Creating tasks

How to create prompt and command tasks, assign them to desktops, and run them through Mission Control.

3 min read

Task types

Mission Control supports two types of tasks:

Prompt tasks send a natural language instruction to your AI agent. The agent interprets the prompt, plans its approach, and executes autonomously. Use these for open-ended work like "set up a Node.js project with Express and write unit tests" or "research competitors and write a summary."

Command tasks run a shell command directly on the desktop. The command runs as-is, with no AI interpretation. Use these for precise operations like npm install, git pull, or restarting a service.

Creating a task from the dashboard

Open Mission Control and click New Task
Pick the task type: Prompt or Command
Enter the task content, either your prompt text or the shell command
Select the target desktop from the dropdown (only running desktops appear)
Optionally toggle Requires Approval if you want to review the result before it is marked done
Click Create

The task appears in the Pending column of the Kanban board.

Running a task

Creating a task does not start it automatically. This gives you time to review, batch tasks, or wait for the right moment.

To run a pending task:

Click the task card on the Kanban board and select Run
Or use the API: POST /api/mission-control/tasks/:id/run

Once running, prompt tasks go to the desktop's AI agent (via the chat endpoint), while command tasks run directly on the desktop's shell.

Task fields

Field	Type	Required	Description
`type`	`"prompt"` or `"command"`	Yes	How the task is executed
`content`	string	Yes	The prompt text or shell command
`desktopId`	string	Yes	Target desktop ID
`requiresApproval`	boolean	No	If true, task enters "review" status instead of "done"

Creating tasks via the API

curl -X POST https://lebureau.talentai.fr/api/mission-control/tasks \
  -H "x-api-key: your-api-key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "type": "prompt",
    "content": "Install PostgreSQL and create a database called myapp_prod",
    "desktopId": "desktop-id-here",
    "requiresApproval": true
  }'

The response includes the task ID, which you use to run, monitor, or review the task.

Batch workflows

You can create several tasks targeting different desktops and then run them together or one at a time:

Create all tasks via the API (they start in "pending")
Run them one by one, or fire them all at once
Watch progress on the Kanban board or in the activity stream

If approval gates are on, each task pauses at "review" so you can check the result before it finalizes. See Approval workflow for details.

Tips

Prompt tasks work well for open-ended work where the agent needs to figure out the approach.
Command tasks work well for deterministic operations where you know the exact command.
Specific prompts get better results. "Install nginx and configure a reverse proxy for port 3000" works better than "set up the server."
For long-running commands, check the activity stream for real-time progress.