Integrations / Developer Tools
Connect Flatfile to WhatsApp: records by chat
Flann is an AI agent your business talks to on WhatsApp. Connect Flatfile once, then ask Flann to look things up in it or get work done in it, by text or voice note. Small businesses often rely on one developer or an IT contractor who is busy elsewhere. Flann does not replace them. It gives you a way to check Flatfile yourself, understand what they are telling you and pass them the right details when something needs attention.
12 actions in Flatfile. 9 only look things up, and 3 create, update, send or delete. You connect with your API key.
What you can ask Flann to do in Flatfile
Send any of these on WhatsApp, in your own words. Flann finds the right Flatfile action and fills in the details from the conversation.
“Show me my files in Flatfile.”
“Look up the sheet in Flatfile.”
“Look up the space in Flatfile.”
What Flann can work with in Flatfile
Flatfile gives Flann 12 actions across 6 kinds of record. These are the ones you are most likely to use.
| Record | What Flann can do | Actions |
|---|---|---|
| Records | deleteaddlook upupdate | 4 |
| Spaces | look up | 2 |
Doing it yourself, wiring up a rule, or asking an agent: here is how they compare for Flatfile.
| Compare | Opening FlatfileLog in, find it, do it | A fixed workflowTriggers built in advance | Flatfile through FlannAsk and get it done |
|---|---|---|---|
| Getting started on a job | Log in and click through the screens | Only what was wired up in advance | Text or voice note, in your own words |
| Looking things up about records | By hand, screen by screen | Only the look-ups someone built | 9 look-ups, answered straight away |
| Creating and updating | Typed in by hand | Run unchecked once built | 3 changes, made from a message |
| Flatfile records | All of them, one screen at a time | Only the ones you wire up | 6 kinds, from one chat |
| Set-up | Nothing new to set up | Someone builds and maintains each flow | Your Flatfile API key, once |
YesPartlyNo
Step by step: Flatfile jobs you can hand to Flann
Each step below names the Flatfile action Flann actually runs.
Create a record from a voice note
- You message Flann on WhatsApp: “Create a record in Flatfile with these details.”
- Flann runs
List Recordsin Flatfile and shows you what it found. - Flann runs
Delete Recordsin Flatfile. - Flann creates it in Flatfile and confirms in the chat.
Get answers about your files
- You message Flann on WhatsApp: “What is the latest on our files in Flatfile?”
- Flann runs
List Filesin Flatfile and shows you what it found. - Nothing in Flatfile is changed: these are look-ups, so they run straight away.
Check your sheets from WhatsApp
- You message Flann on WhatsApp: “Show me where our sheets in Flatfile stand.”
- Flann runs
Get Sheetin Flatfile and shows you what it found. - Nothing in Flatfile is changed: these are look-ups, so they run straight away.
Repetitive Flatfile work Flann takes off your plate
These are the jobs that come back every day or every week. Message Flann instead, and keep the decisions for yourself.
Is the website up right now
Today
A customer says the site will not load. You open Flatfile, cannot find the right screen and end up texting your developer to ask.
With Flann
“Is the website down? A customer says checkout isn’t loading.”
Flann checks the status in Flatfile and tells you whether the site and checkout are responding, and if not, since when. A problem is described plainly, with a suggestion of who to tell. Looking it up changes nothing, so the answer is immediate.
What you stop doing: Finding out whether there is a problem no longer needs your developer.
Fridge and sensor check-ins
Today
Fridges, sensors and connected equipment report into Flatfile, but nobody looks unless something has already spoiled.
With Flann
“Are the fridges and freezers all at the right temperature?”
Flann reads the latest readings from Flatfile and tells you whether anything sits outside its normal range. A unit that has been drifting is named, with how long it has been drifting.
What you stop doing: Walking round checking displays just to feel sure is no longer needed.
More on this: how to hand repetitive tasks to an AI agent on WhatsApp.
How Flann connects to Flatfile
- Open Connectors in Flann and choose Flatfile.
- Paste your Flatfile API key into the secure form Flann opens. You will find the key in your Flatfile account settings.
- Ask Flann for what you need on WhatsApp, by text or voice note. It picks the right Flatfile action itself.
Look-ups run as soon as you ask and change nothing in Flatfile. You can disconnect Flatfile from Connectors at any time.
Ways to use Flatfile with Flann
Check status from your phone
Ask Flann whether everything is running. It checks Flatfile and answers in the chat.
Make a change safely
Tell Flann what to change.
Problems in plain words
Ask what went wrong overnight. Flann reads Flatfile and explains it without the jargon.
Everything Flann can do in Flatfile
The full list of Flatfile actions available to Flann once you connect it.
Looks up 9
- Get Job
- Get Sheet
- Get Space
- List Environments
- List Files
- List Jobs
- List Records
- List Spaces
- List Workbooks
Changes 3
- Delete Records
- Insert Records
- Update Records
More Developer Tools apps Flann works with
Grafana
HereCommon questions
What can Flann do with records in Flatfile?
Flann can delete, add, look up and update records in Flatfile, using 4 actions (Delete Records, Insert Records, List Records, Update Records). Looking up runs straight away and changes nothing. The other actions create or change records in Flatfile.
What can Flann do with spaces in Flatfile?
Flann can look up spaces in Flatfile, using 2 actions (Get Space, List Spaces). All of them only look things up, so they run straight away.
How does Flann connect to Flatfile?
Open Connectors in Flann, choose Flatfile and paste your Flatfile API key into a secure form. You will find the key in your Flatfile account settings. Once it is connected, Flann can use 12 actions in Flatfile.
Can I use Flatfile from WhatsApp?
Yes. You talk to Flann on WhatsApp or in the Flann app, by text or voice note, and Flann works in Flatfile for you. You do not need to open Flatfile.
Does connecting Flatfile cost extra?
No. Flatfile is included in every Flann plan, along with every other app Flann connects to.