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AI Agent Builders🟡Low Code
R

Rivet

Rivet: Visual IDE for building, testing, and debugging AI agent workflows using a node-graph interface by Ironclad.

Starting atFree
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💡

In Plain English

A visual node-based editor for building AI workflows — drag and drop to create complex AI logic without writing code.

OverviewFeaturesPricingUse CasesIntegrationsLimitationsFAQSecurityAlternatives

Overview

Rivet is a visual AI development IDE that enables teams to design, debug, and deploy complex LLM prompt graphs using a node-based interface, available completely free as an open-source project under the MIT license. It's built for engineering teams, prompt engineers, and AI developers who need to move beyond code-only prompt chains into collaborative, visual agent orchestration.

Developed and battle-tested internally at Ironclad — the leading digital contracting platform that powers legal teams' contract review and obligations workflows — Rivet emerged from Ironclad's own struggles building AI agents programmatically. The platform centers on three pillars: visualize and build (create complex chains for production applications, not just prototypes), debug remotely (observe prompt chain execution in real-time inside your own application via a remote executor), and collaborate (graphs are stored as plain YAML files, making them compatible with Git version control and standard code review workflows). This YAML-based architecture is a deliberate differentiator: unlike SaaS-locked visual builders, Rivet graphs live in your repository alongside your application code.

Based on our analysis of 870+ AI tools in our directory, Rivet occupies a distinct niche as a desktop-first, open-source visual programming environment specifically aimed at production LLM deployments. Production adoption includes Ironclad (for AI contract workflows), Attentive, Bento (for AI-powered product experiences), and AssemblyAI (which integrated its audio transcription and understanding models into the Rivet ecosystem). Compared to cloud-hosted alternatives like LangChain's LangSmith or Flowise, Rivet's desktop-app + SDK architecture prioritizes developer control, data privacy, and tight integration with existing codebases, while trading off the instant-shareability of browser-based tools. With zero licensing cost, real-time debugging, and public endorsements from CTOs at multiple production AI companies, Rivet is particularly suited to mid-size engineering teams shipping agentic features where observability and code review discipline matter.

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Editorial Review

Rivet is a standout open-source visual IDE for teams building production LLM agents, offering a unique combination of node-graph editing, real-time remote debugging, and Git-friendly YAML graph storage — all at zero cost under the MIT license. Best suited for engineering teams that want visual prompt chain development with the same code review discipline they apply to application code.

Key Features

Visual Node-Graph IDE+

Rivet provides a desktop programming environment where LLM prompt chains are built as connected nodes instead of code. This makes complex agent logic immediately legible to both engineers and non-engineers, and — per Ironclad's CTO Todd Berman — lets teams create complex chains in 'drastically less time than it would take in other environments.'

Remote Debugger+

Rivet's remote executor connects the desktop IDE to a running production application, letting developers watch prompt chain execution live as real traffic flows through. Teddy Coleman, CTO at a mortgage servicing company, credits this visualization with making it 'easy to see what the AI is doing' — a capability he cites as instrumental in launching their virtual mortgage servicing agent.

YAML-Based Graph Files+

Every Rivet graph is stored as a plain YAML file rather than opaque database rows in a SaaS backend. This means graphs can be committed to Git, diffed in pull requests, and reviewed with the same tooling your team already uses for application code. It's a deliberate design choice to make prompt engineering a first-class citizen in a normal engineering workflow.

MIT-Licensed Open Source+

Rivet is released under the permissive MIT license, with full source code available on GitHub. Teams can fork, self-host, audit, or extend the tool without usage fees or vendor approval. Compared to the other visual AI builders in our directory that charge seat-based or usage-based pricing, this is a significant cost and control advantage for enterprise adopters.

SDK for In-App Execution+

A TypeScript/Node.js SDK lets your application load and execute Rivet YAML graphs at runtime, so the same graph the team designs in the IDE is what ships to production. This eliminates the drift between 'prototype prompt' and 'production prompt' that often plagues teams using notebook-based prompt development, and it keeps API keys and data inside your own infrastructure.

Pricing Plans

Open Source

$0

  • ✓Full desktop IDE (Mac, Windows, Linux)
  • ✓Unlimited graphs and nodes
  • ✓Remote debugger / executor
  • ✓TypeScript/Node.js SDK for production integration
  • ✓YAML-based graph files for Git version control
  • ✓MIT license — commercial use permitted
  • ✓Community support via Discord and GitHub
See Full Pricing →Free vs Paid →Is it worth it? →

Ready to get started with Rivet?

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Best Use Cases

🎯

Engineering teams building production LLM agents who need Git-based code review on prompt changes, not just a shared cloud workspace

⚡

Legal-tech, contracts, and compliance AI workflows — the exact domain Ironclad built Rivet to solve internally

🔧

Debugging misbehaving AI agents in production by attaching the Rivet remote executor to a live application run

🚀

Prompt engineers and non-ML engineers collaborating on the same agent graph, where the visual interface lowers the barrier to contribution

💡

AI startups like Bento that need to iterate quickly on speed-vs-quality tradeoffs in customer-facing AI features

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Integrating multi-modal pipelines (e.g., AssemblyAI audio transcription + LLM reasoning) where chaining different APIs visually is faster than hand-written code

Integration Ecosystem

7 integrations

Rivet works with these platforms and services:

🧠 LLM Providers
OpenAIAnthropic
📊 Vector Databases
Pinecone
⚡ Code Execution
typescriptnodejs
🔗 Other
assemblyaiapi
View full Integration Matrix →

Limitations & What It Can't Do

We believe in transparent reviews. Here's what Rivet doesn't handle well:

  • ⚠No hosted cloud runtime — production deployment is your team's responsibility via the SDK
  • ⚠Desktop-only IDE means no browser access for quick edits on shared or locked-down machines
  • ⚠Community and third-party plugin ecosystem is smaller than code-first frameworks like LangChain
  • ⚠Visual graph layouts become difficult to navigate once workflows exceed several dozen nodes
  • ⚠Requires TypeScript/Node.js familiarity to integrate and deploy graphs into a real application

Pros & Cons

✓ Pros

  • ✓Completely free and open-source under MIT license with no seat-based pricing
  • ✓YAML-based graph files enable standard Git version control and code review workflows
  • ✓Production-validated by Ironclad, Attentive, and Bento — not just a prototyping tool
  • ✓Real-time remote debugger shows live execution inside your deployed application
  • ✓Desktop-first architecture keeps prompts and API keys on your local machine, not a vendor cloud
  • ✓Public integrations with ecosystem partners like AssemblyAI for audio transcription

✗ Cons

  • ✗Desktop app requirement excludes browser-only or Chromebook development environments
  • ✗Smaller community and plugin library than code-first frameworks like LangChain
  • ✗Visual graphs can become unwieldy when agent workflows grow past dozens of nodes
  • ✗Production integration requires engineering effort with the TypeScript SDK
  • ✗No built-in hosted deployment — teams must run the executor in their own infrastructure

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Rivet free to use?+

Yes, Rivet is completely free and open-source under the MIT license, with no paid tiers, seat-based fees, or usage-based billing from Ironclad itself. You only pay the underlying LLM provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.) for API calls your graphs make. The desktop application can be downloaded directly from the Rivet website or GitHub, and the full source code is available for inspection, forking, and self-hosting. This pricing model is unusual in our directory — most visual AI development tools charge $20–$100+ per seat monthly.

Who built Rivet and is it production-ready?+

Rivet was built by Ironclad, the leading digital contracting platform used by legal teams for contract review and obligation tracking. It originated as an internal tool when Ironclad's engineers struggled to build AI agents programmatically in code. Rivet is actively used in production at Ironclad itself, and publicly endorsed by CTOs and executives at Attentive, Bento, and AssemblyAI. Todd Berman (CTO) calls it 'the best tool out there' for collaborative prompt chain development, and Bento has used it to ship AI-powered product experiences.

How does Rivet compare to LangChain or Flowise?+

LangChain is a code-first Python/JS framework with no native visual editor, while Flowise is a browser-based visual LangChain wrapper typically self-hosted as a web app. Rivet differs by being a desktop application whose graphs compile to YAML files that live in your Git repository, enabling standard pull-request reviews. Compared to the other visual AI development tools in our directory, Rivet's strengths are its remote debugger, code-review-friendly file format, and zero cost. LangChain has a larger ecosystem; Rivet has tighter collaboration ergonomics for engineering teams.

Which LLM providers does Rivet support?+

Rivet supports the major commercial LLM providers including OpenAI (GPT-4, GPT-3.5), Anthropic (Claude models), and integrations with tools like AssemblyAI for audio transcription and understanding. Because graphs are configurable nodes, new provider support can be added via the plugin system — AssemblyAI's integration is a publicly cited example of a third-party extending the Rivet ecosystem. Self-hosted and local models can also be wired in via custom nodes. Check the official documentation for the current full provider list as new integrations ship regularly.

Can I embed Rivet graphs in my own application?+

Yes — this is the core deployment model. You design and iterate on prompt graphs in the Rivet desktop IDE, then execute them inside your own application using Rivet's TypeScript/Node.js SDK. The remote executor lets you observe live graph execution from the Rivet desktop app while your production application runs the graph, which is how teams debug real user traffic. Graphs are just YAML files checked into your repo, so deployment is essentially shipping a config file plus the SDK dependency. This architecture avoids vendor lock-in to a hosted runtime.

🔒 Security & Compliance

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SOC2
Unknown
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GDPR
Unknown
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HIPAA
Unknown
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SSO
Unknown
✅
Self-Hosted
Yes
✅
On-Prem
Yes
—
RBAC
Unknown
—
Audit Log
Unknown
✅
API Key Auth
Yes
✅
Open Source
Yes
—
Encryption at Rest
Unknown
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Encryption in Transit
Unknown
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Alternatives to Rivet

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Langflow

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Dify

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Dify is an open-source platform for building AI applications that combines visual workflow design, model management, and knowledge base integration in one tool.

n8n

Automation & Workflows

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View All Alternatives & Detailed Comparison →

User Reviews

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Quick Info

Category

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Website

rivet.ironcladapp.com
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