Vapi Workflow Creation

Build structured conversation workflows with visual node-based flows. Workflows provide deterministic control over conversation steps, branching logic, and tool execution.

Setup: Ensure VAPI_API_KEY is set. See the setup-api-key skill if needed.

When to Use Workflows vs Assistants

Feature	Assistant	Workflow
Simple conversations	Best choice	Over-engineered
Multi-step processes	Can work with good prompting	Best choice
Deterministic flow	Hard to guarantee	Built-in
Conditional branching	Prompt-dependent	Visual nodes
Complex state management	Difficult	Native support

Quick Start

Workflows are best built in the Vapi Dashboard visual editor at https://dashboard.vapi.ai — but they can also be configured via API.

Dashboard Workflow

Go to https://dashboard.vapi.ai
Navigate to Workflows
Click Create Workflow
Add nodes: Conversation, Tool, Condition, Handoff
Connect nodes to define the flow
Publish and attach to a phone number or call

Using a Workflow in a Call

curl -X POST https://api.vapi.ai/call \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $VAPI_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "workflowId": "your-workflow-id",
    "phoneNumberId": "your-phone-number-id",
    "customer": {
      "number": "+11234567890"
    }
  }'

Node Types

Conversation Node

The core building block — the assistant has a conversation within defined boundaries:

System prompt specific to this step
Model and voice configuration
Exit conditions that trigger transitions to other nodes
Variables to extract and pass between nodes

Tool Node

Execute a tool (API call, function) and use the result in subsequent nodes.

Condition Node

Branch the flow based on variables or conversation state.

Handoff Node

Transfer to another workflow, assistant, or phone number.

Workflow Patterns

Appointment Scheduling Flow

[Greeting] → [Collect Date] → [Check Availability (Tool)] → [Confirm Booking] → [Goodbye]
                                         ↓ (unavailable)
                                 [Suggest Alternatives] → [Confirm Booking]

Lead Qualification Flow

[Introduction] → [Ask Budget] → [Ask Timeline] → [Qualify (Condition)]
                                                        ↓ (qualified)
                                                  [Schedule Demo]
                                                        ↓ (not qualified)
                                                  [Send Resources]

Support Triage Flow

[Greeting] → [Identify Issue (Condition)]
                  ↓ (billing)        ↓ (technical)        ↓ (other)
            [Billing Flow]    [Tech Support Flow]    [General Help]

Attaching Workflows

To a Phone Number

curl -X PATCH https://api.vapi.ai/phone-number/{id} \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $VAPI_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "workflowId": "your-workflow-id"
  }'

In an Outbound Call

curl -X POST https://api.vapi.ai/call \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $VAPI_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "workflowId": "your-workflow-id",
    "phoneNumberId": "your-phone-number-id",
    "customer": { "number": "+11234567890" }
  }'

References

Vapi Workflows Docs — Official guide
Workflow Examples — Common patterns

Additional Resources

This skills repository includes a Vapi documentation MCP server (vapi-docs) that gives your AI agent access to the full Vapi knowledge base. Use the searchDocs tool to look up anything beyond what this skill covers — advanced configuration, troubleshooting, SDK details, and more.

Auto-configured: If you cloned or installed these skills, the MCP server is already configured via .mcp.json (Claude Code), .cursor/mcp.json (Cursor), or .vscode/mcp.json (VS Code Copilot).

Manual setup: If your agent doesn't auto-detect the config, run:

claude mcp add vapi-docs -- npx -y mcp-remote https://docs.vapi.ai/_mcp/server

See the README for full setup instructions across all supported agents.

create-workflow