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The helper

Every workspace with agents on has a helper. Ask it how to build something, why a run failed, or which template fits. It reads, and never changes anything.

What it does

The helper answers questions about shiftlabs and looks into your workspace to explain what happened. It recommends a workflow or an agent for a job, and drafts the code.

  • Why did a run fail?

    It reads the run and its logs, and names the cause and the fix.

  • Workflow or agent?

    It recommends one for the job and shows how to build it.

  • Draft the code

    A workflow, an agent or a shiftlabs.config.ts, with secrets read as secrets.NAME.

  • Which template fits?

    It suggests a template when one fits the job.

Open it from Helper in the dashboard's menu. Over the API, it is the agent shiftlabs. Talk to it like any agent.

shellcurl
# Any role. Answers 202 {"conversation", "status": "working"}.
curl -X POST https://api.shiftlabs.org/v1/agents/shiftlabs/conversations \
  -H "authorization: Bearer $SHIFTLABS_API_KEY" -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{"text": "Why did my last run of refund-check fail?"}'

What it can read

The helper acts as the person talking to it, with their role. For an API key, that includes the key's capabilities and scope. Its tools only read.

  • search_docs

    Searches these docs.

  • list_workflows · list_versions

    Workflows and their versions.

  • get_workflow_source

    A version's source. Developers and admins only.

  • list_runs · get_run · get_run_logs · get_run_timeline

    Runs, their logs and their timelines.

  • list_triggers

    Triggers. Viewers get masked ids.

  • list_secrets · list_connections

    Names, hosts and flags. Never secret values.

  • get_usage

    Usage against the plan's limits.

  • list_agents

    Agents and their definitions.

  • It can't deploy, run, create or change anything. You make the changes it suggests.
  • A readable secret's value is replaced by [redacted] in everything its tools return.
  • It has no admin-only tools, such as the audit log. Developers can read other people's conversations with it, tool output included.
  • A tool the person's role doesn't allow answers forbidden, with the role it needs.

Cost and limits

The helper is built in. It isn't deployed, and it doesn't count toward your plan's agents.

  • It runs on @cf/zai-org/glm-4.7-flash, a small model, with @cf/qwen/qwen3-30b-a3b-fp8 as its fallback, up to 10 turns a message and $0.25 per conversation.
  • Its messages and model use count toward the workspace's limits and model allowance, as any agent's do.
  • It is on wherever agents are on. See Turn agents on.
  • Its conversations belong to the person who started them. Developers and admins can read everyone's.