{"schemaVersion":"1","contentVersion":"2026-11-01.13","slug":"system-explorer-activities","title":"Activities","summary":"Extend your application's capabilities with reusable operations, AI-generated functionality, and ready-made integrations.","category":"System Explorer","manual":true,"minutes":10,"prerequisites":[],"technical":[],"sources":["Live Rumata workspace reviewed October 15, 2026; controls inspected without modifying resources."],"related":["controls-activities"],"sections":[{"id":"introduction","title":"About Activities","blocks":[{"type":"paragraph","text":"Rumata's **Activities** are reusable building blocks that perform specific tasks within your workflows."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"You can use built-in Activities, create your own using AI or code, and connect popular external services through predefined **Connectors**."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Whether you want to process documents, manage database records, integrate payments, or send notifications, Activities help you build the functionality your application needs."},{"type":"note","title":"Important","text":"Activities cannot run independently. They must be added to a workflow, where they execute as part of a larger process."}]},{"id":"before-you-start","title":"Before you start","blocks":[{"type":"paragraph","text":"Open your factory workspace and navigate to **System Explorer → Workflows → Activities**."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Here, you can explore available Activities, inspect their functionality, and manage custom operations."}]},{"id":"open","title":"1. Explore the Activity catalog","blocks":[{"type":"paragraph","text":"The **Activity catalog** brings together the reusable operations available in your factory."},{"type":"heading","text":"Find an Activity"},{"type":"steps","items":["Open **System Explorer → Workflows**.","Select **Activities** under **Workflow tools**.","Use the search bar to find an Activity by name, description, or creator.","Use **Filter by source** or **Filter by status** to narrow the results.","Select an Activity to explore its details and available actions."]},{"type":"paragraph","text":"The catalog includes Activities for common operations such as:"},{"type":"list","items":["**Authentication:** Sign users in or create accounts.","**Database operations:** Query and manage application data.","**File management:** Work with uploaded and stored files.","**Document processing:** Extract or process information from documents.","**Media generation:** Generate or process media using available services."]},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Available Activities may vary depending on your workspace and enabled functionality."}]},{"id":"inspect","title":"2. Understand how Activities work","blocks":[{"type":"paragraph","text":"An **Activity** is a reusable operation that performs a specific task within a workflow."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Instead of implementing the same functionality repeatedly, you can create or select an Activity and reuse it across different workflows."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"For example, an Activity might receive customer information, validate it, and return the result to the next step in a workflow."},{"type":"heading","text":"Inspect an Activity"},{"type":"steps","items":["Find the Activity in the catalog.","Read its name and description to understand its purpose.","Check its source and status.","Open **Details** to review its available configuration and information.","Select **View Code** if you want to inspect its implementation."]},{"type":"note","title":"Good to know","text":"An **Active** status means the Activity is available for use. It does not mean the Activity is currently running."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Activities only execute when a workflow runs and reaches the step containing that Activity."}]},{"id":"connectors","title":"3. Connect external services with Connectors","blocks":[{"type":"paragraph","text":"Want your application to interact with tools you already use?"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Rumata provides **Connectors**, which are predefined Activities designed to simplify integrations with popular external services."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Instead of building every API interaction from scratch, you can use these ready-made operations within your workflows."},{"type":"heading","text":"What can Connectors do?"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Depending on the available integration, Connectors can help you interact with services such as:"},{"type":"list","items":["**Stripe:** Perform supported payment, customer, or billing-related operations.","**Slack:** Send messages and notifications to your team.","**Other services:** Connect external tools and APIs to automate tasks across your business."]},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Each Connector offers predefined functionality for its supported service. Available operations and authentication requirements depend on the integration."},{"type":"heading","text":"How to use a Connector"},{"type":"steps","items":["Open **System Explorer → Workflows → Connectors** to explore the available integrations.","Find the service you want to use.","Review its supported operations and any required authentication or configuration.","Open the workflow where you want to use the integration.","Click **Add step** and select the appropriate Connector operation.","Configure the required inputs, credentials, and connections to other steps.","Save the workflow and test it with suitable sample data."]},{"type":"heading","text":"Example"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Imagine you're building a subscription-based application."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"You could create a workflow that:"},{"type":"steps","items":["Receives a payment event from Stripe.","Updates the customer's subscription status in your database.","Uses a Slack Connector to notify your team.","Triggers an onboarding process for the new customer."]},{"type":"paragraph","text":"All these operations can work together in one Rumata workflow."},{"type":"note","title":"Good to know","text":"Connectors are Activities, so they cannot execute independently. They only run when the workflow containing them executes."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"External services may also require API keys, account authorization, or additional configuration."}]},{"id":"create","title":"4. Create custom Activities with AI or code","blocks":[{"type":"paragraph","text":"Need functionality that isn't available in the catalog?"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"With Rumata, you're not limited to predefined operations. You can create custom Activities tailored to your application's requirements."},{"type":"heading","text":"Create an Activity with AI"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"You can ask Rumata's AI agent to create a reusable Activity simply by describing what it should do."},{"type":"steps","items":["Open your factory's **AI Chat**.","Describe the operation you want to create, including the inputs it should receive and the output it should return.","Ask Rumata to create a reusable Activity for that operation.","Review the generated implementation and configuration.","Open **System Explorer → Workflows → Activities** to inspect your new Activity.","Add the Activity to a workflow to test its functionality."]},{"type":"example","title":"Example prompt","text":"Create a reusable Activity that receives a customer's order details, calculates the total price including any applicable discounts, and returns the final amount with a breakdown of the calculation."},{"type":"heading","text":"Create an Activity manually"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"If you prefer to work directly with the implementation:"},{"type":"steps","items":["Open the **Activity catalog**.","Click **New Activity**.","Complete the required definition and source fields for the selected Activity type.","Review the validation or build results.","Use **Manage access** to configure which groups can use the Activity."]},{"type":"note","title":"Good to know","text":"Creating or saving an Activity does not execute it. To use your new Activity, add it to a workflow, configure its inputs, and run or deploy the workflow."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"You can also combine both approaches: start with AI-generated functionality and customize the implementation manually."}]},{"id":"use","title":"5. Use Activities in your workflows","blocks":[{"type":"paragraph","text":"Activities become especially powerful when connected together as part of a workflow."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Each Activity performs a specific operation, allowing you to build complex processes from reusable components."},{"type":"heading","text":"Add an Activity to a workflow"},{"type":"steps","items":["Open **System Explorer → Workflows** and select the workflow you want to modify.","Click **Add step**.","Choose the Activity or Connector you want to use.","Configure its inputs, permissions, and required credentials.","Connect the Activity to the other steps in your workflow, including any necessary error-handling paths.","Save your workflow.","Use **Run workflow** with suitable test input to check the complete process."]},{"type":"heading","text":"Check your result"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"When the workflow executes, the Activity should run as part of the process and return its output to the next connected step."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"To verify the result, open the workflow's **Runs** view and inspect the relevant execution."},{"type":"note","title":"Tip","text":"You can reuse the same Activity across multiple workflows without recreating its functionality."}]},{"id":"trouble","title":"6. Manage access and troubleshoot Activities","blocks":[{"type":"paragraph","text":"Rumata lets you manage who can use custom Activities and investigate issues when an Activity fails during workflow execution."},{"type":"heading","text":"Manage Activity access"},{"type":"steps","items":["Open the relevant Activity.","Select **Manage access**.","Review the groups that have permission to use it.","Grant only the access needed for the intended functionality."]},{"type":"heading","text":"Troubleshoot an Activity"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"If an Activity isn't producing the expected result:"},{"type":"steps","items":["Check its status and source in the Activity catalog.","Open **Details** to review its configuration.","Verify that the workflow has the necessary permissions and external-service credentials.","Open the workflow's **Runs** view and select the relevant execution.","Inspect the Activity's execution data, status, and any reported errors.","Identify the issue, make the necessary correction, and test the workflow again."]},{"type":"note","title":"Important","text":"Some Activities can modify data, send messages, call external services, or consume paid resources."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Before retrying a failed workflow, check whether the Activity may have already completed its action to avoid duplicate operations."}]},{"id":"extend","title":"Extend your application without limits","blocks":[{"type":"paragraph","text":"Rumata gives you the flexibility to create the functionality your application needs."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Start with built-in Activities, connect popular services through predefined Connectors, or create custom operations with AI and code."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Combine them within workflows to automate processes, work with data, and extend your application's capabilities—all from the same Rumata workspace."},{"type":"heading","text":"Remember"},{"type":"list","items":["**Workflows** define and execute the complete process.","**Activities** perform individual operations within workflows.","**Connectors** are predefined Activities for interacting with external services."]}]}],"updated":"2026-09-29","audience":"general","media":[{"src":"https://docs.rumata.dev/media/system-explorer/connectors-catalog.png","sectionId":"connectors","width":1840,"height":1666,"alt":"Rumata Connectors catalog showing integration search, available operations, and Install controls.","caption":"Browse available integrations in the Connectors catalog."},{"src":"https://docs.rumata.dev/media/system-explorer/activities.png","sectionId":"open","width":885,"height":600,"alt":"Search and filter the Activities catalog and open its available actions.","caption":"Search and filter the Activities catalog and open its available actions. Illustrative interface reference; your resources and values may differ."}],"video":null,"url":"https://docs.rumata.dev/guides/system-explorer-activities"}