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An agent is the alternative to a workflow when the task does not fit a fixed graph of typed steps. An agent runs in a sandbox, reads inputs, and produces structured output using a Git-backed source package you maintain over time. Use a workflow by default. Its steps run the same way every time, which makes it easier to evaluate, debug, and review. Use an agent when the task is open-ended or changes shape per input. Both are evaluated the same way; an agent changes how the output is produced, not how quality is measured.

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When to use which

Both run from the same places, are evaluated against datasets the same way, and are inspected with the same eigenpal runs commands.

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Two ways an agent runs

  • Inference run provisions a sandbox, mounts the agent’s source, sends one prompt, collects results, and tears the sandbox down. This is what the Run button, the API, and eval batches use. Each run starts fresh, with no conversation history, and its output is validated against the agent’s output schema.
  • Builder session is interactive: a persistent sandbox with a coding agent in the training UI. You describe the change, the agent edits the Git-backed source, and you commit and push those changes through the eigenpal agents commands. Use it to update the source package, then run it via inference.

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Source lives in Git

An agent’s source is a package in your organization’s Git repository, not a single file. Use eigenpal agents commands to clone, validate, commit, push, release, and sync it:
See the eigenpal agents reference for the full command surface.

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Running an agent

Start a run from the dashboard Run button, the CLI, or the API. Pass the agent target in the JSON body alongside the input object:
Send scalar fields in the input JSON part and each upload as files.<fieldName>. See the API reference for run status, review, and corrected-output endpoints.

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Inspecting and improving runs

Every run produces output, a trace of what the agent did, and a place to attach reviews and corrected outputs. Inspect them with the same commands you use for workflow runs:
Reviews and expected artifacts are available to builder sessions, so future source changes can account for past failures. See Reviews for the verdict/status model and Review production runs for the full review-and-rerun workflow.