Sophon 2.2: Build, watch, and debug your workflows

Sophon 2.2 makes workflows easier to build and easier to understand when something goes wrong. You can follow a run on the canvas, inspect what each step received and returned, test a single step, and re-run from the point you choose. The builder shows readable step ids and helps you insert references, so building an automation no longer depends on having the agent write its JSON.

Around that are five more additions: Effort controls alongside your model, a friendlier Sophon Code CLI, device settings managed from the Dashboard, six new Dashboard themes, and agents you can install and share through the Marketplace. Discussions is removed, and several workflow behaviors change. Read the upgrade guide before updating an existing installation.

Build a workflow you can read

Every step now shows its id. New steps get readable names, and renaming an id updates references and connections together. Type {{ in an expression field to pick from earlier steps, trigger data, run input, variables and functions. Branch conditions and switch cases have dedicated editors; the properties panel sits beside the canvas.

Validation brings the Gateway's issues into the builder before Save. Undo includes settings, moves and deletes, and saving preserves a workflow's enabled state. Run offers choices when you have unsaved edits.

The difference is practical: you can assemble a workflow, see what each connection means, and fix a bad reference before it reaches a message or an API call. New workflows fail unresolved references rather than sending literal expression text. Existing workflows retain their earlier reference behavior; use default(?) for optional values.

Watch a run, then debug a step

Every run and step attempt is stored. Run starts in the background and opens a live viewer: the canvas shows the path taken, skipped steps and their reasons, attempts, timing, and the inputs and outputs available for inspection. LLM Prompt steps record their model, tokens and cost.

A failed run now leaves evidence you can return to. Filter a workflow's runs by status or trigger, open the one you need, and cancel a run that is still going. Secret-named fields and recognized patterns are redacted, with stored inputs and outputs capped. Keep secrets in the credential vault: redaction is not a guarantee that arbitrary content is secret-free.

Three tools shorten the next debugging cycle:

Test step: run one step using mocks, a recent run's data, or pinned sample input.

Re-run from here: start with the current workflow definition, carrying eligible successful outputs from the source run.

Sample input: pin one example of trigger data and input to reuse while building.

Testing or repeating a step that can change something outside Sophon asks for an additional confirmation. A pinned sample is stored in plaintext in the workflow file, so avoid putting credentials in it.

Run history is retained for 30 days by default, keeping at least the newest 20 and at most 500 runs per workflow. High-frequency schedules reach that cap sooner; operators can adjust retention. Stored workflow runs do not resume after a restart: in-flight runs become Interrupted and need a manual rerun. Graph-mode plan recovery is a separate capability.

Triggers and branches do the work

Channel messages, received email and authenticated inbound webhook registrations can now start workflows as their owner, alongside manual and cron runs. The builder offers trigger types that actually fire. A join after an if/else now runs once when a taken branch reaches it, Loop steps execute their connected body, and branches can run concurrently when explicitly enabled.

The new Web Digest template fetches a page each morning, summarizes it, and sends the result to WebChat. Replace its example URL and enable it when ready. Existing templates also get readable step ids and labels.

Workflow access is scoped by tenant and owner, with owner credentials used for execution. Viewers cannot create, edit or run workflows. File steps stay within the owner's workflow-files folder, approvals reach the owner and same-tenant Admins, and per-owner and per-tenant caps bound active runs.

The CLI follows the same records:

sophon workflows validate digest.json
sophon workflows execute digest
sophon workflows execute digest --async
sophon workflows runs digest --status failed

There are limits to account for: loops cannot nest, missed cron fires are not replayed, and inbound webhook registrations have no replay protection. Mobile has no run viewer or debugging tools yet. See the workflow guide for trigger configuration, limits and migration details.

Choose the effort alongside the model

Effort replaces Thinking with Auto, Low, Medium, High, Extra high and Max. Set it for a chat, agent, user default or host default. Conversation choices are stored on the Gateway, so reloading the Dashboard no longer loses them.

Auto chooses once per turn without an extra model call. Unattended turns start at Low, interactive chat at Medium, and coding turns in a bound workspace at High, then content heuristics adjust the choice within the host ceiling. Extra high and Max require an explicit choice.

/effort high
/effort reset
/effort save

Provider support differs. Sophon clamps a requested level to what a known model accepts; Azure OpenAI and plugin providers do not receive an effort level today, and workflow LLM Prompt steps keep the model's default. An Effort selection describes the request Sophon makes, not a guarantee of how the provider reasons.

Unattended costs can move in either direction compared with a model's previous default. Review your defaults and upgrade every client: older clients sending an explicit Thinking choice can override stored Effort. The Effort guide covers supported providers and migration.

A friendlier Sophon Code

The terminal chat gets pickers for bare commands such as /agent, /resume and /permissions. The full-screen layout puts your folder, branch, uncommitted-change marker and pull request near the composer. Paste an image from the clipboard and a vision-capable model receives its pixels.

Sophon Code becomes the default CLI theme, with ten themes available across chat surfaces. Removed duplicate slash commands name their replacements for this release.

A separate Allow all tools mode is available only when the host enables it. An Admin in a trusted workspace must explicitly confirm it for a set duration. It can cover Critical tool calls and ends when the session reads untrusted content. See the CLI page for its controls and limits.

Manage the device from the Dashboard

A Node device's Settings tab now manages its name, allowed folders and on-device confirmations. Changes apply live, or on its next connection. The owner can switch confirmations off for a chosen duration; the Dashboard shows a visible chip, the device is notified, and both sides audit the change.

Only the owner can loosen settings. sophon-node lock prevents the Gateway from widening folder access or disabling confirmations, and a host setting can disable the confirmations-off feature entirely. These device confirmations remain separate from Gateway tool approvals. See Node settings.

Pick a familiar theme

The Dashboard adds Sophon Code, Light, Dimmed and High Contrast variants, plus Catppuccin Mocha and Dracula. Its eleven choices include System.

Across clients, Daylight becomes Core Light, Indigo Core becomes Core Dark, and Deep Void becomes Core Extra Dark. Saved choices retain their meaning, and old CLI ids keep working. The Dashboard default stays Core Dark. See Dashboard appearance.

Install a specialist, then make it yours

Agents join skills and plugins as a Marketplace package type. A .sophon-agent package contains persona files and a manifest, with skill and tool requirements. Review the full persona, publisher, scan findings and initial settings before installing.

An installed agent starts with heartbeat, auto-approval, planning and model pins off. Customize it for your work; automatic updates pause when your edits need a three-way review. Package agents remain third-party, including after detaching from updates. If a check finds an installed version withdrawn, delegation and heartbeat stop until you choose how to proceed.

You can also import a file, export an agent, and publish through a compatible Marketplace. Publishing needs a fresh account link with publishing allowed, or the developer CLI's API-key flow. Chat-requested installs require the full review and approval in the Dashboard; Mobile, external channels and the CLI can reject those requests.

Explore agent packages and the authoring guide. Agent projects need DevStudio 1.1.0 or later if you use the IDE; its distribution is separate.

Before you upgrade

Back up the database and data directory. Upgrade the Gateway and Dashboard together, followed by clients. Two additive database migrations apply at startup; rollback requires restoring your backup.

Discussions is removed with no direct replacement. Finish or cancel active discussions before upgrading, and replace action.discussion workflow steps. Review Loop connections, previously inactive branches, ownership and roles: some automations will now execute steps that were silently skipped before.

The 2.2 changelog records the complete changes, and the upgrade guide gives the operational checklist. Installers and their exact available versions are listed on Downloads.