Drag-and-Drop Step Designer
Reorder, branch, and refine the generated step graph.
Last updated July 2026
The Step Designer is the canonical editor for a protocol's executable workflow. It represents a protocol as a typed step graph: an ordered set of cards you can drag to reorder, branch with decisions, annotate with reagents and equipment, and validate in real time. Both AI generation and the manual designer write to the same graph, so anything generated by AI can be edited by hand and vice versa.
Opening the Designer
- From scratch: open Designer from the sidebar (or ⌘K command palette) and start adding steps.
- From a generated protocol: click Open in Designer on the generate page, or Edit in Designer from a protocol's detail view. The canvas hydrates with the existing steps via
?protocol=<id>.
Step Types
Each card carries a type that defines its role in the workflow and which fields it exposes:
| Type | Use Case | Key Fields |
|---|---|---|
| Action | A discrete lab procedure (pipetting, spinning, staining) | Instructions, duration, temperature, reagents, equipment |
| Wait / Incubate | A timed pause (incubation, equilibration, overnight) | Duration, temperature |
| Decision | A branch point based on a result or criterion | Labeled branches, each with a go-to-step target |
| Parallel | Steps that run simultaneously | Duration, child steps |
| Measurement | Recording a quantitative or qualitative output | Expected output, equipment |
| Safety Check | A required biosafety or compliance verification | Notes, critical flag |
| Note | Contextual annotation or tip | Description only |
Per-Step Detail
Expand any card to edit its full detail: title and instructions, a numeric duration with unit, a temperature in degrees Celsius, an expected output, the reagents consumed (with amounts), the equipment required, free-form notes, and a critical flag for steps where an error would invalidate the experiment.
Decision Branches & Go-To Targets
A Decision step holds one or more labeled branches, and each branch points to the step the run should jump to when that outcome occurs. When you drag steps to reorder, duplicate a step, or delete one, the designer automatically re-indexes every go-to-step target so branches keep pointing at the right place. Live validation flags dangling targets, empty required fields, and unreachable steps before you save.
AI Improve
Click AI Improve to send the current graph to Olto AI and receive a revised, validated step graph: tighter instructions, added controls or QC checkpoints, and clearer decision logic. The result is normalized back into the same typed structure so you can review and accept the changes. AI Improve is a metered AI call (Researcher and above).
Saving
Saving persists the graph atomically: the entire step set is replaced in one transaction, and the protocol's prose sections are kept in sync for PDF export, the library, and scoring. New protocols are created from the designer; existing ones are updated in place, subject to ownership or team-edit permissions.