, or Markdown)
• The file size
• How much time is left before the file expires (for example, "Expires in 23h 41m")
• A Download button
• A Copy link button, to copy the download link

Clicking Download saves the file directly to your device, using its original file name.

Once the file has expired, the card instead shows:

• The file name, struck through
• A Link expired label
• Disabled Download and Copy link buttons
• A note letting you know the export has expired, the file and download link are no longer available, and you'll need to re-run the agent or automation to generate a fresh one

Note The download link only works for people who are signed in to the same organization the file belongs to. It isn't a public link.

• Default: 1 day.
• Editable by: Super Admins only. This window can be extended for enterprise customers depending on your organization's plan; there's currently no option to set a custom expiry time yourself.
• Expiry shown in: the expiry field in the Create a File action's output.
• Download link access: restricted to users with access to the automation/agent that generated it, not a public link.
• Once a file has expired, simply re-run the agent or automation to generate a new one.

• One file per run: Every time an agent or automation creates a file, it's a brand-new file tied to that run; nothing gets overwritten.
• Files have a size limit: By default, files can be up to 5 MB; this can be raised for enterprise customers. If the data is too large to fit within the limit, the export fails and the agent lets you know.
• Downloads only, no in-app preview: You can view a file's details (name, format, size) from the execution details view, but to see its contents you must download it.
• Export only: There is currently no option to import data using this connector.
• Not yet supported: Exporting to Excel/XLSX or PDF format, setting a custom expiry time, previewing files without downloading, and a dedicated file browser across all your exports. These may be added in future updates.