Progress updates let developers send real-time status messages to users during Action execution, improving transparency in conversational flows. Each Action supports an optional progress_updates map with two fields:

on_pending: Message shown when the action starts (e.g., "Fetching your data...").
on_complete: Message shown when the action finishes (e.g., "Data fetched successfully.").

These fields are optional. When you provide it, messages appear in the chat only if the Action runs in a conversational agent.

How it Works

action:
  action_name: fetch_user_details
  output_key: user_data
  input_args:
    user_id: input.user_id
  progress_updates:
    on_pending: "Looking up your profile..."
    on_complete: "Profile loaded!"

Conversational Agents: Users see both messages in the chat stream.
Ambient Agents (system-level): No messages are shown, even if configured—progress updates are ignored.

When to Use

Use progress updates for long-running or user-visible actions (e.g., API calls, file processing) in conversational bots to reduce perceived wait time. Skip them in backend-only or fast operations to avoid clutter.

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Tip: Keep messages concise and action-oriented. Use templating for dynamic content:
on_pending: "Downloading {{input.file_count}} files..."