Workflow Recipes — chain tools into one run
Build a reusable chain of file tools — convert, compress, rename, zip — that runs on dropped files, a watched folder or a timer, all local.
Workflow Recipes chains file tools into one reusable run — drop files on it (or point a folder or timer at it) and every step executes in order: convert to WebP, compress, rename, zip. The page's own pitch is "reusable chains for manual runs and Folder Monitor" — build once, run as often as you like.
Build a recipe
Under Recipes › Workflows, start from New Workflow (blank) or one of the built-in templates. Each recipe is a chain on the canvas: a Trigger node, numbered Workflow Steps, and a Publish Output node at the end. Insert actions with Add Step or the plus buttons between nodes — "Add to End" appends. The builder validates the chain as you go, so an incompatible step (say, a video action after a PDF render) can't be saved by accident.
Thirteen actions are available:
| Action | Options |
|---|---|
| Convert Image | WebP, JPG or PNG |
| Compress Image | Quality 1–100 |
| Compress PDF | Low, Medium, High |
| PDF to JPG / PDF to PNG | DPI 72–300 (splits into one image per page) |
| Compress Video | Low, Medium, High |
| Convert Video | MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV |
| Convert Audio | MP3, WAV, AAC, FLAC, OGG |
| Strip Metadata | PDFs and images |
| Rename by Pattern | {name} {index} {date} {ext} tokens |
| Add Prefix / Add Suffix | Fixed text on each filename |
| Create ZIP | Archive name + optional password — collects everything, so it can only be the last step |
Each step carries an On Failure choice — Stop aborts the run on the first error, Continue skips the failed file and keeps going. Keep intermediates decides whether the mid-chain files survive the run or only the final output lands in your folder.
Templates
Three recipes ship ready-made — clone one and edit it rather than starting blank:
- Privacy Upload Pack — strip metadata → rename to
upload_{date}_{index}→ Create ZIP. Built for handing a bundle of files over without leaking your naming scheme or EXIF. - Image Web Pack — convert to WebP → compress at quality 80 → rename
web_{name}_{index}. Web-ready assets in one pass. - PDF Delivery Pack — compress Medium → strip metadata → rename
delivery_{date}_{index}→ ZIPpdf-delivery.
Triggers
The Start options on a recipe's trigger decide how it fires:
- Manual Run — the default. Drop files on Files for this workflow and hit Run Recipe.
- Watch Folder — pick a folder; every new file in it runs the recipe. This is the same engine as Folder Monitor, so a recipe set to Watch Folder shows up there too.
- Scheduled Timer — pick a Source Folder and an interval in Every Minutes; the recipe sweeps that folder on the timer.
Output and history
Each recipe defaults to the app's output folder; set a per-recipe Output Folder or leave Use Default Folder on. Runs write to a timestamped directory under it, so repeated runs never collide.
The History tab lists every run — manual and Folder Monitor ones together — with its result and a Reveal action that opens the run's folder. A failed run shows which step fell over.
Related
- Folder Monitor and Smart rules
- AI access over MCP — run a recipe by asking (
workflow_run_recipe) - Batch rename files — the tokens used in rename steps
- Batch rename automation guide