> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.nika.sh/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# default

> Contract, placement, related fields and source examples for this Nika YAML field.

[Language reference](/reference/language/overview) / `default`

## Meaning and placement

### → inputs · additionalProperties

The value used when the caller supplies none · MUST conform to `type:` (R3b · LAW-TYPE-0211 · NIKA-DEFAULT-001 · the P0 soundness hole is closed at check).

| Property        | Declaration                                                  |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Requirement     | Optional in this object                                      |
| Schema location | `/properties/inputs/additionalProperties/properties/default` |

**In the same object:** [description](/reference/language/words/description) · [required](/reference/language/words/required) · [type](/reference/language/words/type)

[Schema source (use the pointer above)](https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/blob/c5ebbb7b862b68bc6cf7235efba61173b844afc6/schemas/workflow.schema.json)

## In a source template

Excerpt from `templates/agent-loop.nika.yaml`, source lines 44–53. This is a fragment, not a runnable workflow.

```yaml illustration theme={"system"}
    # A `required:` input still carries a `default:` here so the skeleton
    # RUNS the moment it is scaffolded. Replace the default with your job;
    # `--var goal=…` overrides it at any time.
    default: "<SLOT: what the agent must accomplish>"
    description: "What the agent must accomplish"   # SLOT

permits:                            # the blast radius · default-deny once present
  # Exactly what the body invokes: `nika:assert` (the confirm task) plus the
  # two the agent may call. No `fs:` — see the note on `tools:` below.
  tools: ["nika:assert", "nika:done", "nika:jq"]
```

### Templates containing this field

| Template                         | Source                                                                                                                                 |
| -------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `templates/agent-loop.nika.yaml` | [Line 47](https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/blob/c5ebbb7b862b68bc6cf7235efba61173b844afc6/templates/agent-loop.nika.yaml#L47) |

These are literal key occurrences in the source files, not an execution or conformance claim. [How to instantiate a template](/guides/templates).

## Contract and implementation

This page projects the named specification revision. Check [released engine status](/reference/status) and [the validation workflow](/guides/agent-authoring) before running a file. An optional field is not evidence that every engine supports every value.

Canonical identity: `language:word:default`. Spec revision: [`c5ebbb7b862b`](https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/tree/c5ebbb7b862b68bc6cf7235efba61173b844afc6).

[How documentation stays connected](/reference/knowledge-system).