Apps Overview
Understand the outputs and interfaces that agents build for users -- interactive dashboards and delivered file artifacts.
When agents work in Superagent, they can produce two kinds of outputs that persist beyond individual chat sessions: dashboards and artifacts. Together, these form the "Apps" layer of the platform.
Dashboards
Dashboards are interactive web applications that agents create and serve. An agent can build a full HTML/JavaScript interface -- a data visualization, a control panel, a monitoring page -- and make it available as a live, always-accessible view inside Superagent.
Dashboards appear in the sidebar alongside the agent's sessions. They are identified by a unique slug and remain available as long as the agent exists. When you open a dashboard, the agent automatically starts if it is not already running.
Key characteristics:
- Agent-created -- Agents build dashboards using the
create_dashboardMCP tool during a session. - Interactive -- Dashboards are full HTML/JS applications rendered in an iframe with access to scripts, forms, and popups.
- Persistent -- Once created, a dashboard survives across sessions and agent restarts. Its files are stored on the host filesystem.
- Live -- Dashboards are served by the agent's container process. The agent must be running for the dashboard to be live, but Superagent handles auto-starting transparently.
See Dashboards for details on creation, access, and management.
Artifacts
Artifacts are files that agents deliver to the user during a session. When an agent generates a report, exports data, or produces any downloadable output, it uses the deliver_file tool to hand that file to the user.
Unlike dashboards, artifacts are tied to the session where they were created. They appear inline in the conversation as downloadable pills.
Key characteristics:
- Session-scoped -- A delivered file appears in the message thread where the agent produced it.
- Downloadable -- Each delivered file is available for immediate download from the conversation view.
- Non-blocking -- File delivery resolves immediately; it does not pause the agent waiting for user input.
See Artifacts for details on how file delivery works and how to access delivered files.
How They Relate
Dashboards and artifacts serve different purposes:
| Dashboards | Artifacts | |
|---|---|---|
| Nature | Live interactive web apps | Static delivered files |
| Lifetime | Persist across sessions | Tied to the session that produced them |
| Access | Sidebar link, standalone URL, Dock shortcut | Download link in conversation |
| Agent state | Agent must be running to view | Available anytime (files stored on host) |
| Use cases | Monitoring views, control panels, data explorers | Reports, exports, generated documents |
An agent might use both in a single workflow -- for example, building a live analytics dashboard while also delivering a CSV export of the underlying data as an artifact.