App Types: Chatbot, Agent, Chatflow and Workflow

Conversation or task

Dify offers several app types. Simple chatbot and text generation apps wrap one prompt. Agent apps let a model choose tools in a loop. Chatflow apps are multi-turn conversations built as a graph, with conversation memory and variables that persist across turns. Workflow apps run a graph once for a given input and return outputs, suited to automation and batch tasks (summarise a document, classify a ticket, enrich a record). Choose chatflow when users talk back and forth; workflow when a system sends input and expects a result. Dify's node names, menus and options change between versions; check the current Dify documentation.

Choosing an app type

Start from how the app is used.

need                                              app type
single prompt, simple chat                        chatbot / text generator
model picks tools to complete a task              agent
multi-turn assistant with custom logic + memory   chatflow
one input -> processing graph -> outputs          workflow
called from another system or on a schedule       workflow (via API)

Workflows are easier to test

A workflow has fixed inputs and outputs, which makes automated testing simpler than for open-ended chat.

त्वरित जाँच: Which app type suits "classify each incoming support ticket and return a category"?

• Workflow
• Chatflow with long memory
• Text-to-speech app
• No app is needed