windmill-labs/windmill · error

No flow helpers found

Error message

No flow helpers found

What it means

sendRequest throws this when mode is AIMode.FLOW but the manager's flowAiChatHelpers were never injected. Flow-mode AI editing needs helpers provided by the flow editor (step selection, flow mutation); without them the manager cannot read or modify the flow, so it refuses early.

Source

Thrown at frontend/src/lib/components/copilot/chat/AIChatManager.svelte.ts:3417

					entityId: chatId,
					workspace: this.operatingWorkspace
				})
			}
			if (this.isSessionChat && this.sessionId) {
				logFeatureUsage('ai_session', 'message', {
					key: this.mode,
					entityId: this.sessionId,
					workspace: this.operatingWorkspace
				})
				logFeatureUsage('ai_session', 'autonomy', {
					key: this.autonomyMode,
					entityId: this.sessionId,
					workspace: this.operatingWorkspace
				})
			}

			if (this.mode === AIMode.FLOW && !this.flowAiChatHelpers) {
				throw new Error('No flow helpers found')
			}

			let snapshot:
				| { type: 'flow'; value: ExtendedOpenFlow }
				| { type: 'app'; value: number }
				| undefined = undefined
			if (this.mode === AIMode.FLOW) {
				snapshot = { type: 'flow', value: this.flowAiChatHelpers!.getFlowAndSelectedId().flow }
				this.flowAiChatHelpers!.setSnapshot(snapshot.value)
			} else if (this.mode === AIMode.APP) {
				snapshot = { type: 'app', value: this.appAiChatHelpers!.snapshot() }
			}

			// Attach the enrichments that are only known after beforeSend (selected
			// context + snapshot) to the optimistic user message pushed before it.
			this.displayMessages = this.displayMessages.map((m, i) =>
				i === optimisticIndex
					? {

View on GitHub (pinned to e474e8803c)

Solutions

1. Open the AI chat from within the flow editor so the flow helpers are injected.
2. Ensure the flow editor assigns flowAiChatHelpers on the manager before any send.
3. Send with mode SCRIPT or APP if you are not editing a flow.
4. If embedding the chat yourself, pass the FlowAIChatHelpers implementation to the manager.

Example fix

// before
manager.sendRequest({ instructions: 'add a step', mode: AIMode.FLOW }) // throws outside flow editor
// after
if (isInFlowEditor) {
  await manager.sendRequest({ instructions: 'add a step', mode: AIMode.FLOW })
} else {
  await manager.sendRequest({ instructions: 'generate a script', mode: AIMode.SCRIPT, lang: 'bun' })
}

if (manager.mode === AIMode.FLOW && !manager.flowAiChatHelpers) {
  throw new Error('Flow AI requires the flow editor context')
}

try {
  await manager.sendRequest({ instructions, mode: AIMode.FLOW })
} catch (e) {
  if (e.message === 'No flow helpers found') {
    openInFlowEditor(); return
  }
  throw e
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling sendRequest (or the AI chat) with mode=FLOW while AIChatManager was constructed outside the flow editor context — e.g. mounted in a script/app page, or the flow editor component did not set flowAiChatHelpers before the first send.

Common situations: Embedding the AI chat panel in a custom page without wiring the flow helpers; opening the chat before the flow editor finished initializing; a bug where the helper binding is cleared on editor remount.

Related errors

• AI response was empty
• AI response contained empty code block
• AI response did not contain valid code. Please try rephrasin
• An unexpected error occurred. Please try again.
• No script options passed

AI-assisted analysis of windmill-labs/windmill@e474e8803c (2026-09-03). Data as JSON: /api/errors/55908e86136b8a50. Report an issue: GitHub.