Chapter 2 The Entry Point

Every workflow starts here

What is the Entry Point?

The Entry Point is the starting node of every Agentish workflow. It is not an LLM — it does not reason or call tools. Its job is to:

Define the state schema — declare what variables your workflow uses.
Bootstrap execution — pass control to the first LLM or Router node.

Rule: Every workflow must have exactly one Entry Point. Attempting to export a graph without an Entry Point will produce an error.

Configuration

Click on the Entry Point node to open its inspector. It has two fields:

Field	Purpose
Display name	A label for the node on the canvas. Cosmetic only.
Initial State Variables	A table where you define additional state variables beyond the two built-in ones (`count` and `messages`). Each variable has a name and a type.

Built-in State Variables

Every workflow automatically includes two state variables that you do not need to define:

Variable	Type	Purpose
`count`	`int`	A general-purpose counter. Incremented automatically by node execution.
`messages`	`Annotated[List[BaseMessage], ...]`	The global message log. Every node appends its conversation history here using an append reducer (messages are never overwritten, only added to).

Defining Your Own State Variables

Most workflows need additional state variables — these are how your agents communicate with each other. For example, if one LLM node produces an analysis_result and another needs to read it, you define analysis_result as a state variable here.

Use the “Initial State Variables” table in the inspector to add them. For each variable, you specify a name and a type. See Chapter 8: State for the full data type reference and guidance on when to use each type.

Example: Binary Analysis Workflow State

# Initial State Variables defined in Entry Point:

analysis_result     str      # The LLM's analysis of the binary
final_report        str      # The polished final output
routing_reason      str      # Why the Router made its decision
discovered_functions str     # List of functions found in binary

The Entry Point Must Have an Outgoing Edge

An Entry Point with no outgoing edge means your graph is empty — execution has nowhere to go. The topology validator will block export if the Entry Point is disconnected.

Connect the Entry Point’s output slot to the first LLM or Router node in your workflow.

ASL Representation

ASL — Entry Point Node

{
  "id": "1",
  "type": "EntryPoint",
  "label": "EntryPoint",
  "config": {
    "title": "Entry Node",
    "initial_state": {
      "analysis_result": "str",
      "final_report": "str",
      "routing_reason": "str"
    }
  }
}

The initial_state object maps variable names to their types. These, combined with the built-in count and messages, form the complete global state schema.

Chapter Summary

Key Takeaways:

Every workflow needs exactly one Entry Point.
The Entry Point defines the state schema — the variables your agents use to communicate.
count and messages are built-in; you add your own variables in the inspector.
The Entry Point must have at least one outgoing edge.

← Chapter 1: Overview Chapter 3: The LLM Node →