# Long jobs with an external AI agent

URL: https://mindmax.me/docs/guides/long-jobs-with-an-agent/
Last verified: 2026-11-11

> Run MindMax's step-by-step methods with a connected app's model — reading guides, translation, OCR — while MindMax plans, checks and saves each step.

## Long jobs with an external AI agent

MindMax already runs these jobs with its own assistant, so why borrow your app's model? Three
reasons, all practical: you may already pay for a model you would rather use, you may want a
stronger model or parallel sub-agents for a big book, and this path spends **no MindMax credits** —
the tokens go on the app's bill. MindMax still does the parts it is good at: planning the steps,
cutting the material into self-contained packages, validating what comes back, and saving the result
beside the source. The app's model does the thinking.

If you would rather [hand the whole job to MindMax's own assistant](https://mindmax.me/docs/guides/handing-off-a-job/),
that is the same plan-pause-resume shape with a different entry point and a different bill. This page
is the version where your app does the work.

## Before you start[​](https://mindmax.me/#before-you-start)

- An app [connected with Collaborate access](https://mindmax.me/docs/getting-started/connect-an-ai-agent/).

- The document or folder open in MindMax, and a clear idea of the result you want.

- A little patience: a whole book is many steps. A run keeps its progress, so you can stop and come
back to it.

## Three calls drive every run[​](https://mindmax.me/#three-calls-drive-every-run)

Use your own model to run a study guide for the book I have open in MindMax, and save it where
MindMax would save its own.

| Call | Who uses it | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| start_pipeline | The app, once | Picks the method and its options; MindMax returns the plan and the first work package |
| get_step | The app, repeatedly | Fetches one self-contained step: instructions, the input, the expected output shape |
| submit_step | The app, repeatedly | Hands back the finished step; MindMax validates it, anchors quotes and saves it, then names the next steps |

Steps marked parallel can be given to sub-agents. A result that fails validation comes back with the
reason and can be resubmitted twice. When the run is done, `open_in_mindmax` puts the result in front
of you — the reading panel, the side-by-side translation view, the book's map, or the canvas.

If the app disconnects halfway, the run keeps what was already saved. Press **Continue** in MindMax,
or ask the app to pick the run up again; completed steps are not redone. See
[common issues](https://mindmax.me/docs/troubleshooting/common-issues/) if a job appears stuck.

## The seven methods you can borrow[​](https://mindmax.me/#the-seven-methods-you-can-borrow)

| Method | What it produces | Option worth knowing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| reading_guide | A full annotation pass with margin notes and a closing write-up | lens (guide / review / critical / study), focus |
| comment_answers | An answer in each waiting comment thread | — |
| comment_insights | An insights note distilled from your highlights and comments | — |
| doc_map_notes | Chapter and node notes written into a long book's map | — |
| canvas_skill | One thinking method laid out on a canvas | skill, target |
| translation | A whole-document translation with one terminology list | targetLanguage |
| ocr | Recognised text for scanned pages, page by page | Page images come with each step |

The result lands in the same place a MindMax run would have put it, so the rest of your library can
use it: quotes become searchable, chapter notes improve later answers, and a translated document
opens in the same side-by-side view. The [agent tool reference](https://mindmax.me/docs/reference/agent-tools/#pipelines)
lists each method with its output shape.

## What it costs, and what to compare[​](https://mindmax.me/#what-it-costs-and-what-to-compare)

A full pass costs roughly one read of the material in the app's own context — real tokens, billed to
the app, not to your MindMax balance. No MindMax model runs on this path. There is no fixed price to
quote: a 20-page report and a 550-page book are different jobs, and the app should tell you before
starting a long one.

The results are the same _shape_ as MindMax's own runs. These pages show what each one looks like
once it is in your folder, so you can decide which entry point suits the job:

- [Translating a document](https://mindmax.me/docs/guides/document-translation/) and
[translate a book you need to read](https://mindmax.me/use-cases/translating-a-book/)

- [Recognising scanned PDFs](https://mindmax.me/docs/guides/scanned-pdf-ocr/)

- [Understand a paper outside your field](https://mindmax.me/use-cases/understand-a-paper-fast/) and
[reading and reviewing with an agent](https://mindmax.me/docs/guides/reading-and-reviewing-with-an-agent/)

- [Thinking on the canvas](https://mindmax.me/docs/guides/thinking-on-the-canvas/) and
[canvas requests with an agent](https://mindmax.me/docs/guides/canvas-requests-with-an-agent/)

- [Run a long job with your agent](https://mindmax.me/use-cases/run-a-long-job-with-your-agent/) — the same path as a
worked use case

## Common problems[​](https://mindmax.me/#common-problems)

**The app wrote an answer in chat and no step was saved.** It skipped `submit_step`. Ask it to
submit each step to MindMax rather than summarising the whole job at the end.

**A step was returned with a reason.** Read the reason, fix that step's output and resubmit. Two
resubmissions are allowed before the run stops to ask you.

**The run stopped when I closed the app.** Progress is kept. Press **Continue** in MindMax or ask
the app to resume; finished steps are not repeated.

**The scan produced poor text.** OCR quality depends on the scan. MindMax reports which pages came
out badly instead of quoting them as clean text — look at the
[page images](https://mindmax.me/docs/guides/reading-and-reviewing-with-an-agent/) for those pages.

## Next[​](https://mindmax.me/#next)

- [Controlling agent access](https://mindmax.me/docs/guides/controlling-agent-access/) — what is logged, what can be
withdrawn, and how to pause an app.

- [Working with an external AI agent](https://mindmax.me/docs/guides/working-with-an-external-ai-agent/) — the full
capability map.

Last updated on **Nov 11, 2026**