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

# Customizing Patterns

> Customizing conversation patterns

Rasa assistants use patterns (pre-built flow templates) to handle conversation repair and some system behaviour. By separating patterns from the business-logic flows, you avoid having to weave every possible “what if the user changes their mind” scenario into your main flows. Instead, your flows can stay focused on the high-level steps for accomplishing tasks (booking a flight, transferring money, etc.), while the conversation patterns makes sure your flows are adaptive to how the user wants to accomplish their goal.

By default, every common conversation repair scenario—like corrections, digressions, or incomplete data—has a pre-written pattern in Rasa. However, you can override those defaults to better suit your assistant’s needs.

<Info>
  **Digging into patterns**

  For more information on the concept of patterns,
  head to the [Home section on Patterns](/docs/learn/concepts/conversation-patterns).

  For a complete list of patterns and their low-level implementations,
  head to the [corresponding section in the Reference](/docs/reference/primitives/patterns).
</Info>

## Why Customise Patterns?

### Templated Flows for Repair

Think of a pattern as a **reusable template** for handling a repeatable scenario (cancellation, correction, human handoff, etc.). Because patterns need to work anywhere in your assistant, you typically want to keep them general rather than making them skill-specific.

### Balancing Consistency and Adaptation

Although you want to keep these templated flows broadly applicable, you may still want to:

* **Adapt the language** of responses (e.g., brand or domain-specific wording).
* **Request user confirmation** before updating slots (such as in the correction pattern).
* **Hand over to a live agent** when certain issues arise.

For purely language-level customization (i.e., to keep brand voice consistent), consider using the Response Rephraser to automatically adapt the text in the pattern’s default responses. You can find more information on customizing the tone of your assistant [here](/docs/pro/customize/assistant-tone).

## How to Customise Patterns

### 1. Override a Pattern Flow

To customise a pattern, create a flow in your `flows.yml` file **with the same name** as the pattern. For instance, if you want to change how a cancellation is handled, create a flow named `pattern_cancel_flow`:

```yaml title="flows.yml" theme={null}
flows:
  pattern_cancel_flow:
    description: Custom cancellation flow
    steps:
      - action: action_cancel_flow
      - action: utter_flow_cancelled_rasa
```

When your assistant sees a user cancellation, it will **use your new `pattern_cancel_flow`** instead of the default one.

For existing default pattern implementations see to the Reference section on [Patterns](/docs/reference/primitives/patterns#reference-default-pattern-configuration).

*Keep pattern overrides concise. Most patterns interrupt an ongoing flow, so it’s best to return the user to the main conversation quickly.*

### 2. Override Default Actions or Responses

Some patterns make use of **default actions**, like `action_correct_flow_slot` or `action_trigger_chitchat`. If you need more control over the logic:

1. Create a custom action in your `actions.py`.
2. Reference it in your custom pattern flow and your `domain.yml`.

Likewise, the default text responses are in your domain’s `responses:` section. Override them with your own text or tie them into the Rephraser if needed.

### 3. Link Patterns to Other Flows

You can also “jump” from a pattern to another flow (for example, if the user clarifies something and you want to start a brand-new flow). To do this, add a **link** step at the end of your pattern:

```yaml title="flows.yml" theme={null}
flows:
  pattern_clarification:
    description: "Clarification pattern"
    steps:
      - noop: true
        next:
          - if: context.names
            then:
            - action: action_clarify_flows
              next:
                - if: context.names contains "transfer_money"
                  then:
                    - link: transfer_money
                - else: clarify_options
          - else:
            - action: utter_clarification_no_options_rasa
              next: END
      - id: clarify_options
        action: utter_clarification_options_rasa
```

When the user clarifies that they want to transfer money, you directly start the `transfer_money` flow.

### 4. Human Handoff and Other Special Cases

For certain special patterns like `pattern_human_handoff` or `pattern_chitchat`:

* **Human handoff**: Override `pattern_human_handoff` to add your own logic for connecting to a live agent.
* **Chitchat**: By default, chitchat is turned off, and the assistant responds with the default `utter_cannot_handle` response. You can switch to free-form generation by overriding `pattern_chitchat` and calling an LLM-based response.
* **Internal errors**: Override `pattern_internal_error` to branch on `context.info` when an agent or MCP tool call fails—for example to show tool-specific messages or route to human handoff. See [Handling agent and MCP tool failures](/docs/reference/primitives/patterns#handling-agent-and-mcp-tool-failures).

For more information on customizing patterns, see to the Reference section on [Patterns](/docs/reference/primitives/patterns#common-modifications).


## Related topics

- [Writing Flows](/docs/pro/build/writing-flows.md)
- [Studio Change Log](/docs/reference/changelogs/studio-changelog.md)
- [Conversation Patterns](/docs/learn/concepts/conversation-patterns.md)
- [Overview](/docs/reference/config/overview.md)
- [Patterns](/docs/reference/primitives/patterns.md)