Return artifacts
When an agent produces something substantial - a generated report, a data export, an image, a zipped set of results - pasting it into the conversation is the wrong move. It floods the chat, it is awkward to retrieve later, and on some channels it simply will not fit.
Artifacts solve this: an agent with the appropriate file or blob tools writes the content and returns a downloadable reference, which the user can fetch whenever they want.
The sandbox is temporary
Retention and provenance for an artifact are independent of any execution workspace: the artifact outlives the run that made it.
Never instruct users to retrieve files directly from a workspace. It appears to work right up until a workspace is recycled, and then the files are gone with no error anywhere to explain it.
For sensitive output
Where the generated content is regulated or confidential, configure retention and access controls at the platform level rather than relying on obscurity of the download URL. See Configure storage and .
Next
- Configure storage - local or S3-compatible backends.
- Control channel behavior - why big output does not belong in chat.
- - retention and access settings.