Catalyst workspace

The main Catalyst page has three views:

• Chat: Conversational sessions with a message thread and resource panel
• Agents: Scheduled Catalyst runs that execute automatically on a cron schedule
• Catalyst skills: Team-specific instructions that guide Catalyst behavior (separate from help desk skills)

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Chat

Chat with Catalyst to build automations from natural language descriptions. Above the chat composer are a number of ways to get started quickly, including Quickstart, Browse prompts, Workflow types, and Install workflows.

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Team vs private chats

Every Catalyst chat has a visibility setting:

• Team chat: Anyone on the team with Catalyst access
• Private chat: Only you

Choose visibility when starting a new chat from the picker on the composer. For an existing session, use the visibility picker in the chat header to switch between team and private.

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Fast vs thinking mode

Catalyst offers Fast and Thinking modes that trade off between speed and depth of reasoning:

• Fast: Best for quick edits, small changes, or straightforward questions
• Thinking: Best for complex implementations and multi-step builds

Select the mode from the dropdown in the chat composer. The choice applies to the current chat and is remembered per chat. Managers can set a default chat mode under Settings → Catalyst. New sessions start with that default and individual users can still change mode in the composer.

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Interactive cards in chat

Catalyst sometimes renders interactive UI in the message thread instead of plain text.

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Configure integrations

When a workflow needs an app that’s not connected, Catalyst shows cards with Connect, Configure, or Reconfigure actions. Complete setup using the card instead of pasting credentials in chat. See Connecting external apps.

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Questions

Catalyst may ask clarifying questions with selectable options (single or multi-select). When you pick an option and submit, Catalyst will note your answer and resume working.

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Temporary workflows

Catalyst may create a temporary workflow to probe an API, fetch data, or validate an integration in the process of completing a task. When Catalyst proposes a temporary workflow, a card appears in chat showing:

• The workflow name and a link to open it in the resource panel
• Run and Reject actions (unless the workflow is read-only, in which case it may run automatically)

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@Mention resources

You can mention existing resources (such as workflows and help desk skills) when chatting with Catalyst. Type ”@” to see a list of existing resources, and keep typing to specify.

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File attachments

Attach files to Catalyst messages to share screenshots, data, or other context.

• Click the plus in the composer to pick files
• Drag files onto the chat area (a “Drop files to attach” overlay appears)
• Paste files from your clipboard when supported by your browser

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Limits and supported types

• Maximum file size: 50 MB per file (under 25 MB recommended)
• Maximum attachments: 10 per message
• Supported file types:
  • Images: PNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP
  • Documents: PDF, DOCX, XLSX
  • Text: CSV, TXT, Markdown, JSON

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Resource panel

When Catalyst creates or opens a resource such as a workflow or skill, a tab appears in the resource panel on the right side of the chat. Edits made via chat or directly in the panel are not live until you publish or complete a review.

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Agents

You can set up background agents that run on a schedule without requiring you to send each message manually. Create an agent with New agent or select from a set of installable agents for common uses. An agent has the following:

• Name: how you identify it in the list
• Instructions: what the agent should do each time it runs (e.g. “Investigate open tickets and summarize anything concerning”)
• Schedule: hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly
• Permissions: whose permissions the agent should use while running

You can pause, resume, edit, and delete existing agents. Each agent run creates a Catalyst session you can open to inspect what happened. You can get notified for various events including when a run is completed or action is required.

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Catalyst skills

Catalyst skills provide a way to teach Catalyst about how to build your workflows and common automations. To create a skill, go to Catalyst → Catalyst skills.

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Catalyst skills vs help desk skills

Catalyst skills are distinct from help desk skills. For more information on help desk skills, see Help desk skills.

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Examples

• Help desk skill: “When someone asks for laptop replacement, gather the reason, run the laptop-request workflow, and set expectations on turnaround time.”
• Catalyst skill: “Our team prefix is ENG. Always use installable workflows for Okta group changes when one exists.”

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Learn more

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Related links