What You’ll Build

You’ll create a smart expense approval agent that:

• Auto-approves expenses under $500
• Routes expenses $500+ to the right manager with a chat-based approval request
• Updates your expense system (via Purple API) with approved/denied

The result is a streamlined process for everyone. For expenses over $500, managers receive a simple, direct approval request right in their chat client, allowing them to take action in seconds.

While the user-facing interaction is intentionally simple, the real power is the automation happening behind the scenes. The agent processes every request from your expense system, and for the majority of expenses (those under $500), no manual action is needed at all, they are approved instantly.

Learning Objectives

• Build a Listener to receive expense webhooks
• Create a Compound Action with conditional logic (switch)
• Implement an automated approval branch for expenses under a set threshold.
• Use built-in actions: batch_get_users, generate_text, create_generic_approval_request
• Wire everything in a Plugin with input mapping
• Update the source system to reflect the final “approved” or “rejected” status.

Prerequisites

1. Access to the “Agent Studio” App
2. Completed Quickstart #5: Notification Ambient Agent

Architecture Overview

The agent’s logic is built around a central Compound Action that is triggered by a Listener. This Compound Action ingests data from the expense system, such as the approver, the requester, and the expense details, and then follows a conditional path based on the expense amount.

Let’s get started!

Phase 0: Generate a unique Session ID & Set up your Connector

In this guide, you’ll build a Plugin that will actually fetch from and take action on a store of feature requests that’s set up just for you. In preparation for this, follow these steps

1. Go to the Moveworks Purple API Tool.
2. Click “Create New Session ID”. You should see sample feature requests populate below.
3. Do not close the Purple API Tool

Now, you just need to set up a (reusable) connector that will allow you to seamlessly hit the necessary Actions that your Plugin will use.

1. Navigate to the App Picker in the top right corner of Agent Studio.

2. Click on “HTTP Connectors”, which will take you to another browser tab.

3. Click “Create” in the top right corner.

4. Fill out the following information for your Connector (be sure to replace “first” and “last” with your corresponding information).

   Field	Value to enter (replace “firstname” & “lastname” with your info)
   Connection Name	first_last_moveworks_purple
   Description	Moveworks Purple APIs Connector
   Display Description (Optional)	leave blank
   Base Url	https://marketplace.moveworks.com
   Auth Config	No Auth

5. Click “Save” on the bottom right corner.

👍 You’re now fully ready to start building. On to Phase 1 to set up your Actions!

Phase 1: Set up your “Update Approval Status” Action

Let’s set up an Action to update the status of the approval that is being provided by the source system. This action will require three dynamic inputs: approval_id, status, and session_id.

1. Navigate to a new HTTP Action.

   1. 

2. Set the following title and description for your Action (be sure to replace “first” and “last” with your corresponding information).

   Field	Value to enter (replace “first” & “last” with your info)
   Title	quickstart_first_last_update_approval_request
   Description	Updates an approval request's status

3. Enter the details of your API:

   1. Click on the “Import” icon to the right of the “TEST” button.

      

   2. Paste the following cURL command:

      1
      curl -X PATCH \
      2
        -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
      3
        -d '{"status": "{{status}}"}' \
      4
        "https://marketplace.moveworks.com/api/purple-suite/erp/approvals/{{approval_id}}?sessionId={{session_id}}"

   3. Click “Import” (your Action should now be auto-populated with details).

4. Navigate to the “Connector” tab, and select your existing Moveworks Purple Connector (set up in Phase 0)

   

5. Define 3 formal input arguments to represent the “approval ID”, and “status”, and “session ID” inputs that this Action requires:

   1. Click on the “Input Args” button near the top right corner.

   2. Click “Create New” in the “Input Arguments” pop up.

   3. Fill out the following details for your approval_id argument:

      Field label	Value to enter/select
      Argument Name	approval_id
      Data Type	Select “string”
      Example Value	APV-965
      Description	The ID of the approval request being updated
      Required	Check the box

   4. Hit “Save”.

   5. Click “Create New” again in the “Input Arguments” pop up.

   6. Fill out the following details for your status argument:

      Field label	Value to enter/select
      Argument Name	status
      Data Type	Select “string”
      Example Value	approved
      Description	The status the approval request is being updated to
      Required	Check the box

   7. Hit “Save”.

   8. Click “Create New” again in the “Input Arguments” pop up.

   9. Fill out the following details for your session_id argument:

      Field label	Value to enter/select
      Argument Name	session_id
      Data Type	Select “string”
      Example Value	Enter your own (Enter the session ID you created earlier)
      Description	The session of the user that keeps track of their approval requests
      Required	Check the box

   10. Hit “Save” and hit the “X” icon to close this “Input Arguments” pop up.

6. Hit “Publish”

👍 Nice, your Action is all set up and ready to update approval requests!

Time to construct your Compound Action.

Phase 2: Create Your Compound Action

You will now create a compound action to handle the incoming webhook routed by the listener.

In this phase you will build a compound action with 1) approver, business_justification, requested_by, payload, session_id as input arguments, 2) three actions to resolve the users by email, create a Moveworks approval request, and update the approval in the source system, and 3) switch expressions to conditionally route the expense approval requests. Here’s a reminder of the bird’s-eye view for our Compound Action:

1. Navigate to a new “Compound Action” in the left nav and then click “Create”.

   

2. Set the following title and description for your Compound Action (be sure to replace “firstname” and “lastname” with your corresponding information).

   Field	Value
   Title	quickstart_first_last_expense_approval_ca
   Description	Handles an incoming expense approval request

3. Copy the following expression into the Compound Action Editor

   Make sure to replace the action name’s with your action name!

   1
   steps:
   2
       - switch:
   3
           cases:
   4
               - steps: 
   5
                   - action:
   6
                       output_key: early_approval_result
   7
                       action_name: quickstart_first_last_update_approval_request # MAKE SURE TO CHANGE THIS
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                       input_args:
   9
                         approval_id: data.payload.approval_id
   10
                         status: '''approved'''
   11
                         session_id: data.session_id
   12
                   - return:
   13
                       output_mapper: 
   14
                           early_return_message: '''Approval request approved. Terminating process'''
   15
                 condition: data.payload.amount < 500
   16
           default:
   17
               steps: []
   18
       - action:
   19
           output_key: target_users
   20
           action_name: mw.batch_get_users_by_email
   21
           input_args:
   22
             user_emails: [data.approver, data.requested_by]
   23
       - action:
   24
           output_key: llm_summary_result
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           action_name: mw.generate_text_action
   26
           input_args:
   27
             system_prompt: '''Based on the provided business justification and payload from an approval expense request. Write a brief summary for the approver of the request with the important details that an approver must see. Do not format with *.'''
   28
             user_input: 
   29
               RENDER():
   30
                   template: "business justification: {{business_justification}}\n payload: {{webhook_data}}"
   31
                   args:
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                       webhook_data: $STRINGIFY_JSON(data.payload)
   33
                       business_justification: data.business_justification
   34
       - action:
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           output_key: approval_request_result
   36
           action_name: mw.create_generic_approval_request
   37
           input_args:
   38
             approvers: 
   39
               - data.target_users.user_records[0].user
   40
             users_requested_for: 
   41
               - data.target_users.user_records[-1].user
   42
             approval_details: data.llm_summary_result.generated_output
   43
       - switch:
   44
           cases:
   45
               - steps: 
   46
                   - action:
   47
                       output_key: reject_approval_result
   48
                       action_name: quickstart_first_last_update_approval_request # MAKE SURE TO CHANGE THIS
   49
                       input_args:
   50
                         approval_id: data.payload.approval_id
   51
                         status: '''denied'''
   52
                         session_id: data.session_id
   53
                 condition: data.approval_request_result.status == "DENIED"
   54
           default:
   55
               steps: 
   56
                   - action:
   57
                       output_key: approve_approval_result
   58
                       action_name: quickstart_first_last_update_approval_request # MAKE SURE TO CHANGE THIS
   59
                       input_args:
   60
                         approval_id: data.payload.approval_id
   61
                         status: '''approved'''
   62
                         session_id: data.session_id
4. 
   
   Understanding the Compound Action (Guide #6)

   This Compound Action routes an expense-approval flow. It can early-approve low-risk requests, then (for everything else) fetches users, summarizes the request with an LLM, creates an approval, and finally updates the source system based on the approver’s decision.

   1. switch (early decision) (Syntax)
      1. Purpose: Short-circuit the workflow for small requests.
      2. Process: If data.payload.amount < 500, call your custom action quickstart_first_last_update_approval_request to approve immediately, then return with an early_return_message and stop the flow.
      3. Otherwise, fall through to the default branch (do nothing here) and continue.
   2. mw.batch_get_users_by_email` (Built-in Action)
      1. Purpose: Resolve both the approver and the requester to Moveworks user objects.
      2. Inputs: user_emails: [data.approver, data.requested_by] (provided by your trigger mapping).
      3. Output: data.target_users.user_records[0].user (approver) and [1].user (requester).
   3. mw.generate_text_action (Built-in Action)
      1. Purpose: Create a crisp summary for the approver.
      2. Process:
         1. system_prompt asks the LLM to produce an approver-ready summary.
         2. user_inputusesRENDER()to pass both the **business justification** and the **raw webhook payload** (stringified via$STRINGIFY_JSON(data.payload)`).
      3. Output: data.llm_summary_result.generated_output (the formatted approval details).
   4. mw.create_generic_approval_request (Built-in Action)
      1. Purpose: Open an approval with the resolved participants and LLM summary.
      2. Inputs:
         1. approvers: [ data.target_users.user_records[0].user ]
         2. users_requested_for: [ data.target_users.user_records[1].user ]
         3. approval_details: data.llm_summary_result.generated_output
      3. Output: data.approval_request_result.status indicates if the approver Approved or Denied.
   5. switch (post-decision update) (Syntax)
      1. Purpose: Sync the final decision back to your source system.
         1. Process:
            1. If data.approval_request_result.status == "DENIED", call your custom action quickstart_first_last_update_approval_request with status: 'denied'.
         2. Default: Call the same custom action with status: 'approved'.
         3. Inputs to custom action:
            1. approval_id: data.payload.approval_id (from the incoming webhook),
            2. status: 'approved' | 'denied',
            3. session_id: data.session_id (used for request scoping/traceability).

5. Define 5 formal input arguments to represent the approver, requested_by, payload, business_justification, and session_id inputs that this Compound Action requires.

   1. Click on the “Input Args” button near the top right corner

      

   2. Click “Create New” in the “Input Arguments” pop up.

   3. Fill out the following details for your approver argument:

      Field label	Value to enter/select
      Argument Name	approver
      Data Type	Select “string”
      Example Value	test_email@example.com
      Description	The expense approval request's approver email
      Required	Check the box

   4. Hit “Save”

   5. Click “Create New” again to the “Input Arguments” pop up.

   6. Fill out the following details for your requested_by argument:

      Field label	Value to enter/select
      Argument Name	requested_by
      Data Type	Select “string”
      Example Value	john
      Description	The user who requested the expense approval
      Required	Check the box

   7. Click “Create New” again to the “Input Arguments” pop up.

   8. Fill out the following details for your payload argument:

      Field label	Value to enter/select
      Argument Name	payload
      Data Type	Select “object”
      Example Value	{"approval_id":"appr_demo","amount":100}
      Description	The payload data in the expense request
      Required	Check the box

   9. Click “Create New” again to the “Input Arguments” pop up.

   10. Fill out the following details for your business_justification argument:

       Field label	Value to enter/select
       Argument Name	business_justification
       Data Type	Select “string”
       Example Value	team outing
       Description	The expense request's business justification
       Required	Check the box

   11. Click “Create New” again to the “Input Arguments” pop up.

   12. Fill out the following details for your session_id argument:

       Field label	Value to enter/select
       Argument Name	session_id
       Data Type	Select “string”
       Example Value	101
       Description	The session were the approval request is being tracked at
       Required	Check the box

   13. Hit “Save” and hit the “X” icon to close this “Input Arguments” pop up.

6. Click “Publish”

👍 All done with Actions!

You’re ready to move on — time to create your webhook listener.

Phase 3: Set Up Your Webhook Listener

1. Navigate to a new Listener.

2. Click “Create”.

   

3. Set the following Title and Description for your listener (be sure to replace firstnameand lastname with your corresponding information).

   

   Field	Value to enter (replace “first” & “last” with your info)
   Title	quickstart_first_last_expense_approval_listener
   Description	Listens for expense approvals

4. Click “Copy URL” and paste the webhook URL somewhere you can get back to it quick, we will need it in future steps.

5. Click “Publish” to save your listener.

6. When prompted with a confirmation message about security, click “Publish Anyway” to proceed.

Phase 4: Configure and Launch Your Plugin

This section guides you through adding your Listener and Compound Action to a Plugin. A key step will be configuring the data flow, where you’ll specify exactly which fields from the webhook you want to forward to your action.

1. Navigate to a new Plugin (navigate to the library and click “Create”).

   

2. Set the following title and description for your Plugin (be sure to replace “first” and “last” with your corresponding information).

   Field	Value to enter
   Title	quickstart_first_last_expense_approval
   Description	Handles an incoming expense approval request.

3. In the “Workflow Overview” section click “System” in the Trigger box.

   

   1. Configure your system trigger to connect your Listener in the slide-out pop up with:

      Field Label	Value to enter/select
      Select Trigger Type	Webhook
      Select Listener	quickstart_first_last_expense_approval_listener (Select yours)
      Event Filter	Leave this field empty

   2. Click on the “Body” in the “Workflow Overview

      

   3. Configure your system body to connect your compound action to the plugin

      • Select Type - System body
      • Select an Action - quickstart_first_last_expense_approval_ca (Select your Action)
      • Input Mapping - Copy the below values
        • approver: parsed_body.approver
        • payload: parsed_body.data
        • requested_by: parsed_body.requested_by
        • session_id: parsed_body.session_id
        • business_justification: parsed_body.details
      
      
      Understanding the Input Mapping

      When the listener receives a webhook, we expect a JSON payload structured like this:

      1
      {
      2
        "approver": "jdoe@example.com",
      3
        "data": {
      4
          "amount": 300,
      5
          "approval_id": "APV-965",
      6
          "category": "Meals & Entertainment",
      7
          "currency": "USD",
      8
          "description": "Lunch meeting with a client",
      9
          "merchant": "The Corner Bistro",
      10
          "payment_method": "Corporate Credit Card",
      11
          "transaction_date": "2025-09-05T10:26:00Z"
      12
        },
      13
        "details": "Requirement to advance to the next sales pipeline with client",
      14
        "requested_by": "kjoe@example.com",
      15
        "session_id": "OW3hEkZwgLCfI2gipNAJ" # this session_id will be based on your session
      16
      }

      The listener automatically parses this JSON payload into a parsed_body object. To access the data you need, you simply use dot notation to reference the keys:

      • parsed_body.email
      • parsed_body.data

      This method gives you the flexibility to extract only the specific data your compound action requires, even if the webhook sends a much larger payload.

      Note: While this mapping is currently a manual process, we are developing an “Auto Configure” feature to streamline this setup in the future.

4. Click “Publish” to launch your Plugin.

👍 And just like that — you’ve finished building your Plugin, and now it’s ready to use!

Congrats! You are now ready to test your plugin. In the next section, you will provided with required tools to help you test it.

Phase 5: Testing

This section guides you through the Moveworks Purple API tool to help you test your plugin by sending webhooks to your listener.

1. Go back to the tab where your Moveworks Purple API Tool is open

2. Click on the Webhooks Tab

   

3. Configure the field values with your listener information

   Field	Value to enter
   Webhook URL	Enter the Webhook URL you created in Phase 1
   API Key	Leave empty

4. Click on the Approvals Tab

5. Fill out the Approval Form with your information (Make sure to edit the approver and requested by fields)

   Field label	Value to enter/select
   Business Justification	Requirement to advance to the next sales pipeline with client
   Approver Email	approver@example.com (Type approver email)
   Requested By Email	requestor@example.com (Type requested by email)
   Data Template	Expense Approval

6. Click on Generate Approval

   1. You will see an approval being generated in the system for your session ID with the details you entered

7. Click on Generate Webhook Payload

   1. A payload will be generated for your upcoming webhook

      1
      {
      2
        "approver": "approver@example.com", // this will your approver make sure to edit
      3
        "data": {
      4
          "amount": 300,
      5
          "approval_id": "APV-965",
      6
          "category": "Meals & Entertainment",
      7
          "currency": "USD",
      8
          "description": "Lunch meeting with a client",
      9
          "merchant": "The Corner Bistro",
      10
          "payment_method": "Corporate Credit Card",
      11
          "transaction_date": "2025-09-05T10:26:00Z"
      12
        },
      13
        "details": "Requirement to advance to the next sales pipeline with client",
      14
        "requested_by": "requestor@example.com", // this will be your requested by user
      15
        "session_id": "OW3hEkZwgLCPf2gipNAJ" // this will be based on the session ID you created
      16
      }
   2. Make sure to tinker with the amount field to test different flows of your plugin.

8. Click on Trigger Webhook

👍 Success! Check the Approvals

Excellent work! You have successfully tested your plugin. Depending on the amount you set, your approval request may have gotten automatically approved or you may have gotten an approval request! You can click on the Refresh Approvals button in the Purple API Tool to see the status updates on the approvals!