# Rasa Managing Slots

> >

- **Type:** Skill
- **Install:** `agentstack add skill-rasahq-rasa-agent-skills-rasa-managing-slots`
- **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior
- **Seller:** [RasaHQ](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/rasahq)
- **Installs:** 0
- **Category:** [Agent Skills](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/agent-skills)
- **Latest version:** 0.1.0
- **License:** Apache-2.0
- **Upstream author:** [RasaHQ](https://github.com/RasaHQ)
- **Source:** https://github.com/RasaHQ/rasa-agent-skills/tree/main/skills/rasa-managing-slots

## Install

```sh
agentstack add skill-rasahq-rasa-agent-skills-rasa-managing-slots
```

Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent.

## About

# Managing Slots in Rasa

## Workflow

1. Identify what information the assistant needs to remember.
2. Review existing slots in the domain — reuse before creating new ones.
3. Choose the most restrictive slot type that fits the data (see "Choosing a slot type").
4. Define the slot in the domain file with type and mapping (see "Slot mappings").
5. Set an `initial_value` if the slot needs a default.
6. Add validation if the slot requires format or range checks
   (see "Validation strategies").
7. Use the slot in flows via `collect` or `set_slots` steps.

## File organization

Slots are defined in domain YAML files, typically under `domain/` or in a single
`domain.yml`. Before creating new slots, check the existing domain layout — the user's
existing convention always takes precedence.

Domain files are commonly split by business process, so each flow's slots, responses,
and actions live together (e.g. `domain/transfer_money.yml`).

```
domain/
├── transfer_money.yml  # slots + responses + actions for one flow
├── book_appointment.yml
└── shared.yml          # slots reused across multiple flows
```

## Choosing a slot type

Pick the most restrictive type that fits the data. This prevents invalid values and
helps the LLM within the Command Generator extract correctly.

| Type          | Use when | Example |
|---------------|----------|---------|
| `text`        | Any string value | names, emails, free-text input |
| `bool`        | Binary yes/no | `is_authenticated`, `terms_accepted` |
| `categorical` | Value must come from a fixed set (auto-coerces casing) | account types, priority levels |
| `float`       | Numeric value with decimals | temperature, amounts, scores |
| `any`         | Structured data (dicts, mixed types) | API responses, shopping carts |
| `list`        | List of values (custom actions only) | item lists — cannot be filled via `collect` or `set_slots` |

```yaml
slots:
  patient_name:
    type: text

  terms_accepted:
    type: bool

  priority:
    type: categorical
    values:
      - low
      - medium
      - high

  temperature:
    type: float

  search_results:
    type: any
```

## Slot mappings

Mappings define **how** a slot gets filled. Choose based on what controls the slot
value.

A slot can combine `from_llm` with NLU-based mappings — NLU takes priority when both
extract a value. Use `allow_nlu_correction: true` on `from_llm` if the LLM within the
Command Generator should be able to correct NLU-filled values.

| Mapping       | When to use |
|---------------|-------------|
| `from_llm`    | Default for CALM (assumed if no mapping defined). The LLM within the Command Generator extracts value from user messages at any point in the conversation, not just at the `collect` step. |
| `controlled`  | Slot should only be filled by custom actions, button payloads, or `set_slots`. NLU and the LLM within the Command Generator cannot fill it. Use `run_action_every_turn` to keep the slot up to date on every turn. |
| `from_entity` | NLU pipeline extracts a specific entity. Requires `NLUCommandAdapter` in config. Use `conditions` with `active_flow` to disambiguate when multiple slots map to the same entity. |
| `from_intent` | NLU pipeline maps a predicted intent to a value. Requires `NLUCommandAdapter` in config. |

```yaml
slots:
  destination_city:               # from_llm — LLM extracts from user messages
    type: text
    mappings:
      - type: from_llm

  is_authenticated:               # controlled — only set by custom actions or set_slots
    type: bool
    mappings:
      - type: controlled

  session_token:                  # controlled with run_action_every_turn
    type: text
    mappings:
      - type: controlled
        run_action_every_turn: action_refresh_session

  sender_name:                    # from_entity — NLU extracts, scoped to a flow
    type: text
    mappings:
      - type: from_entity
        entity: person
        conditions:
          - active_flow: transfer_money

  username:                       # combined — from_llm + from_entity, LLM can correct NLU
    type: text
    mappings:
      - type: from_llm
        allow_nlu_correction: true
      - type: from_entity
        entity: username
```

## Initial values

Set a default value for slots that should not start empty. The slot resets to this value
(not `null`) when a flow ends. Also useful for optional `collect` steps with
`ask_before_filling: false` — the flow skips the question if the slot already has a
value.

```yaml
slots:
  language:
    type: categorical
    values:
      - en
      - de
      - fr
    initial_value: en

  num_retries:
    type: float
    initial_value: 0
```

## Validation strategies

Three levels of validation, from simplest to most complex:

| Validation need                       | Where to define | How |
|---------------------------------------|-----------------|-----|
| Format/range checks (regex, length)   | Domain — `validation.rejections` on the slot | Runs globally whenever the slot is set. `refill_utter` is optional (defaults to `utter_ask_{slot_name}`). |
| Business rule tied to a specific flow | Flow — `rejections` on the `collect` step | Only runs at that collect step. |
| External API or database check        | Custom action named `validate_{slot_name}` | Rasa runs it automatically when the slot is collected. |

```yaml
# Domain-level — global format check
slots:
  phone_number:
    type: text
    mappings:
      - type: from_llm
    validation:
      rejections:
        - if: not (slots.phone_number matches "^\d{10}$")
          utter: utter_invalid_phone
      refill_utter: utter_ask_phone_again
```

## Naming conventions

This section proposes default conventions. If the user's project already follows
different conventions, match those instead.

- Use `snake_case`: `patient_name`, `order_id`, `is_authenticated`
- Use descriptive nouns: name after the data, not the flow — `email` not `collect_email`
- Prefix booleans with `is_` or `has_`: `is_verified`, `has_insurance`
- Avoid special characters `(`, `)`, `=`, `,` in slot names — they break response button
  payloads

## Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [RasaHQ](https://github.com/RasaHQ)
- **Source:** [RasaHQ/rasa-agent-skills](https://github.com/RasaHQ/rasa-agent-skills)
- **License:** Apache-2.0

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.

## Pricing

- **Free** — Free

## Security capabilities

Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access:

- **Network access:** no
- **Filesystem access:** no
- **Shell / process execution:** no
- **Environment & secrets:** no
- **Dynamic code execution:** no

*"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.*


## Versions

- **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source.

## Links

- Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-rasahq-rasa-agent-skills-rasa-managing-slots
- Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/rasahq
- Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse

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