---
title: How do I use Stepper Components? | Paperform Help Center | Paperform
description: A component is a reusable set of steps that can be called manually or repeatedly in a workflow.
url: "https://paperform.co/help/articles/components-overview"
type: static
generatedAt: "2026-09-21T00:46:22.715Z"
---

How do I use Stepper Components?
### Stepper

#### What is a component?

A component is a reusable set of steps that can be called manually or repeatedly in a workflow.

Components simplify building automation systems by letting you extract a sequence of steps into a separate, reusable object that can be called at different points in a workflow. This makes your workflows easier to maintain, reuse, and update.

A component can have its own defined inputs and outputs for passing information in and getting information out.

#### Types of components

There are two types of components you will come across in Stepper:

 - **Local Components:** Live inside a single workflow and can only be used there.
 - **Global Components:** Live inside a Component Library and can be reused across multiple workflows.

#### What is a Component Library?

When you define a component inside a workflow, it’s only available within that workflow. That’s a local component. A Component Library lets you store and manage global components that can be used across as many workflows as you like.

You can think of them like a pre-built LEGO set for your business processes.

For example, you might create a component that:

 - Processes a refund, and
 - Sends a confirmation email to the customer.

Once this component is added to your library, you can reuse it in any workflow that needs to automate refunds without rebuilding or copying steps.

Even better, if the refund process changes later, you only need to update it in one place—the library—and all workflows using that component will stay up to date.

### How do I use components?

You can create a new component inside a Component Library, or from within a workflow as a local component.

**Simply tell the AI what you want to build.**

Save time by letting Stepper AI set it up for you. Give it a prompt and watch it generate a ready-to-use component—complete with steps, inputs, and logic—that you can then fine-tune or reuse across workflows.

Here are a few examples to get you started:

Create reusable actions

Ask AI to build a component that performs a specific task you can reuse across workflows. For example:

> “Create a welcome email action that can be reused in multiple workflows.”

![AI Assistant Chat Example Prompt.](https://img.paperform.co/fetch/f_auto,w_1400/https://d3gw2uv1ch7vdq.cloudfront.net/img/1-ai-chat-prompt-for-workflow.png)

 - Adjust or extend existing components

If you already have a component, you can prompt AI to modify it by adding new inputs, changing the order of steps, or updating the logic. Removing a component library fully needs to be done manually.

> “Add an entry to a Notion database when the welcome email is sent.”
 - Use component libraries in workflows Ask AI to use an existing component in a workflow.

Ask AI to use an existing component in a workflow.

> “Send an email using my welcome email component when someone submits my new signup form in Paperform.”
 - Turn existing steps into components

Ask AI to turn steps from your current workflow into a local component, so you can reuse them within the same workflow or move them to a Component Library.

> “Move the email and Notion steps to a new component.”
>
> “Move the email and Notion steps to a new component library so I can reuse them with other workflows.”

### Doing it manually on the Stepper canvas

 - **Create a component inside a Component Library**

 1. Enter the Component Library and click “+ Component.”
 2. Give it a name and map any inputs, for example an email `subject `or `message`. Reference these inputs in later steps as needed.
 3. Click “+ Step” to add any actions that you want to follow.

 - **Create a component inside a workflow**

 1. Click “+ Trigger” and select “Local component.”
 2. Name your component and map any inputs, for example an email `subject` or `message`. Reference these inputs later in the workflow.
 - **Make a component from existing workflow steps**

 1. Click the three dots in the top-right corner of a step.
 2. Select “Extract steps as a local component…”.
 3. Choose which steps to include.
 4. Click “Extract as local component”.
 5. Your selected steps will now be grouped as a reusable local component.
 - **Extract a local component to a global component**

 1. Convert a local component into a global component so it can be used across multiple workflows.
 2. Click the three dots in the top-right corner of the component module and select “Publish to Component Library.”
 3. Either create a new library or use an existing one to store the component.
 4. Your component will now be available to call across all workflows.
 - **Call a global component inside a workflow**

 1. Add the trigger that will start the component.
 2. Once your trigger is set, click “+ Step” and select “Call component.”
 3. Choose the component you want to use from the library.

### Related Articles
  [Getting Started with Stepper  Stepper is an AI-native workflow automation platform that makes it simple to create automated processes for your business.](/help/articles/getting-started-with-stepper/)