Chaining Multiple Blocks Together

Learn how to chain multiple blocks together in a workflow to pass data from one step to the next.

This guide covers how to build more advanced AI workflows by chaining blocks together. You’ll learn how to take the output from one block, save it as a variable, and use it downstream to enrich prompts, create media, and display final outputs.

Overview: Blog Post Generator with Image

We’re building a multi-step blog post generator that does the following:

  1. Collects a topic from the user.

  2. Uses AI to generate an outline and key talking points.

  3. Writes a full blog post using those points.

  4. Generates a cover image based on the article.

  5. Displays the final post and image together.

Step 1: Collect the Topic

  • Add a User Input block.

  • Input type: Short text.

  • Variable name: topic

  • Label: “What topic would you like to write about?”

Step 2: Brainstorm Key Points

  • Add a Generate Text block.

  • Prompt:

    cssCopyEditBrainstorm an outline and key topics that should be covered when writing an article about the following topic:
    <topic>{{ topic }}</topic>
  • In Output Behavior, select “Save to Variable”.

  • Name the variable: key_points

Step 3: Generate the Blog Post

  • Add another Generate Text block.

  • Prompt:

    Write a long-form blog post about the following topic:
    <topic>{{ topic }}</topic>
    
    Make sure to follow the outline and cover key points mentioned below:
    <key_points>{{ key_points }}</key_points>
  • Save the output to a new variable: blog_post

Step 4: Create an Image Prompt

  • Add another Generate Text block.

  • Prompt:

    Generate an image prompt that can be used by an AI image model. Make it about the following blog post:
    <blog_post>{{ blog_post }}</blog_post>
  • Save output to: image_description

Step 5: Generate the Image

  • Add a Generate Image block.

  • Use {{ image_description }} as the image prompt.

  • Save image output to: image

Step 6: Display the Final Output

  • Add a Display Content block.

  • Use this markdown-style format to render both the image and blog content:

    ![Cover Image]({{ image }})
    
    {{ blog_post }}

This combines everything into one nicely formatted response.

Testing the Workflow

Click Preview to open a draft and enter a test topic (e.g., “F1 cars and tech”). The AI will:

  1. Generate an outline and key points.

  2. Write the full blog post.

  3. Generate an image description.

  4. Create an image.

  5. Display both in the final output.

Use the Debugger to monitor each step:

  • Track inputs and outputs.

  • View how variables are resolved.

  • Analyze each block’s execution.

Recap and Best Practices

  • Chaining blocks means passing one block’s output as a variable to another block’s prompt.

  • Use the Save to Variable setting to store data for reuse.

  • Wrap variables with tags (e.g., <blog_post>{{ blog_post }}</blog_post>) to clarify structure.

  • Use Display Content blocks to compile results into a final presentation.

Chaining is a core MindStudio principle that enables powerful, dynamic workflows. Practice chaining in small steps to build confidence and scale up to more complex agents.

Keep experimenting and expanding your workflows by connecting logic, generation, and media blocks together!

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