Node kinds and their settings

Every node of a stage’s flow, with each setting its panel holds in Keel Builder. The pages Steps and Decisions, rules, waits and parallel paths explain them in full; the process node is under Processes.

Step

A step is work that waits for its performer. On the board it is a card; it ends with one of its outcomes.

Section	Settings
When it is offered	Optional actions only: Condition, Stages.
Done by	An agent: Agent, Raised hands go to. A person or a queue: A queue or A person, Decided by a vote with Votes needed and Out of. An agent with a person: Agent, Raised hands go to, Finished by or A person. A system: Connection, Method, Path, Query, Headers, Body, Outputs, Accept statuses, Timeout (seconds), When it fails for good.
Receives	The fields it reads.
May use	Agent steps only: Tools, MCP servers, Knowledge, each everything or narrowed.
Must return	The fields it writes, each required or not. Edit form.
Checks	Each a Condition and a Message.
Allowed outcomes	Each a Label, where it Leads to, and the fields it Requires.
Maker-checker	The steps whose doers may not do this one.
Authority	Amount field and Scope.
Service level	Goal, Deadline, Count business time, Past the deadline, escalate to.

Performer	Its work opens as	Who completes it
An agent	An agent session	The agent; people in its raised-hands queue if it fails or is off
A person or a queue	A work item for the person or the queue	The person, a member who claims it, or every member for a vote
An agent with a person	An agent session and the person’s work item	The person, with the agent’s draft
A system	A call to the connection	Keel’s own call; people in the failure queue, if one is set

Decision

Automatic. Takes the first branch whose condition holds.

Section	Settings
Branches	Each a Condition, a Label and Goes to.
Otherwise	Goes to and Label, for when no branch holds.

Rule

Automatic. Runs a decision table or scorecard and writes its results.

Section	Settings
Rule	One of the project’s rules.
Assignments	Each a Result of the rule and the Field it goes to.
Then	Where the case goes next.

Wait

Holds the case until something happens.

Section	Settings
Waits for	A time (How long), An event (Event) or A condition (Condition); and At most, a limit.
Waiting on	The client, A third party or Inside the bank.
Outcomes	One per trigger: Elapsed, Arrived, Met and Deadline, each with a Label and where it Leads to.

Parallel split

Automatic. Starts in parallel: the places each path starts.

Join

Automatic. Waits for every path leading to it, then goes to Then.

Process

Starts one of the project’s BPMN processes, and waits for it to end or goes on at once.

Section	Settings
Process	One of the project’s processes: those published, and those the open draft adds.
Waits	Waits until the process ends or Goes on at once.
Passes in	Each variable the process declares, and the field that fills it, or Not passed.
Receives	Nodes that wait only: each Field and the Variable it receives. Add a field adds one.
Outcomes	Ended and Failed, or Started, each with a Label and where it Leads to.

Waits	Leaves by	When
Waits until the process ends	Ended	The process completes or ends.
Waits until the process ends	Failed	The process fails, is cancelled or cannot start.
Goes on at once	Started	At once, when Keel is asked to start the process.

Where an outcome can lead

Choice	Meaning
A node’s name	That node, in the same stage.
Next stage: name / Done	The next primary stage; after the last one, or after an alternate stage, the case closes as completed.
Stage: / Alternate stage: name	The start of that stage.
End of this path	This path stops; other paths go on.
Action: name	Starts an optional action.
Closed: resolution / Close as…	Closes the case with that resolution.

An optional action’s outcomes can also lead to a node of any stage. A case event that interrupts can lead to a node, the next stage, a stage or a close; one that does not interrupt starts an optional action.