# Describe a flow instead of building one

Type what you want in your own words and get the closest ready-made flow filled in, ready to review.

Updated 20 September 2026

## Before you start

You’ll need the **Flow builder** AI feature — check [Your plan](https://bloopbot.com/docs/what-your-plan-includes) from the Flows page, where it powers the **Describe it instead** button this guide covers. Without it, the button still opens, but shows a **Not included in your plan** explanation instead of the description box; [the Flow marketplace](https://bloopbot.com/docs/browse-flow-packs) has every one of these flows to pick by hand instead, and nothing is sent to the AI.

## Open Describe it

Open **Flows → + New flow → Describe it**.

## Say what you want

1. Type what the bot should do, the way you’d say it to a friend — up to 600 characters, one flow per description.
2. Press one of the three example sentences to fill the box and see the shape a description can take, or write your own.
3. Press **Enter**, or **Find a flow**, to send it. **Shift+Enter** starts a new line instead of sending.

Worked examples: “a !socials command only mods can use that says ‘my links are in the panels’”, “thank every new follower in chat”, “post a reminder to follow every 15 minutes”. Numbers come out already converted — “every 15 minutes” becomes a 900-second timer — and any wording it uses in a message or reply is copied word for word from what you typed; the AI never writes new words of its own.

## Read the result before you touch anything

The result names the template it chose, with a plain-English verdict instead of a percentage: **“Looks like a close match”**, **“Probably what you meant”** or **“A rough guess — worth a proper look”**.

Under it is every setting the template has, split into how many were **filled in from what you said** and how many were **left as they were**. A setting gets a warning stripe beside it when it needs a second look — anything the AI was unsure about, anything it left at the template’s own value because your description didn’t mention it, or anything it tried to fill that the flow itself refused, shown in the flow’s own words (for example, “A command name can’t contain spaces.”).

## Not the one you meant

Two runners-up are listed under **Not that one?**. Press one to install it directly — no second search, and no describe spent.

## Nothing runs until you say so

Press **Open it for review** and the flow opens in the editor exactly as installing a template does: **paused**, for you to look over and switch on yourself. Nothing is created or saved before you press it. **Try again** clears the box without closing the dialog, if you’d rather reword your description.

## When there’s no good match

When nothing in the library does what you described, it says so plainly and offers the Flow marketplace instead of pushing the nearest template anyway. The same happens if the request doesn’t come back or the connection drops — the marketplace is always one click away, which is where you’d have ended up regardless.

> **A short pause between tries**
>
> Because each description is a set of AI requests, there’s a short pause between them — about eight seconds — and a limit of twenty an hour. Go over it and the dialog says how many seconds to wait.

## Troubleshooting

- Button shows “Not included in your plan”? Your channel doesn’t currently include the Flow builder feature — check [Your plan](https://bloopbot.com/docs/what-your-plan-includes).
- **Find a flow** stays greyed out? The box needs at least a handful of words and no more than 600 characters.
- Never finds a match for something you know is in the library? Describe the outcome you want rather than the mechanism, e.g. “a !socials command” reads better than naming a node type.
- A filled-in field looks wrong? That’s exactly what the warning stripes are for — check every flagged field before you switch the flow on, the same as reviewing any installed template.