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Streaming and progress

This lesson is about the work itself, after the user has decided. Before that, a dry run shows the plan and a draft result.

An agent task can take seconds or minutes. The interface must show that something is happening, and what.

Patterns​

  • Streaming text. Show the answer while it is written, so the user can start reading.
  • Step list. Show the plan and tick off each step. The user sees where the agent is.
  • Cancel at any moment. A visible stop button gives the user control.

Show the work, not only the result​

A step list such as "Searching the documents", "Reading 3 matches", "Writing the summary" builds trust. It also helps the user to spot a wrong turn early.

Show the work, not only the result

Mermaid source for "Show the work, not only the result"
flowchart LR
  A[Plan] --> B[Run step]
  B --> C{More steps?}
  C -- yes --> B
  C -- no --> D[Report result]
Natural language description not yet available for activity diagrams.