Agent Input and Output

Overview

Agent IO enables your agents to communicate with external platforms through two types of connections: Sources (inbound) and Destinations (outbound). Understanding the distinction between these connection types is essential for properly configuring your AI agents on the Agentuity platform.

Sources vs Destinations

Sources (Inbound Connections)

Sources enable bidirectional communication between a platform and your agent. When configured, the platform can trigger your agent and receive responses within the same conversation context.

How Sources Work:

1. Platform triggers agent (e.g., @mention in Slack)
2. Agent processes the request
3. Agent responds directly within the same platform conversation

Example: When someone @mentions your agent in Discord, the agent can respond back in the same Discord channel.

Destinations (Outbound Connections)

Destinations allow your agent to send messages to a platform when triggered by external sources. These are one-way connections for delivering agent output to specified channels.

How Destinations Work:

1. External source triggers agent (webhook, API, schedule, etc.)
2. Agent processes the request
3. Agent sends output to configured destination platforms

Example: Your GitHub repository triggers your agent on each commit, and the agent sends a formatted summary to your team's Discord channel.

Choosing Your Configuration

Sources Only

Perfect for conversational bots that respond to user questions, @mentions, or direct messages.

Example: Your team wants a Slack bot that answers questions about your documentation. You only need a Slack Source - users @mention the bot, and it replies in the thread.

Destinations Only

Ideal for automated notifications, scheduled updates, or forwarding alerts from monitoring systems.

Example: You want GitHub commit notifications in Discord. Configure a webhook to trigger your agent, then add Discord as a Destination. No Discord Source needed since the bot doesn't respond to Discord messages.

Both Sources and Destinations

Required when your agent needs conversations AND notifications, connecting multiple platforms, or building a full-featured assistant.

Example: You're building a team assistant that answers questions in Slack (Source) but also posts daily standup reminders (Destination) and forwards important emails to the channel (Email Source → Slack Destination).

Key Considerations

• Sources provide complete conversational capability - you don't need a destination to reply
• Destinations work independently - perfect for one-way notifications
• A single agent can have multiple sources and destinations configured

Video Tutorials

Email Destination Configuration

Next Steps

• Review the Agents documentation for platform-specific configuration
• Configure sources for platforms where users will interact with your agent
• Set up destinations for platforms where your agent will send notifications