Botpress ADK Guidelines

Botpress ADK Guidelines

Use this skill when you've got questions about the Botpress Agent Development Kit (ADK) - like when you're building a feature that involves tables, actions, tools, workflows, conversations, files, knowledge bases, triggers, or Zai.

What is the ADK?

The Botpress ADK is a convention-based TypeScript framework where file structure maps directly to bot behavior. Place files in the correct directories, and they automatically become available as bot capabilities.

The ADK provides primitives for:

• Actions & Tools (reusable functions and AI-callable tools)
• Workflows (long-running, resumable processes)
• Conversations (message handling)
• Tables (data storage with semantic search)
• Files (file storage with semantic search)
• Knowledge Bases (RAG implementation)
• Triggers (event-driven automation)
• Zai (production-ready LLM utility library for common AI operations)

Project Structure (Convention-Based)

All primitives must be placed in src/ directory:

/                      # Project root
├── src/
│   ├── actions/       # Strongly-typed functions → auto-registered
│   ├── tools/         # AI-callable tools → available via execute()
│   ├── workflows/     # Long-running processes → resumable/​scheduled
│   ├── conversations/ # Message handlers → routes by channel
│   ├── tables/        # Database schemas → auto-created with search
│   ├── triggers/      # Event handlers → subscribe to events
│   ├── knowledge/     # Knowledge bases → RAG with semantic search
│   └── utils/         # Shared helpers (not auto-registered)
└── agent.config.ts    # Bot configuration (includes integrations)

Note: dependencies.json was removed in ADK 1.9+. All configuration including integrations now lives in agent.config.ts.

Critical: Files outside src/ are not discovered. Location = behavior.

When to Use This Skill

Activate this skill when users ask ADK-related questions like:

• "How do I create an Action/​Tool/​Workflow/​Conversation?"
• "What is the difference between X and Y?"
• "Show me an example of..."
• "How do I configure...?"
• "What's the CLI command for...?"
• "How do I use the Context API?"
• "How do I call integration actions?"
• "How do I use Zai for [extract/​check/​label/​etc]?"
• "What are the best practices for...?"
• "How do I avoid common mistakes?"
• "How do I handle ticket assignment/​escalation?"

How to Answer ADK Questions

ADK questions fall into two categories: CLI queries and documentation lookups.

Option 1: Direct CLI Commands (FAST - Use First!)

For integration discovery and CLI queries, use the Bash tool to run commands directly:

Integration Discovery:

# Search for integrations
adk search <query>

# List all available integrations
adk list --available

# Get detailed integration info (actions, channels, events)
adk info <integration-name>

# Check installed integrations (must be in ADK project)
adk list

Project Info:

# Check CLI version
adk --version

# Show project status
adk

# Get help
adk --help

When to use CLI commands:

• "What integrations are available?"
• "Search for Slack integration"
• "Show me details about the Linear integration"
• "What actions does the Slack integration have?"
• "What version of ADK am I using?"
• "How do I add an integration?"

Response pattern:

1. Use Bash tool to run the appropriate adk command
2. Parse and present the output to the user
3. Optionally suggest next steps (e.g., "Run adk add [email protected] to install")

Option 2: Documentation Questions (For Conceptual Questions)

For documentation, patterns, and how-to questions, search and reference the documentation files directly:

When to use documentation:

• "How do I create a workflow?"
• "What's the difference between Actions and Tools?"
• "Show me an example of using Zai"
• "What are best practices for state management?"
• "How do I fix this error?"
• "What's the pattern for X?"

How to answer documentation questions:

1. Find relevant files - Use Glob to discover documentation:

   pattern: **/​references/​*.md
   

2. Search for keywords - Use Grep to find relevant content:

   pattern: <keyword from user question>
   path: <path to references directory from step 1>
   output_mode: files_with_matches
   

3. Read the files - Use Read to load relevant documentation

4. Provide answer with:

   • Concise explanation
   • Code examples from the references
   • File references with line numbers (e.g., "From references/​actions.md:215")
   • Common pitfalls if relevant
   • Related topics for further reading

Available Documentation

Documentation should be located in ./​references/ directory relative to this skill. When answering questions, search for these topics:

Core Concepts

• actions.md - Actions with strong typing and validation
• tools.md - AI-callable tools and Autonomous namespace
• workflows.md - Workflows and step-based execution
• conversations.md - Conversation handlers and message routing
• triggers.md - Event-driven automation
• messages.md - Sending messages and events

Data & Content

• tables.md - Data storage with semantic search
• files.md - File storage and management
• knowledge-bases.md - RAG implementation
• zai-complete-guide.md - Complete ZAI developer guide
• zai-agent-reference.md - Quick ZAI reference

Configuration & Integration

• agent-config.md - Bot configuration and state management
• model-configuration.md - AI model configuration reference
• context-api.md - Runtime context access
• integration-actions.md - Using integration actions
• tags.md - Entity tags for bot, user, conversation, and workflow
• cli.md - Complete CLI command reference
• mcp-server.md - MCP server for AI assistants

Frontend Integration

• frontend/​botpress-client.md - Using @botpress/​client in frontends
• frontend/​calling-actions.md - Calling bot actions from frontend
• frontend/​type-generation.md - Type-safe integration with generated types
• frontend/​authentication.md - Authentication with PATs

Runtime Access Patterns

Quick reference for accessing ADK runtime services:

Imports

// Always import from @botpress/​runtime
import {
  Action,
  Autonomous,
  Workflow,
  Conversation,
  z,
  actions,
  adk,
  user,
  bot,
  conversation,
  context,
} from "@botpress/​runtime";

State Management

// Bot state (defined in agent.config.ts)
bot.state.maintenanceMode = true;
bot.state.lastDeployedAt = new Date().toISOString();

// User state (defined in agent.config.ts)
user.state.preferredLanguage = "en";
user.state.onboardingComplete = true;

// User tags
user.tags.email; // Access user metadata

Calling Actions

// Call bot actions
await actions.fetchUser({ userId: "123" });
await actions.processOrder({ orderId: "456" });

// Call integration actions
await actions.slack.sendMessage({ channel: "...", text: "..." });
await actions.linear.issueList({ teamId: "..." });

// Convert action to tool
tools: [fetchUser.asTool()];

Context API

// Get runtime services
const client = context.get("client"); // Botpress client
const cognitive = context.get("cognitive"); // AI model client
const citations = context.get("citations"); // Citation manager

File Naming

• Actions/​Tools/​Workflows: myAction.ts, searchDocs.ts (camelCase)
• Tables: Users.ts, Orders.ts (PascalCase)
• Conversations/​Triggers: chat.ts, slack.ts (lowercase)

Critical ADK Patterns (Always Reference in Answers)

When answering questions, always verify these patterns against the documentation:

Package Management

# All package managers are supported
bun install       # Recommended (fastest)
npm install       # Works fine
yarn install      # Works fine
pnpm install      # Works fine

# ADK auto-detects based on lock files
# - bun.lockb → uses bun
# - package-lock.json → uses npm
# - yarn.lock → uses yarn
# - pnpm-lock.yaml → uses pnpm

Imports

// ✅ CORRECT - Always from @botpress/​runtime
import { Action, Autonomous, Workflow, z } from "@botpress/​runtime";

// ❌ WRONG - Never from zod or @botpress/​sdk
import { z } from "zod"; // ❌ Wrong
import { Action } from "@botpress/​sdk"; // ❌ Wrong

Export Patterns

// ✅ Both patterns work - export const is recommended
export const myAction = new Action({ ... });  // Recommended
export default new Action({ ... });           // Also valid

// Why export const?
// - Enables direct imports: import { myAction } from "./​actions/​myAction"
// - Can pass to execute(): tools: [myAction.asTool()]

Actions

// ✅ CORRECT - Handler receives { input, client }
export const fetchUser = new Action({
  name: "fetchUser",
  async handler({ input, client }) {  // ✅ Destructure from props
    const { userId } = input;         // ✅ Then destructure fields
    return { name: userId };
  }
});

// ❌ WRONG - Cannot destructure input fields directly
handler({ userId }) {  // ❌ Wrong - must be { input }
  return { name: userId };
}

Tools

// ✅ CORRECT - Tools CAN destructure directly
export const myTool = new Autonomous.Tool({
  handler: async ({ query, maxResults }) => {
    // ✅ Direct destructuring OK
    return search(query, maxResults);
  },
});

Conversations

// ✅ CORRECT - Use conversation.send() method
await conversation.send({
  type: "text",
  payload: { text: "Hello!" }
});

// ❌ WRONG - Never use client.createMessage() directly
await client.createMessage({ ... });  // ❌ Wrong

Examples of Questions This Skill Answers

Beginner Questions

• "What is an Action?"
• "How do I create my first workflow?"
• "What's the difference between Actions and Tools?"

Implementation Questions

• "How do I access the Botpress client?"
• "How do I use citations in RAG?"
• "What's the syntax for searchable table columns?"
• "How do I call a Slack integration action?"
• "How do I use Zai to extract structured data?"
• "How do I validate content with Zai?"

Advanced Pattern Questions

• "How do I add guardrails to prevent hallucinations?"
• "How do I implement admin authentication?"
• "How do I add logging and observability?"
• "How do I compose multiple extensions?"
• "How do I manage context in async tool handlers?"

Troubleshooting Questions

• "Why am I getting 'Cannot destructure property' error?"
• "How do I fix import errors?"
• "What's wrong with my workflow state access?"

Best Practices Questions

• "What are common mistakes to avoid?"
• "How should I structure my project?"
• "What's the recommended pattern for X?"

Response Format

When answering ADK questions, follow this structure:

1. Start with a concise explanation - Answer the core question directly
2. Provide working code examples - Use examples from references or create based on patterns
3. Include file references - Cite documentation (e.g., "From actions.md:215")
4. Highlight common pitfalls - Reference the troubleshooting section if relevant
5. Security & best practices - Mention security considerations when applicable
6. Link to related topics - Suggest further reading or related concepts

Example Response Structure:

Actions are strongly-typed functions that can be called from anywhere in your bot.

**Example:**
[code example]

**Common Pitfall:** Remember to destructure `input` first (see troubleshooting section)

**Related:** You can convert Actions to Tools using `.asTool()` - see the "When to Use What" decision tree.

**Next Steps:** Create your action in `src/​actions/​myAction.ts` and it will be auto-registered.