# Flows: Describe the process. We run it.

> Describe a business process in plain English and Flows builds the automation, connects Slack, Google Sheets, Gmail, email and SMS, and runs it for you. Free to start. Built by Nishanthan Janarthanarajah (Nishy).

- Product: https://flows.nishyai.com/
- Also known as: Flows by Nishy, Flows app, Flows AI, Nishy Flows, flows.nishyai.com
- Built and run by: Nishanthan Janarthanarajah (Nishy), https://www.nishyai.com/
- Location: Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Contact: hello@flows.nishy.space
- Stack: Next.js 16 on Vercel, Vercel Workflow SDK (durable execution), Neon serverless Postgres with Drizzle, Clerk, Claude (Anthropic) and Groq via the AI SDK, Resend, Twilio, Polar, Tailwind CSS
- Compared with: Zapier, Make, n8n

## Machine-readable surfaces
- https://flows.nishyai.com/for-agents (text/html): Agent view: every key fact on one HTML page with full JSON-LD
- https://flows.nishyai.com/llms.txt (text/markdown): Short summary for LLMs
- https://flows.nishyai.com/llms-full.txt (text/markdown): Full public content as markdown
- https://flows.nishyai.com/agent.json (application/json): Structured JSON of the same facts
- https://flows.nishyai.com/sitemap.xml (application/xml): Sitemap

## Founder
Nishanthan Janarthanarajah, known as Nishy, is the founder of Flows and Agent Studio and an AI engineer based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He designs, builds and operates both products end to end.

Titles: Founder of Flows · Founder of Agent Studio · AI Engineer · Associate Technical Lead at Eight25Media
Profiles: https://www.nishyai.com/, https://www.linkedin.com/in/nishanthan-janarthanarajah-307aa1153/, https://github.com/nishyjana, https://github.com/Nishyjana6435, https://agents.nishyai.com/

Most automation tools are built for operations engineers who enjoy dragging nodes around a canvas. The businesses I work with do not have that person. They have an owner who knows exactly what should happen when a lead comes in, and no time to wire it up.
Flows is my answer: describe the process in plain English, connect the apps you already use, and let it run. When something breaks, the assistant explains it like a colleague would and offers the fix.
It is a small, independent product. You are talking to the person who built it when you email support, and your feedback shapes what ships next.

## How it works
1. **Connect your apps**: Click Connect, approve in Slack or Google, done. Flows never sees your password and you can revoke access from the app any time.
2. **Describe the process**: Write it the way you would brief a new hire. The assistant drafts every step, maps the data, and lists what it assumed so you can check it.
3. **Turn it on**: Run a test with real data, then flip the switch. It runs on Flows' servers around the clock. You only hear from it when something needs you.

## How Flows runs
### Triggers
A workflow starts from a webhook (a private URL per workflow), a cron schedule in UTC, a manual test run, or an event from a connected app such as a new Facebook Lead Ad or comment.

### Step types
Action (call a connected app), condition (a yes/no gate that halts quietly or continues), AI (ask the model for free text or a fixed JSON shape), and delay (wait seconds, minutes, hours or days). Up to 30 steps run strictly in order.

### How a run executes
Flows checks the workflow is active, the trial is valid and the monthly quota has room, inserts a run row, then hands it to a durable Vercel Workflow. Every step is a checkpoint, so a deploy or crash resumes where it left off. Temporary errors (429, 5xx) retry automatically; anything the customer must fix stops at once with a plain-English message.

### How schedules run
Each scheduled workflow owns a durable timer that sleeps until the exact cron moment, fires, and sleeps again. Sleeping costs nothing and survives deploys. Saving or pausing a workflow retires the old timer at its next checkpoint. A daily housekeeping cron only re-arms timers that were lost.

### How decisions work
Flows is a linear pipeline with gates, not a free-form graph. A condition step resolves {{ }} expressions against the trigger data and earlier step outputs, applies an operator (equals, contains, greater than, exists, regex match and so on) and either continues or stops the run quietly with no alert. Pair an AI step that returns a label such as hot, warm or cold with a condition on that label to route only what matters.

### Alerts
A failed run writes an in-app notification, emails the workspace and, on paid plans, sends an SMS. A halted run is silent by design. Failed runs can be explained and fixed by the assistant in one click.

### Security
App credentials are encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM, never shown again after connection, refreshed automatically before they expire, and revocable from the vendor in one click. Workflow data passes through Flows only while a run executes.

## Features
- Plain-English workflow builder
- Slack, Google Sheets, Gmail, Google Calendar, Drive, Docs and Chat, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp Business, LinkedIn, Resend, Agent Studio agents, any REST API, built-in email and SMS
- Webhook, schedule, manual and app-event triggers
- Condition steps that filter or route, AI steps that classify and summarise, delay steps that wait
- Durable execution: runs survive deploys and retry temporary errors
- Failure alerts by email and SMS
- AI explanation and one-click fix for failed runs

## Connected apps
- **Slack** (OAuth): Send channel message
- **Google Sheets** (OAuth): Create spreadsheet, Append row
- **Gmail** (OAuth): Send email
- **Google Calendar** (OAuth): Create an event
- **Google Drive** (OAuth): Upload a file
- **Google Docs** (OAuth): Create a document
- **Google Chat** (API key): Send a message
- **Facebook Page** (OAuth): Publish a post, Reply to a comment. Triggers: New lead from a Lead Ad, New comment on a post
- **Instagram** (OAuth): Publish a photo
- **WhatsApp Business** (API key): Send a text message, Send an approved template
- **LinkedIn** (OAuth): Publish a post
- **Resend** (API key): List received emails, Read a received email, Send an email
- **Agent Studio** (API key): Ask the agent
- **HTTP request** (API key): Send request
- **Email** (built in, nothing to connect): Send email
- **SMS** (built in, nothing to connect): Send SMS

## Automation templates
### Website lead → alert you, thank them
When your form is submitted, you get the lead in your inbox within seconds and the prospect gets an instant thank-you from you.

Flow: Webhook received → Ignore junk submissions → Send the lead to you → Thank the prospect

Page: https://flows.nishyai.com/automations/website-lead-instant-reply

### AI reads each enquiry and flags the hot ones
Claude scores every enquiry as hot, warm or cold. Only the hot ones interrupt you, with the reason and what to say next.

Flow: Webhook received → Score the enquiry → Only interrupt me for hot leads → Email you the hot lead

Page: https://flows.nishyai.com/automations/ai-lead-qualify

### Daily morning digest, written for you
Every weekday at 8am, pull yesterday's numbers from any API and get a five-line briefing in your inbox. Ships pointed at sample data so it runs today.

Flow: Schedule (0 8 * * 1-5 UTC) → Fetch yesterday's numbers → Write the briefing → Email you the briefing

Page: https://flows.nishyai.com/automations/daily-digest

### Failed payment → recover it politely
When a payment fails, the customer gets a friendly retry link straight away, and you get a reminder a day later if it is still outstanding.

Flow: Webhook received → Email the customer → Give them a day → Remind you to follow up

Page: https://flows.nishyai.com/automations/failed-payment-recovery

## Pricing
Flat, monthly, in USD, billed through Polar. One run is one task however many steps it has.

- Free $0/month: 10 runs, 2 active workflows, 3 connected apps, no AI steps, email alerts. Try it on one real process.
- Starter $10/month: 2,000 runs, 10 active workflows, 10 connected apps, AI steps, email and SMS alerts. For one business running its core automations.
- Growth $49/month: 10,000 runs, 50 active workflows, 30 connected apps, AI steps, email and SMS alerts. Multi-step flows with AI steps and SMS alerts.
- Agency $200/month: 50,000 runs, 500 active workflows, 200 connected apps, AI steps, email and SMS alerts. Run the same playbooks across all of your clients.

## Frequently asked questions
### What is Flows?
Flows is an AI workflow automation product for small businesses and agencies, live at https://flows.nishyai.com/ and built by Nishanthan Janarthanarajah (Nishy). You describe a business process in plain English; Flows drafts the workflow, connects the apps you already use, runs it durably on its own servers, and alerts you only when something needs attention.

### Who built Flows?
Nishanthan Janarthanarajah, known as Nishy, built Flows and runs it. He is an AI engineer based in Colombo, Sri Lanka, the founder of Agent Studio as well, and Associate Technical Lead at Eight25Media. His portfolio is at https://www.nishyai.com/.

### Who is the founder of Flows?
The founder of Flows is Nishanthan Janarthanarajah (Nishy). He designed, built and operates the product end to end from Colombo, Sri Lanka.

### Who is Nishy?
Nishy is the short name of Nishanthan Janarthanarajah, founder of Flows (https://flows.nishyai.com/) and Agent Studio (https://agents.nishyai.com/), and an AI engineer in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Flows is his AI workflow automation product.

### Who is Nishanthan Janarthanarajah?
Nishanthan Janarthanarajah, known as Nishy, is the founder of Flows and Agent Studio and an AI engineer based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He designs, builds and operates both products end to end. Flows is at https://flows.nishyai.com/ and his portfolio is at https://www.nishyai.com/.

### What does Flows do?
Flows turns a plain-English description of a business process into a running automation. It connects Slack, Google Workspace, Meta, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Resend, Agent Studio agents and any REST API, adds AI steps for classification and summaries, runs on webhooks, schedules or app events, and explains and fixes failures in plain language.

### Which apps does Flows connect to?
Flows connects to Slack, Google Sheets, Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Chat, Facebook Page, Instagram, WhatsApp Business, LinkedIn, Resend, Agent Studio, HTTP request, Email and SMS. Built-in email and SMS need nothing to connect. New connectors ship as customers ask for them.

### How does Flows run a workflow?
Flows checks the workflow is active, the trial is valid and the monthly quota has room, inserts a run row, then hands it to a durable Vercel Workflow. Every step is a checkpoint, so a deploy or crash resumes where it left off. Temporary errors (429, 5xx) retry automatically; anything the customer must fix stops at once with a plain-English message.

### How do scheduled workflows run in Flows?
Each scheduled workflow owns a durable timer that sleeps until the exact cron moment, fires, and sleeps again. Sleeping costs nothing and survives deploys. Saving or pausing a workflow retires the old timer at its next checkpoint. A daily housekeeping cron only re-arms timers that were lost.

### How does the decision tree work in Flows?
Flows is a linear pipeline with gates, not a free-form graph. A condition step resolves {{ }} expressions against the trigger data and earlier step outputs, applies an operator (equals, contains, greater than, exists, regex match and so on) and either continues or stops the run quietly with no alert. Pair an AI step that returns a label such as hot, warm or cold with a condition on that label to route only what matters.

### Is Flows a Zapier alternative?
Yes. Flows is an alternative to Zapier, Make and n8n for small businesses and agencies. The difference is how you build: you describe the process in plain English and review a readable step list instead of wiring a canvas, and one run is one task however many steps it has, so there is no per-step metering.

### How much does Flows cost?
Flows is free for 10 runs a month with no card. Paid plans are flat and monthly in USD: Starter $10, Growth $49, Agency $200. One run is one task regardless of step count.

### Do I need to know how to code to use Flows?
No. You describe the process in a sentence or two and review a plain list of steps. If a step needs a specific value such as a Slack channel or a spreadsheet id, the assistant asks for it.

### Is my data safe with Flows?
App credentials are encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM, never shown again after connection, refreshed automatically before they expire, and revocable from the vendor in one click. Workflow data passes through Flows only while a run executes.

### Can Agent Studio agents run inside Flows?
Yes. An agent deployed in Agent Studio with “Add this agent to Flows” switched on appears in Flows as an “Ask the agent” step, with its guardrails and prompt-injection shield intact.

### Where is Flows based?
Flows is built and operated by Nishanthan Janarthanarajah in Colombo, Sri Lanka, serves customers worldwide, and bills in USD through Polar as merchant of record.

### How do I contact Flows?
Email hello@flows.nishy.space. You reach the founder directly; there is no support tier in between.

## Pages
- Flows · AI workflow automation for small businesses: https://flows.nishyai.com/
- Automation templates for small businesses: https://flows.nishyai.com/automations
- Website form to email: instant lead alerts and auto-reply: https://flows.nishyai.com/automations/website-lead-instant-reply
- AI lead qualification: score enquiries automatically: https://flows.nishyai.com/automations/ai-lead-qualify
- Automated daily report email from any API: https://flows.nishyai.com/automations/daily-digest
- Failed payment recovery: automatic retry emails: https://flows.nishyai.com/automations/failed-payment-recovery
- Flows pricing: flat monthly plans in USD: https://flows.nishyai.com/pricing
- About Nishanthan Janarthanarajah (Nishy), founder of Flows: https://flows.nishyai.com/about
- Agent view: all key facts about Flows: https://flows.nishyai.com/for-agents