Reports

The Reports plugin lets you design professional report templates, generate richly formatted reports from live data sources, and distribute them on a schedule. A built-in AI Assistant helps you author templates in minutes instead of hours, and the multi-format export engine produces polished output in PDF, Excel, HTML, and JSON.

Getting Started

Open Reports from the sidebar. The plugin requires the reports_basic capability on your subscription and an active infrastructure stack provisioned for your tenant.

Capability	What It Unlocks
reports_basic	View templates, generate and download reports, manage schedules
reports_advanced	Advanced template editing, AI-assisted template generation, workflow and agent data sources
reports_enterprise	Enterprise distribution, compliance reporting, extended scheduling options

Interface Overview

The Reports page is organized into two main tabs:

Tab	Description
Templates	Browse, create, edit, duplicate, and schedule report templates
Reports	View generated report instances, preview rendered output, and download exports

Templates Tab

The Templates tab is your template library. It displays all available templates as cards in a responsive grid, with filters to narrow results by search text, category (Financial, Operational, Compliance, Custom), and source (Own, System, or All).

Each template card shows:

• Template name and description
• Category chip (e.g., Financial, Compliance)
• System or Tenant badge indicating whether the template was provided by the platform or created by your team
• Supported export formats as chips (PDF, Excel, HTML, JSON)
• Version number and creator
• Template ID with a copy button for quick reference

Templates that are linked to an agent data source display an Agent Template badge. These templates receive their data automatically through agent workflow executions, so manual generation and scheduling controls are not shown.

Tip: Toggle Show Deleted Templates to view and restore soft-deleted templates that have not yet been permanently removed.

Reports Tab

The Reports tab lists all generated report instances for your current stack. Instances appear in a sortable data grid with columns for name, status, source template, creation date, available formats, and actions.

Status indicators show the current state of each report:

Status	Meaning
Pending	Report generation has been queued
Processing	Report is currently being generated
Completed	Report is ready for preview and download
Failed	Generation encountered an error
Cancelled	Generation was cancelled before completion

You can select multiple reports using the checkboxes and perform bulk delete from the toolbar.

Template Editor

The Template Editor is a full-screen environment where you design how your reports look and what data they contain. Open it by clicking Create New Template or Edit on any tenant-created template.

Layout

• Top toolbar — navigation (back with unsaved-changes guard), template title, Unsaved Changes indicator, Settings drawer, Syntax Help drawer, AI Assist button, Preview toggle, Revert, and Save
• Left panel — Template content editor with name field, a large multi-line content area, and sample data management
• Right panel — Live preview that updates as you type, showing a rendered version of the template with your sample data applied

Writing Template Content

The template content area accepts the platform's template syntax — a lightweight expression language that lets you embed dynamic values, conditional blocks, loops, and formatting filters. Click Syntax Help in the toolbar to open a categorized reference drawer covering:

• Variables — insert dynamic data values with {variable_name}
• Control flow — conditional sections and iteration over lists
• Filters — format numbers, dates, currencies, and strings
• Tables — generate data tables with headers and rows
• Security — redaction and access-controlled content blocks
• Utilities — default values, calculations, and helper functions

Tip: Use the Fullscreen button on the content editor when working with complex templates. You can also copy the entire template content to clipboard with one click.

Managing Sample Data

Below the content editor, the sample data section lets you provide test data that drives the live preview:

• Text Editor — edit the raw JSON sample data directly
• Tree Selector — browse and edit the data structure visually using an interactive tree editor

Several loading options help you populate sample data quickly:

• Load from Report — pull data from the most recently generated report for this template
• Fetch from Data Sources — query the template's configured data sources for a live data preview
• Load from Workflow — import the captured schema from a connected workflow definition
• Configure Schema / Runtime Parameters — define parameter types (string, number, boolean, date, date range, select) that consumers can fill in when generating a report

Template Settings

Click Settings in the toolbar to open the configuration drawer:

Setting	Description
Name	Template display name
Category	Financial, Operational, Compliance, or Custom
Description	Summary of the template's purpose
Page Size	A4, Letter, or Legal
Page Orientation	Portrait or Landscape
Export Formats	Toggle which formats the template supports: PDF, Excel, HTML, JSON
Include Header / Footer	Add standard header and footer sections to generated output
Agent Data Source	Connect the template to an AI agent template or workflow definition as its primary data source
Other Data Sources	Configure additional data sources for the template (see Data Sources below)
Accept Additional Data	Allow ad-hoc data to be passed in at generation time

Data Sources

Report templates can draw data from multiple source types, configured through the Data Source Picker in the Settings drawer:

Source Type	Description
Agents	Execute an AI agent template and use the output
Knowledge	Search and retrieve content from knowledge bases
Files	Access processed file data and metadata
Chat	Pull conversation history and analysis
API	Fetch data from external REST endpoints
Database	Query internal datasets directly
Audit	Access audit logs and compliance event data
Static	Embed fixed reference data in the template

Each data source can be configured with connection parameters, query templates, transformation rules, caching duration, and whether to refresh on every generate.

After configuring data sources, use the scaffolding buttons in Settings to generate starter template content, sample JSON, or both — giving you a head start on wiring data into your template layout.

AI Template Assistant

The AI Template Assistant is one of the most powerful features of the Reports plugin. It lets you generate or refine template content using natural language instructions, dramatically reducing the time needed to create professional report layouts.

Accessing the Assistant

Click AI Assist in the Template Editor toolbar to open the assistant dialog.

Generation Modes

The assistant offers two modes:

• Generate — create a new template from scratch based on your instructions and the template's data schema
• Refine — improve or modify existing template content. Refine mode is automatically selected when you open the assistant and the template already contains custom content

Model Selection

Choose between two AI model options, persisted across sessions:

• Smart — a more capable model that produces detailed, nuanced templates with sophisticated formatting and logic. Best for complex financial reports, multi-section compliance documents, and templates requiring advanced data handling
• Fast — a quicker model that generates templates rapidly. Ideal for simpler layouts, quick prototypes, and iterative drafting

Using the Assistant

1. Open the AI Assist dialog from the Template Editor toolbar
2. Select a template type (Financial, Operational, Compliance, Custom) to give the AI context about the report's purpose
3. Enter your instructions describing what you want — for example:
   • "Create a quarterly financial summary with revenue breakdown by product line, expense categories, and a year-over-year comparison table"
   • "Build a compliance report template showing audit events grouped by category with risk scores and trend indicators"
   • "Design an operational dashboard report with KPI cards, a performance trend chart section, and an executive summary"
4. Click Generate to produce the template content

The assistant receives your template's data schema, sample data, any captured workflow variables, the selected output format, and your current theme — so it generates content that works with your actual data structure.

Reviewing and Applying Results

After generation, the dialog shows a preview of the produced content. You have three options:

• Apply Both — apply the generated content and any associated styling to your template
• Content Only — apply just the content, keeping your current styles
• Try Again — regenerate with the same or modified instructions

When refining, the assistant receives your existing content and style as context, so it can make targeted improvements rather than starting from scratch.

Tip: Start with a broad description and refine iteratively. Each refinement round builds on the previous result, so you can progressively add sections, adjust formatting, or change the data layout without re-describing the entire template.

What the AI Can Do

• Generate complete multi-section report layouts from a plain-language description
• Add conditional sections that show or hide based on data values
• Create formatted data tables with headers, calculated columns, and summary rows
• Apply appropriate filters for currency, percentage, date, and number formatting
• Structure content with headings, separators, and visual hierarchy
• Adapt output for different formats (PDF layout considerations, Excel-friendly structure)
• Incorporate template syntax for loops, conditionals, and nested data access

Generating Reports

From the Templates Tab

1. Find the template you want to use in the template library
2. Click Generate on the template card
3. The report begins generating immediately using the template's configured data sources
4. A progress indicator shows on the card while generation is in progress — the system polls automatically until the report completes or fails
5. Once complete, switch to the Reports tab to view, preview, and download the result

Note: Templates connected to an agent data source do not show a Generate button. These templates receive data through agent workflow executions and generate reports automatically as part of the workflow pipeline.

From a Scheduled Run

Scheduled reports generate automatically based on the configured schedule. See the Scheduling section below for details.

Previewing Reports

The full-screen report preview lets you review generated output before downloading:

1. Open the Reports tab
2. Click the Preview icon on a completed report instance
3. The preview dialog opens with two tabs:
   • Preview — the rendered report displayed as formatted HTML, matching what the final PDF or HTML export will look like
   • Data — the underlying data used to generate the report, displayed as formatted JSON. When the report was generated from an agent workflow, a separate Raw Execution Context sub-tab shows the full agent output

Tip: Use the copy JSON button in the Data tab to grab the report's data snapshot for debugging or to paste into another template's sample data editor.

Exporting and Downloading

Reports can be exported in multiple formats depending on what the source template supports:

Format	Best For
PDF	Formal distribution, printing, archival. Produces a paginated, styled document
Excel	Data analysis, spreadsheet workflows. Exports structured data in tabular format
HTML	Web viewing, email embedding. Produces a self-contained HTML document
JSON	Programmatic consumption, API integrations. Exports the raw structured data

To download a completed report:

1. Open the Reports tab
2. Locate the completed report instance
3. Click the download button for your desired format
4. The file downloads to your browser's default download location

Each format button is only available if the template included that format in its supported export formats. You can adjust which formats a template supports in the Template Editor's Settings drawer.

Scheduling Reports

Schedule reports to generate and deliver automatically so stakeholders receive updates without manual intervention.

Creating a Schedule

1. Click Schedule on any template card in the Templates tab
2. The Schedule Builder opens with the template pre-selected and configured with:
   • The scheduled task type (generate_scheduled_report)
   • The template ID and default export format
   • Optional recipient list and attachment preferences
3. Configure your schedule timing — cron expression, interval, specific dates, or event-based triggers
4. Save the schedule

Managing Schedules

Once a schedule is active, its details appear directly on the template card:

• Next run and last run timestamps
• Cron description or interval/date summary for the schedule timing
• Event triggers if the schedule is event-driven
• Recent execution history (last three runs with status)

Use the schedule controls on the template card to:

• Pause — temporarily stop scheduled runs
• Resume — restart a paused schedule
• Enable / Disable — toggle the schedule on or off
• Unlink — remove the schedule association from the template entirely

How Scheduled Reports Work

When a schedule fires, the system automatically:

1. Creates a new report instance from the template
2. Collects data from all configured data sources
3. Renders the template with the collected data
4. Exports the report in the configured format
5. Delivers the report to the specified recipients via the platform's notification system

If generation fails, the system sends a failure notification so you can investigate and re-run if needed.

Working with System Templates

System templates are platform-provided, ready-to-use templates maintained by the platform administrators. They appear with a System badge and cannot be edited directly.

To customize a system template:

1. Click Duplicate on the system template card
2. A tenant-owned copy is created in your library
3. Edit the copy to customize the content, data sources, and settings to your needs

Duplicating also works for your own templates when you want to create a variant without modifying the original.

Template Management

Deleting Templates

Deleting a template performs a soft delete — the template is hidden from the library but not permanently removed. Any previously generated report instances remain accessible.

To delete a template:

1. Click the Delete action on a tenant-owned template card
2. Review the confirmation dialog, which shows how many report instances are associated with the template
3. Confirm the deletion

Restoring Templates

To restore a soft-deleted template:

1. Enable Show Deleted Templates in the Templates tab toolbar
2. Find the deleted template (marked with a Deleted badge)
3. Click Restore to return it to the active library

Best Practices

• Use the AI Assistant to bootstrap templates — describe your report's purpose and sections in plain language rather than writing template syntax from scratch. Iterate with Refine mode to add detail incrementally
• Start with a system template — duplicate a system template that closely matches your needs, then customize it. This gives you a proven structure and formatting as a starting point
• Provide realistic sample data — the live preview is only as useful as the sample data driving it. Use Load from Report or Fetch from Data Sources to populate with real data
• Choose the right export format — use PDF for formal distribution, Excel when recipients need to manipulate data, HTML for quick web sharing, and JSON for programmatic integrations
• Set up schedules for recurring reports — automate delivery for weekly, monthly, or quarterly reports so stakeholders receive updates without manual effort
• Organize templates by category — use Financial, Operational, Compliance, and Custom categories consistently so team members can find the right template quickly
• Review before distributing — use the report preview to verify formatting and data accuracy before sharing with stakeholders

Troubleshooting

Reports page shows a capability warning

Problem: You see a message that the reports capability is required. Solution: Contact your administrator to enable reports_basic on your subscription.

Cannot edit a template

Problem: The Edit button is not available on a template card. Solution: Only tenant-created templates can be edited. System templates (marked with a System badge) must be duplicated first. Click Duplicate to create an editable copy.

Report generation stuck in Processing

Problem: A report instance stays in Processing status for an extended period. Solution: Report generation runs as a background task. Complex templates with multiple data sources or large datasets may take several minutes. If the status does not change after 10 minutes, check that your infrastructure stack is healthy and that the configured data sources are accessible.

AI Assistant produces unexpected output

Problem: The generated template content does not match your expectations. Solution: Provide more specific instructions and include the template type selection to give the AI better context. Use Refine mode to make targeted improvements rather than regenerating from scratch. Switch from Fast to Smart model for more nuanced output.

Scheduled report not running

Problem: A scheduled report does not generate at the expected time. Solution: Verify the schedule is in an active (not paused) state by checking the schedule controls on the template card. Confirm the schedule timing is correct. Check recent execution history on the card for error indicators.

Download button is disabled for a specific format

Problem: A format option (e.g., Excel) is not available for download on a completed report. Solution: The source template may not include that format in its supported export formats. Open the template in the Template Editor, go to Settings, and enable the desired format under Export Formats. Regenerate the report to produce the new format.

Related Topics

• Analytics & Insights — User Guide
• AI Agents — User Guide
• Knowledge Management — User Guide
• Files Management — User Guide

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⏱️ Read time: 14 minutes | 📊 Difficulty: intermediate | 🔄 Last updated: 2026-03-30