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Build & automate widgets

Custom, Field, Custom block, Desk agent, Send to a URL and Receive from a URL: what each one does, which to choose, and how they work together.

All plansUpdated

The Build & automate widgets let a desk do more than hold your notes. Three of them hold information in a shape you choose, one is an AI worker that acts on what you give it, and two connect your desk to other services on the web.

This page explains what each one is for, what you need before you start, and how they work together. Each widget has its own guide, linked below.

The six widgets

They appear in this order in the Add widget menu.

Widget What it does Choose it when
Custom You describe a tool in your own words, or answer a few questions, and Plexii builds it on the desk. You need a small tracker, calculator, checklist or log that no other widget offers. See Custom widget: build your own tool.
Field Holds one typed value: text, a number, a date, a choice from a list, files, a button and more. You want one value, such as a status or a due date, to sit on the desk where you can see it. See Field widget.
Custom block A form you lay out yourself from typed fields, then fill in. You record the same set of details again and again, such as a client intake or a call log. See Custom block widget: design a form.
Desk agent A standing AI worker. Wire widgets into it, give it an instruction and choose when it runs. You want something summarised, watched, drafted or filled in without asking each time. See Desk agent widget.
Send to a URL Sends a widget's content to a web address you give it, each time that content changes. Another service should hear about changes on your desk. See Send to a URL widget Coming soon.
Receive from a URL Gives you a web address of its own. What another service sends to that address lands in the widget. Another service should send information onto your desk. See Receive from a URL widget Coming soon.

How they work together

It helps to think of three parts:

  • Widgets hold information. A Field, a Custom block, a note or a table keeps what you type.
  • Wires move it. A link drawn from one widget to another passes the first one's content along. When you draw a link you choose how it works: Feed in as context, Transform it or Keep in sync. See Link widgets and set up wires.
  • Agents act on it. A Desk agent reads every widget wired into it, follows its standing instruction, and offers its result for you to review.

Send to a URL and Receive from a URL are the doors to the rest of the web: one sends information out, the other brings it in.

For example, you might wire two meeting notes into a Desk agent and ask it to keep a short weekly summary in a Markdown note beside them. Each time you run it, the summary is written for you to review.

Which one should I use?

  • One value you want to see at a glance, such as a status, a budget figure or a deadline: use a Field.
  • Several details you fill in together, the same way each time: use a Custom block.
  • A tool that works something out for you, such as a total, a conversion or progress towards a target: use Custom.
  • Work you want done again and again, such as a summary that stays current: use a Desk agent.
  • Information that should leave or arrive from another service: use Send to a URL or Receive from a URL.

What you need

Widget Plans Also needs
Custom Pro and Team Your own Anthropic API key to build and change it. See Add your own API keys.
Field All plans AI set up, only if you make a Button field that runs an AI prompt.
Custom block All plans Nothing else.
Desk agent All plans AI set up: PlexiDesk credits while you are signed in, or your own Anthropic key. See AI credits and where your AI runs Coming soon.
Send to a URL All plans The web address of the service that should receive your updates.
Receive from a URL All plans To be signed in, so the widget can create its own address.

For every widget's needs in one place, see Widget sizes, limits and what some widgets need. For plans, see Plans and pricing Coming soon.

Add one to a desk

  1. Open the desk you want it on.
  2. Click Add widget in the centre of the header.
  3. Click the widget you want.

The Add widget menu groups widgets into columns by what they are for. All six of these are in the Build & automate column. You can also type a name, such as agent, in the search box at the top of the menu and press Enter to add the first match.

Other ways to add one:

  • Press F on an open desk, when you are not typing, to add a Field. Field is the only one of these six with a quick-add key. See Add widgets with a single key.
  • Use the command palette. Press ⌘ K on a Mac or Ctrl K on Windows, type the widget's name and choose, for example, Add Desk agent.
  • Start from another widget. Right-click a widget and choose Create & link, then Automate with an agent, Send to a URL or Field. The new widget appears beside it, already linked to it.

See what runs on its own

Desk agents and live wires can run without you pressing anything. To see them all:

  • On a desk, click the lightning-bolt button in the corner of the canvas (its tooltip says Automations on this desk). It lists everything on that desk that runs by itself, with an on/off switch for each. See See what runs on its own on a desk.
  • Brain > Agents lists every Desk agent in your workspace and the desk it sits on. See See and manage all your agents Coming soon.

Guides in this section

Still need help? Contact support at [email protected].