Getting started with Studio
AlphaAgent Studio is the workspace where you build agents, connect your data, and chat with or automate them. This page covers signing in, finding your way around the app, and what happens when you have work running in the background.
Signing in
Studio uses your organization's single sign-on (SSO). When you open your Studio URL you are taken to your identity provider to authenticate, and after a successful sign-in you land back in Studio already signed in. There is no separate AlphaAgent username or password to manage — access is controlled by your SSO directory.
A brief loading screen appears while Studio confirms your session. If you are not signed in, or your session has expired, you are returned to the sign-in screen.
[Screenshot: Studio sign-in and loading screen]
Your profile details (name and email) come from your SSO directory, so they are read-only inside Studio. See Notifications and profile for what you can and cannot change.
The app shell
Once you are in, Studio is organized into three areas:
- The sidebar (left). A collapsible navigation rail. It shows a context-aware menu for whatever you are working on, a list of your recent chats, and access to notifications. You can collapse it to give the main area more room and expand it again at any time.
- The main area (center). This is where the screen you are working on is displayed — a list, a builder, a map editor, or a conversation.
- The navigation dock (right). A floating set of icons that jump you between the major areas of Studio from anywhere.
[Screenshot: Studio app shell with sidebar, main area, and navigation dock]
The navigation dock
The dock on the right gives you one-click access to the main areas of Studio:
| Icon | Takes you to |
|---|---|
| Agent Management | Agents, swarms, and execution environments |
| Workflows | The workflows list and builder |
| AMPGs | Knowledge Graphs |
| Data Connectors | Your data connectors |
| Chat | Start or continue a conversation |
| Profile | Your profile and settings |
The sidebar
The sidebar adapts to where you are:
- When you are in Agent Management, it lists Agents, Swarms, and Environments.
- When you are in Chat, it shows Recent Chats — a scrolling list of your recent conversations that you can click to reopen. The list updates as conversations are created and as their titles are generated.
- In other areas it shows the relevant section links.
At the bottom of the sidebar you'll find a Home button, a Notifications and Activity button (a bell with an unread badge), and the current date and time (shown to the minute, e.g. Mon 15 Jun 16:52) alongside the running backend version (e.g. v0.9.19). The version is reported by the backend, so after you update Studio it reflects the new release. Opening notifications slides in a drawer; see Notifications and profile.
Searching within lists
Each resource list — agents, swarms, connectors, knowledge graphs, workflows — has a search box at the top. Type to filter the list; results update as you type, and paging through results respects your search. This is the quickest way to find a specific item when you have many.
When work is running in the background
Some actions in Studio run for a while: a chat reply, a Deep Traversal plan, a workflow run, or a Knowledge Graph build. While any of these is active, Studio protects it so you don't lose it by accident.
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The browser tab pulses. The tab's icon animates while a run is active, so you can tell at a glance that something is still working even if you switch tabs.
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Leaving the page is guarded. If you try to navigate away — clicking another area, using the browser back button, or refreshing — Studio shows a Run in progress prompt:
Leaving this page will stop your active chat or workflow run. Open AlphaAgent in a new tab if you want to keep it running and explore at the same time.
Choose Stay on this page to keep the run going, or Leave anyway to stop it and continue. Closing or refreshing the tab also triggers your browser's own "leave site?" confirmation.
[Screenshot: Run in progress confirmation prompt]
Tip: If you want to keep a long run going while you work on something else, open AlphaAgent in a second browser tab rather than navigating away in the current one.
Status banners
Two banners can appear across the top of Studio when something needs your attention:
- Capacity banner. If the underlying AI service is temporarily busy or rate-limited, a banner explains the slowdown. It clears on its own once capacity recovers. When the message relates to a specific workflow run, the banner links you straight to that run.
- Billing banner. If your license or subscription needs attention (for example, a past-due invoice), a banner appears with a countdown and a link to pay the invoice. Keeping your account in good standing keeps Studio fully available. See License keys.