> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.prisme.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Playground

> Test and interact with your agent in real-time

The Playground is your testing environment. Chat with your agent, see how it uses tools, and identify areas for improvement before publishing.

## Opening the Playground

1. Open any agent in Agent Creator
2. Go to the **Playground** section
3. Start typing in the message input

## The Chat Interface

The Playground provides a full chat experience:

* **Message input** - Type your message and press Enter or click Send
* **Conversation history** - See the full conversation thread
* **File attachments** - Upload files for the agent to process (if supported)
* **New conversation** - Start fresh with the button in the header

## Understanding Responses

Agent responses may include:

### Text

The agent's direct response to your message. This is what users see.

### Tool Calls

When the agent uses a capability, you'll see:

1. **Tool name** - Which capability was called
2. **Parameters** - What inputs were provided
3. **Result** - What the tool returned (expandable)

This transparency helps you understand how the agent reasons and whether it's using tools correctly.

### Thinking (for advanced profiles)

Full Agent and Orchestrator profiles show reasoning:

* **Planning** - How the agent breaks down the task
* **Reflection** - Self-evaluation of progress
* **Decision points** - Why the agent chose certain actions

## Testing Scenarios

Use the Playground to test:

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Happy path">
    Typical use cases where everything works as expected. Verify the agent handles common requests correctly.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Edge cases">
    Unusual requests or inputs. See how the agent handles ambiguity, incomplete information, or unexpected questions.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Error handling">
    What happens when tools fail or information isn't available? The agent should handle errors gracefully.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Out of scope">
    Ask about things the agent shouldn't handle. It should politely decline or redirect rather than making things up.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Multi-turn conversations">
    Test conversations that span multiple messages. Does the agent maintain context and remember what was discussed?
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Tips for Effective Testing

### Test incrementally

After making changes to instructions or capabilities, test immediately. This makes it easier to identify what caused any issues.

### Use realistic inputs

Test with the kind of messages real users would send, including typos, incomplete sentences, and varying levels of detail.

### Try to break it

Actively try to confuse the agent or get it to behave incorrectly. This reveals weaknesses before users find them.

### Note what works

When the agent handles something well, note why. This helps you reinforce good patterns in your instructions.

## Conversation History

Each Playground conversation is temporary - it's cleared when you start a new conversation or leave the page.

To preserve test conversations:

1. Note down interesting exchanges manually
2. Use the Evaluate feature to create test cases from good examples
3. Export conversations if needed for documentation

## File Handling

If your agent supports file attachments:

1. Click the attachment icon in the message input
2. Select files to upload
3. Send your message

Supported file types depend on your agent's capabilities:

* **Documents** - PDF, Word, text files
* **Images** - PNG, JPEG (if vision is enabled)
* **Data** - CSV, JSON, Excel

## From Testing to Evaluation

When you find important scenarios in the Playground, turn them into test cases:

1. Go to the **Evaluate** section
2. Click **Create Test Case**
3. Enter the user input and expected behavior
4. Save the test case

This builds a regression test suite so you can verify your agent continues to work correctly as you make changes.

## Debugging Issues

If the agent isn't behaving as expected:

| Symptom            | Likely Cause                                | Fix                                             |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
| Ignores tools      | Instructions don't mention when to use them | Update instructions to specify tool usage       |
| Wrong tool choice  | Tool descriptions are unclear               | Improve tool descriptions in Capabilities       |
| Hallucinates facts | No knowledge base or not using it           | Add knowledge base and instruct to search first |
| Too verbose        | No guidance on response length              | Add "be concise" to instructions                |
| Too terse          | Asked for brevity but overdid it            | Specify minimum detail level                    |
| Forgets context    | Profile doesn't support session memory      | Upgrade to Light Agent or higher                |

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols="2">
  <Card title="Create evaluations" icon="chart-line" href="./evaluations">
    Build test cases to systematically measure agent quality
  </Card>

  <Card title="Refine instructions" icon="pen" href="./instructions">
    Improve behavior based on what you learned in testing
  </Card>
</CardGroup>