Create and publish an agent

An agent is the stable identity your application runs. A variation supplies the prompt, model, constraints, and assignments that determine how it runs. This guide builds a small Concise Helper agent with one variation and no tools. The dashboard handles configuration. Code appears only when you send the finished agent an objective.

What you need

A Cadenya workspace where you can manage agents.
At least one enabled model in the workspace.
For the final step, an API key with Objectives: Manage and the workspace ID.

Create the draft agent

Select Agents, click Create Agent, and enter:

Field	Value	Why it matters
Name	`Concise Helper`	The dashboard label for the agent
External ID	`concise-helper`	A stable identifier your application can keep across environments
Description	`Explains Cadenya concepts in two or three sentences.`	Describes the agent’s purpose and becomes important if another agent uses it as a sub-agent

Current Create Agent form filled with the Concise Helper name, external ID, and description — Agent metadata and description are configured before any variation exists

Leave the advanced sections at their defaults and click Create agent. The new agent opens in Draft state with No variations configured.

The create form does not configure a prompt, model, or publication state. Those belong to the next steps. A draft agent cannot accept objectives.

Configure the first variation

On the Variations tab, click New variation. Enter:

Field	Value	Explanation
Name	`Default`	Identifies this candidate configuration
Description	`Answers with a short, direct explanation.`	Records what distinguishes this variation
System prompt	`Explain the requested Cadenya concept accurately in two or three sentences. Do not use headings.`	Defines the behavior used by every objective on this variation
Model	Any enabled model	Selects the model that executes the prompt
Temperature	`0.2`	Keeps answers relatively consistent
Max tool calls	`0`	Means unlimited, though this variation has no tool assignments
Max sub-objectives	`0`	Means unlimited, though this variation has no sub-agents

Current variation form showing metadata, prompts, model configuration, constraints, discovery, and compaction settings — A variation owns the prompt, model, and execution constraints

Click Create variation. The variation appears in the left side of the Variations pane. Its details and assignments appear on the right.

Publish the agent

In the Details card, open the Draft status menu and select Publish.

Current agent Details card showing Published status, Random variation selection, and one variation — The Details card shows lifecycle state, variation selection, and variation count

Publishing makes the agent available to objectives. It does not freeze the configuration. You can set it back to draft before making a controlled change.

Send an objective

Export your credentials:

export CADENYA_API_KEY='your-api-key'
export CADENYA_WORKSPACE_ID='workspace_your-workspace-id'

Use the external ID so application code does not need the generated agent ID.

import Cadenya from '@cadenya/cadenya';

const client = new Cadenya({
  apiKey: process.env['CADENYA_API_KEY'],
});

const objective = await client.objectives.create({
  workspaceId: process.env['CADENYA_WORKSPACE_ID'],
  agentId: 'external_id:concise-helper',
  systemPromptData: {},
  firstUserMessage: 'What is an objective in Cadenya?',
});

console.log(objective.metadata.id);

curl "https://api.cadenya.com/v1/workspaces/${CADENYA_WORKSPACE_ID}/objectives" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${CADENYA_API_KEY}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
        "agentId": "external_id:concise-helper",
        "systemPromptData": {},
        "firstUserMessage": "What is an objective in Cadenya?"
      }'

The create response is a snapshot of the selected agent and variation. Open Objectives and select its ID to follow the timeline. Because this agent has no structured output definition, it stops in Waiting after its assistant message and can accept another turn.

What each resource owns

Resource	Configuration in this guide
Agent	Name, external ID, description, lifecycle state, and variation selection mode
Variation	Prompt, model, temperature, constraints, discovery, compaction, and assignments
Objective	One execution, its input data and messages, and a snapshot of the selected variation

Configure agent variations

Add another prompt or model and control how Cadenya selects between them.

Assign capabilities

Attach a tool, a complete tool set, a sub-agent, or memory.

Use feedback-driven selection

Score completed objectives and influence future variation samples.

Build agents with the SDK

Create the same lifecycle from application code.

Getting Started

Build with the SDK

Tool Sets

Agents

Objectives

Callbacks

Memory

Secrets

Concepts

Use Cases

Create and publish an agent

What you need

Create the draft agent

Configure the first variation

Publish the agent

Send an objective

What each resource owns

Configure agent variations

Assign capabilities

Use feedback-driven selection

Build agents with the SDK

​What you need

​Create the draft agent

​Configure the first variation

​Publish the agent

​Send an objective

​What each resource owns

Configure agent variations

Assign capabilities

Use feedback-driven selection

Build agents with the SDK

What you need

Create the draft agent

Configure the first variation

Publish the agent

Send an objective

What each resource owns