The Instruction builds page on the Organization specific tab, with the ACME Global instruction group expanded to show its three individual instructions and their own enable switches, and a fully disabled group listed below in grey
Instruction Builds represent a foundational data processing capability that replaces brittle rule engines with adaptive, natural language-guided AI interpretation. Instead of rigid, hard-coded validation logic, Instruction Builds allow you to express business intent in plain English - describing what data you need, how it should be validated, and what should happen when the AI encounters missing or ambiguous information. The AI then intelligently carries out these instructions across documents, handling inference, field transformation, and master data validation with contextual awareness.
This capability is particularly valuable in document processing workflows where extraction accuracy directly impacts downstream operations. By articulating clear intent rather than complex conditional logic, organizations can maintain flexibility as business requirements evolve while preserving audit trails of all configuration changes.
How It Works
Instruction Builds operate within a clear scope hierarchy that ensures the right instructions apply to the right trading relationships and geographies:
Scope Precedence:
Trading Party Specific (A + B, combined)
Trading Party Specific (A or B)
Organization-Specific
Country-Specific
Global
When processing a document, the system evaluates scopes in order and applies the instructions of the first matching group.
Instruction Groups
An instruction build group is a group of instructions, not a single block of text. Each row on the Instruction Builds page is an instruction group: the scope of the instructions (a trading party or trading pair, a sub-organization, a country, or the single Global entry) together with the list of instructions attached to it.
Every instruction inside a group is a separate item that carries:
its own instruction text
its own enabled or disabled state
its own position in the group's order
Instructions in a group are applied in the order they are listed. Only enabled instructions are sent to processing: the platform combines the enabled instructions of the matching group, in order, into the instruction text the AI receives. A disabled instruction stays saved and visible in the group but is left out of that text, so you can retire an instruction without deleting it.
Creating an Instruction Build
To create an instruction build:
Click the dropdown arrow (▾) next to your user avatar in the top-right corner of the screen to open the main navigation menu
Click "Instruction Builds" in the main menu
Select the appropriate scope tab (Trading Party Specific, Organization Specific, Country Specific, or Global)
Click "+ Add New" to open the creation form
Select the relevant scope options (sub-organization, trading parties, or countries - depending on the tab)
Write your first instruction in plain English in the instruction card's text box
Optionally click the Refine with AI (magic wand) icon on that card to have the AI rewrite and sharpen just that instruction
Click Add New Instruction to add another instruction card, and repeat as needed. Each card is an independent instruction with its own enable switch, refine icon, and delete icon
Click Add (or Save when editing) to save the group
The heading above the cards shows how many of the group's instructions are currently enabled, for example "Instruction · 2 of 3 enabled".
When you save, Docupath refines every instruction in the group first, then writes the refined text. If the AI flags any instruction as an exception, the save is blocked and a warning asks you to resolve the flagged instructions before saving. Fix the flagged instruction and save again.
Creating instruction builds at each scope is covered in more detail in separate articles for the Trading Party, Organization, Country, and Global scopes.
Enabling and Disabling Instructions
Instructions can be turned on and off without being deleted, either one at a time or a whole group at once.
On the Instruction Builds list:
Each group's row has a switch. It is on when at least one instruction in the group is enabled. Turning it off disables every instruction in the group; turning it on enables them all
A group whose instructions are only partly enabled shows an information icon next to its name.
A fully disabled group is shown in grey text, so inactive configuration is easy to spot while scanning the list
Expand a group with the dropdown (⌄) to see its individual instructions, each with its own switch.
Toggle changes take effect in the interface immediately and are saved after you stop toggling. If a save fails, the group reverts to its last saved state and an error message appears.
Editing an Instruction Build
On the Instruction builds page, select the scope tab that contains the Instruction Group (Trading party specific, Organization specific, Country specific, or Global).
Click the edit (pencil) icon on the group's row in the Actions column.
Update the scope options (such as Organization, Party A, or Party B), and edit any instruction directly in its card. Within the group you can change an instruction's text, switch it on or off, refine it on its own with the magic wand icon, remove it with the delete icon, or add another with Add New Instruction.
Click Save to apply your changes, or Cancel to discard them.
Removing an instruction card and saving removes that instruction from the group; the group and its remaining instructions are untouched. See "Deleting a single instruction" below.
Deleting an Instruction Build
There are two separate deletes: removing a whole instruction group, and removing a single instruction from inside a group. They are done in different places.
Deleting an instruction group
On the Instruction builds page, select the scope tab that contains the instruction group.
Click the delete (trash) icon on the instruction group's row in the Actions column.
A confirmation dialog asks you to confirm the deletion.
Click Delete to remove it, or Cancel to keep it.
This removes the group together with every instruction in it. None of those instructions apply to documents processed under that scope any more, so processing falls to whichever scope is next in the precedence order.
Deleting a single instruction
Individual instructions are removed through the group's edit form, not from the list.
Click the edit (pencil) icon on the group's row to open it.
Click the delete icon on the instruction card you want to remove.
Click Save.
The card disappears from the form straight away, but the removal is only stored when you save. Cancel discards it and the instruction stays in the group. There is no confirmation dialog for removing a card, so check the remaining cards before saving. The group itself and its other instructions are unaffected.
If you may need the instruction again, switch it off instead of deleting it. See "Enabling and Disabling Instructions" above.
Example Instructions:
"Find an 8-digit PO number starting with 29. Capture digits only; ignore 'PO' prefix."
"Translate all extracted text values from Arabic documents into English."
"Extract the invoice date. If missing, use the document receipt date as the invoice date."
Capabilities:
Field Inference: Deduce missing fields from available context
Line Item Splitting/Merging: Intelligently combine or separate line items based on business logic
Localization: Apply language and region-specific formatting instructions (e.g., date formats, currency symbols)
Supported Configurations and Options
Scope Configurations:
Scope | Use Case | Precedence |
Trading Party (A+B) | Instructions specific to a unique supplier-buyer pair | Highest |
Trading Party (A or B) | Instructions applying to one party only | High |
Organization | Instructions for all documents within your organization | Medium |
Country | Instructions based on jurisdiction or regulatory requirements | Low |
Global | Default instructions applied org-wide | Lowest |
Instruction Options:
Multiple instructions per group: Split distinct requirements into separate instructions in the same group instead of one long block of text
Enable/disable per instruction: Each instruction can be switched off individually, or the whole group can be switched off at once
Per-instruction refinement: Refine a single instruction with the magic wand icon, independently of the others in the group
Numbered Steps: Structure instructions sequentially for clarity
Field References: Use explicit field names (e.g.,
po_number,cost_center,invoice_date)Fallback Logic: Specify what to do if the primary condition fails (e.g., "if field is empty, use alternative source")
Conditional Inference: Use "if-then" logic for multi-path extraction
Access Control:
Only Admins can create or edit Instruction Builds
All changes are audit-logged with timestamps and user attribution
Data minimization principles apply; instructions should reference only necessary fields
Other Technical Specifications
Limits
Limit | Value |
Max Instruction Builds per Organization | 100 |
Max Instruction Builds per Country | 100 |
Max Instruction Builds (Global scope) | 100 |
Processing Model
Instruction Builds execute after document ingestion and before field-level transformations
They operate on the raw AI-extracted data, refining it through intelligent inference
Scope precedence is evaluated deterministically; the instructions of the first matching scope are applied
Within the matching group, only enabled instructions are combined, in their listed order, into the instruction text sent for processing. Disabled instructions are excluded
All instruction executions are logged with field-level precision for audit and debugging
Audit Trail
Every Instruction Build creation, modification, and deletion is recorded
Enabling and disabling an instruction is a configuration change to that instruction and is recorded in the same way.
Logs include: timestamp, user ID, scope, action (create/update/delete), and configuration delta
Retention follows organizational data governance policies
Notes
Supporting Files
Instruction Builds cannot reference Supporting Files. Data uploaded to Docupath as a Supporting File - such as master data sheets, vendor information, or price lists - is available only to Transformations and Rejection Rules. To validate or enrich a field against a Supporting File, configure a Transformation or Rejection Rule instead.
Common Pitfalls & Resolution Strategies
Pitfall | Symptom | Resolution |
Vague Instructions | Inconsistent extraction across documents | Write explicit, numbered steps with concrete examples |
Over-Broad Instructions | Instructions applied incorrectly to unintended documents | Scope instructions narrowly to specific trading parties or countries |
Conflicting Instructions | Unclear which instruction should apply | Consolidate overlapping instructions or explicitly set precedence |
Output Shaping | Attempting to reformat values within instructions | Delegate formatting to Transformation Rules or Templates |
Edge Cases
Null/Empty Handling: If a source field for inference is empty, the fallback instruction is applied; if no fallback exists, the target field remains empty
Circular References: Avoid instructions that depend on fields that themselves depend on Instruction Build outputs
Language Ambiguity: Plain English instructions may require clarification; use concrete examples in comments
Date Format Variations: Explicitly specify expected date formats and fallback parsing strategies
Multi-Line Fields: Clearly define whether multi-line text should be split, concatenated, or preserved as-is
Disabled Instructions
Disabling is not the same as deleting. A disabled instruction keeps its text and its place in the group, and can be switched back on at any time
A group's row switch reflects whether any instruction in it is enabled, not whether all of them are. Check the enabled-count indicator on the group's row before assuming a group is fully active
Turning a group's switch off and then on again enables every instruction in that group, including any that were individually disabled beforehand. Re-check the individual switches afterwards if only some were meant to stay off
Switch changes are saved shortly after you stop toggling rather than on an explicit Save click. If a save fails, the group reverts to its last saved state and an error message is shown, so confirm the state you intended is what the list shows
Disabling every instruction in a group leaves the group in place with nothing applied at that scope. Processing then falls to whichever scope is next in the precedence order
Governance Considerations
Instruction Builds should not be used for complex output shaping (use Transformations instead)
Instructions should reflect current business processes; document and review changes quarterly
Prefer disabling an instruction over deleting it when the change may need to be reversed, so the wording is preserved for review