The Playground is the interactive chat interface where you can test, experiment, and have real-time conversations with your Assistant. It provides a full-featured chat environment with streaming responses, debug capabilities, and integration with your Assistant's Knowledge Base. The Playground serves as both a testing environment for development and a functional chat interface for end-users.
Playground Interface
[Screenshot placeholder: Complete Playground interface]
The Playground consists of several key components:
Chat Area
- Message history displaying the complete conversation
- Streaming responses with real-time text generation
- Message avatars distinguishing user and Assistant messages
- Timestamp information for conversation tracking
Input Section
- Message input field with multi-line support
- Send button with keyboard shortcuts
- Input hints for user guidance
- Character/token indicators (when applicable)
Status Indicators
- Processing states showing when the Assistant is thinking
- Streaming indicators during response generation
- Error states with clear error messages
- Debug information for development purposes
Chat Features
Conversational Interface
Message Flow
[Screenshot placeholder: Conversation with multiple messages]
The Playground provides a natural chat experience:
User Messages:
- Right-aligned message bubbles
- Blue background for clear identification
- User avatar with "You" label
- Input timestamp for reference
Assistant Messages:
- Left-aligned message bubbles
- Gray background with black text
- Assistant avatar with first letter of Assistant name
- Response timestamp and processing time
Message Formatting
Rich Text Support:
- Markdown rendering in Assistant responses
- Code blocks with syntax highlighting
- Lists and formatting preserved from AI output
- Links and references properly formatted
Multi-line Messages:
- Shift+Enter for new lines in input
- Enter to send message
- Automatic text wrapping for long messages
- Preserved formatting in conversation history
Real-Time Streaming
Streaming Response Generation
[Screenshot placeholder: Streaming response in progress]
The Playground features advanced real-time streaming:
Server-Sent Events (SSE):
- Character-by-character streaming
- Real-time updates as AI generates response
- Progress indicators during processing
- Error recovery for connection issues
Streaming Benefits:
- Immediate feedback: See responses starting immediately
- Better perceived performance: No waiting for complete responses
- Progress transparency: Clear indication of processing stages
- User engagement: Interactive feeling during response generation
Processing Stages
1. Initial Processing:
- "Thinking..." indicator while AI processes the query
- Knowledge Base search (when applicable)
- Context preparation with relevant information
2. Response Generation:
- Streaming text appears in real-time
- Character count updates during streaming
- Live formatting as markdown is rendered
3. Completion:
- Final response fully displayed
- Debug information becomes available
- Ready for next user input
Knowledge Base Integration
Automatic RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)
[Screenshot placeholder: Chat showing knowledge base integration]
When your Assistant has uploaded documents in the Knowledge Base:
Automatic Context Inclusion:
- Semantic search through uploaded documents
- Relevant chunks automatically included in AI context
- Transparent integration without user intervention
- Source awareness for more accurate responses
Knowledge Base Indicators:
- Badge display showing "Knowledge Base Active" with file count
- Contextual responses that reference uploaded content
- Improved accuracy for domain-specific questions
RAG Process Flow
1. Query Analysis:
- User question is analyzed for intent and keywords
- System determines if Knowledge Base search is needed
- Relevant search terms are extracted
2. Document Search:
- Semantic similarity search across all uploaded documents
- Ranking algorithm identifies most relevant content chunks
- Context optimization to fit within AI token limits
3. Response Generation:
- Enhanced context includes relevant document chunks
- AI generates response using both training data and uploaded knowledge
- Source-aware answers that can reference specific information
Debug and Development Features
Debug Information Access
[Screenshot placeholder: Debug logs modal]
For development and troubleshooting, the Playground provides detailed debug information:
Debug Logs Button:
- "See debug logs" button appears under Assistant responses
- Complete execution trace showing all processing steps
- Performance metrics including response times
- Error details for troubleshooting
Debug Information Includes:
- System workflow execution step-by-step breakdown
- Knowledge Base search results with relevance scores
- AI model interactions and prompt engineering details
- Performance timing for optimization insights
Response Analysis
Execution Breakdown:
- Step-by-step processing through the underlying System workflow
- Knowledge retrieval details and relevance scoring
- AI model responses at each stage
- Token usage and performance metrics
Development Insights:
- Prompt engineering effectiveness
- Knowledge Base search quality
- Response generation timing and efficiency
- Error identification and troubleshooting information
User Experience Features
Smart Scrolling
Automatic Scroll Behavior
The Playground includes intelligent scrolling features:
Auto-scroll Conditions:
- New messages: Automatically scroll to new content
- Streaming responses: Follow streaming text in real-time
- User at bottom: Only auto-scroll when user is at conversation bottom
- Manual scroll detection: Pause auto-scroll when user scrolls up
User Control:
- Manual scrolling: User can scroll up to review conversation history
- Scroll position memory: System remembers if user scrolled away from bottom
- Return to bottom: Auto-scroll resumes when user returns to bottom
Input Experience
Enhanced Input Field
[Screenshot placeholder: Input field with message being typed]
Multi-line Support:
- Textarea input with automatic resizing
- Shift+Enter for new lines
- Enter to send message
- Visual feedback for input state
Input Validation:
- Empty message prevention: Send button disabled for empty input
- Character limits: Visual feedback for message length
- Real-time validation: Immediate feedback on input state
Keyboard Shortcuts
Send Message:
- Enter: Send current message
- Shift+Enter: Add new line without sending
Navigation:
- Up/Down arrows: Navigate message history (future feature)
- Ctrl/Cmd+A: Select all text in input field
Error Handling
Error States and Recovery
Connection Errors:
- Clear error messages explaining connection issues
- Retry mechanisms for failed requests
- Graceful degradation when streaming fails
- User guidance for resolving issues
Processing Errors:
- AI model errors handled gracefully
- Knowledge Base errors don't break conversation
- System workflow errors provide useful feedback
- Recovery suggestions for user action
Empty State Experience
Initial Conversation View
[Screenshot placeholder: Empty Playground with welcome message]
Before any messages are sent, the Playground displays:
Welcome Interface:
- Assistant avatar with name prominently displayed
- Welcome message explaining the Assistant's purpose
- Usage hints for getting started
- Knowledge Base status indicator (if files are uploaded)
Getting Started Guidance:
- Example questions or conversation starters
- Feature highlights explaining capabilities
- Knowledge Base indication showing available resources
- Clear call-to-action to begin conversation
Testing and Development Workflow
Assistant Testing Process
Functional Testing
Basic Functionality:
- Send simple message to test basic response generation
- Test streaming to ensure real-time updates work correctly
- Verify formatting in both input and output
- Check error handling with invalid or problematic inputs
Knowledge Base Testing:
- Ask knowledge-specific questions to test RAG integration
- Verify document references appear in responses
- Test search quality with various query types
- Check context relevance in Knowledge Base responses
Performance Testing
Response Time Evaluation:
- Measure response latency for different query types
- Test streaming performance across various response lengths
- Evaluate Knowledge Base search speed and accuracy
- Monitor system performance under load
Quality Assessment:
- Response accuracy for domain-specific questions
- Knowledge integration effectiveness
- Consistency across multiple similar queries
- Error rate and handling quality
Iterative Improvement
Feedback Collection
Response Quality Analysis:
- Test edge cases and unusual queries
- Document response quality for common questions
- Identify improvement areas in responses
- Note Knowledge Base gaps that need additional content
User Experience Testing:
- Interface usability for target users
- Response clarity and helpfulness
- Conversation flow naturalness
- Feature discoverability and ease of use
Optimization Strategies
Knowledge Base Optimization:
- Add missing information identified through testing
- Improve document structure for better retrieval
- Update outdated content that affects response quality
- Remove irrelevant files that may confuse responses
System Configuration:
- Review underlying System settings for optimal performance
- Adjust AI model parameters if response quality is suboptimal
- Optimize workflow for better response generation
Advanced Features
Conversation Context
Session Memory
The Playground maintains conversation context:
Within-Session Memory:
- Complete conversation history available to AI
- Context accumulation for coherent responses
- Reference capability to earlier conversation points
- Contextual follow-up questions and responses
Context Limits:
- Token window management to stay within AI limits
- Automatic context trimming for long conversations
- Context prioritization to maintain relevant information
- Memory optimization for best performance
Integration Points
System Workflow Integration
Workflow Execution:
- Multi-step processing through underlying System workflow
- Sequential AI calls as defined in System design
- Complex reasoning through multiple AI nodes
- Sophisticated output from multi-stage processing
Configuration Inheritance:
- AI model settings from System configuration
- Temperature and creativity settings from System
- Prompt engineering from System design
- Output formatting based on System specifications
Best Practices
Testing Strategy
Comprehensive Testing
- Functional testing: Verify all features work correctly
- Content testing: Ensure Knowledge Base integration works properly
- Edge case testing: Test unusual inputs and scenarios
- Performance testing: Verify response times and streaming quality
User-Centric Testing
- Real user scenarios: Test with actual use cases
- Conversation flows: Test natural conversation patterns
- Error scenarios: Test error handling and recovery
- Accessibility: Ensure interface works for all users
Optimization Guidelines
Performance Optimization
- Monitor response times: Track and optimize slow responses
- Knowledge Base efficiency: Ensure relevant, well-structured content
- System configuration: Optimize underlying System for chat use
- Error minimization: Reduce and handle errors gracefully
User Experience Optimization
- Clear communication: Ensure Assistant responses are helpful and clear
- Consistent behavior: Maintain consistent Assistant personality and responses
- Error guidance: Provide helpful guidance when things go wrong
- Feature discovery: Make capabilities apparent to users
The Playground serves as the primary interface for interacting with your Assistant, providing a rich, interactive environment for both testing during development and actual usage by end-users. Its combination of real-time streaming, Knowledge Base integration, and debug capabilities makes it a powerful tool for creating and refining AI assistants.