[P0] Audit: Pipeline Builder lacks first-run guidance and has a high-friction empty state

[baixiangcpp]

Imported from the byteflow.tools deep audit on 2026-06-22.

Problem: Pipeline Builder is a differentiating feature, but the first-run page exposes too many controls before explaining the workflow model. New users see Try Example, Run Recipe, Save, Export JSON, Share URL, step picker, 0/12, saved recipes, initial input, final output, run log, settings, selected step, import/export, and validation. It is not obvious whether to pick a recipe, paste input, add a step, or run an example.

Affected URL:

• https://byteflow.tools/en/pipeline-builder

Reproduction steps:

1. Open /en/pipeline-builder in a fresh browser session.
2. Do not click any built-in recipe.
3. Review the visible controls and empty states.
4. Attempt to build and run a basic recipe without reading the usage guide.
5. Observe whether input flow and save/share behavior are clear.

Expected behavior: a first-time user should understand the path: choose recipe or add first step, paste sample input, run, inspect per-step output, then save/export/share structure only.

Actual behavior: the empty state is functional but not instructional. 0/12 is not self-explanatory. Save/export/share appear before a recipe exists.

Impact: first-run abandonment, weaker adoption of the strongest feature, lower trust in recipe sharing, and higher documentation burden.

Proposed fix:

• Add a first-run panel with three actions: start from recipe, build from scratch, import JSON.
• Add a simple visual pipeline diagram: input → step 1 → step 2 → final output.
• Rename 0/12 to “0 of 12 step slots used.”
• Disable or hide save/export/share until a valid recipe exists.
• Add an inline privacy note near Share URL: “Recipe structure only. Runtime input is not included.”
• Add a one-minute guided tour or tooltip sequence.

Acceptance criteria:

• First-time users can complete a sample recipe within 60 seconds.
• Empty state has one clear primary action.
• Step count is understandable without documentation.
• Save/export/share states are disabled until applicable.
• User testing shows at least 80% recipe completion for the sample path.

[baixiangcpp]

Closed as completed by the canonical BF audit backlog work. This older non-BF audit issue duplicates work now merged through PRs #209-#219, with the BF issues closed and guard/test coverage in place. The remaining non-duplicate follow-up is #7, which stays open because the upstream Next/PostCSS advisory is not fixed yet.