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| type | title | linkTitle | weight | description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| docs | Workflow overview | Overview | 1000 | Overview of the workflow building block |
With Dapr workflows, you can automate and orchestrate tasks within your application. The workflow feature provides a developer-friendly programming model for authoring workflows as code in a way that abstracts away the complexities of messaging, state management, and failure handling.
The workflow feature is comprised of the Workflow API and the workflow components that allow for authoring workflows naitively in Dapr or through external 3rd party workflow applications.
Workflow API
To Do:
- Add diagram of how workflow API works?
- Add explaination of how the API works
- Reference
Features
The workflow API brings several core features executed by the Dapr sidecar:
Combine Dapr APIs
- Workflows allows users to combine Dapr APIs together in scheduled tasks
- Workflows compatible with pubsub, state store, bindings
- Can send/respond to external signals, including pub/sub events and bindings (input or output
Scheduled Delays and restarts
- Scheduling reminder-like durable delays, which could be for minutes, days, or even years.
- Restarting workflows by truncating their history logs and potentially resetting the input, which can be used to create eternal workflows that never end.
Sub-workflows
- Define subworkflow
- Executing multiple sub workflows in sequence or in parallel.
Author workflows as code
Dapr workflow logic is implamented using general purpose programming languages, allowing you to:
- Use your preferred programming language (no need to learn a new DSL or YAML schema)
- Have access to the language’s standard libraries
- Build your own libraries and abstractions
- Use debuggers and examine local variables
- Write unit tests for your workflows, just like any other part of your application logic
Declarative workflows support
Dapr provides an experience for declarative workflows as a layer on top of the "workflow as code" foundation, supporting a variety of declarative workflows, including:
- The AWS Step Functions workflow syntax
- The Azure Logic Apps workflow syntax
- The Google Cloud workflow syntax
- The CNCF Serverless workflow specification
Hosting serverless workflows
You can use the Dapr SDKs to build a new, portable SLWF runtime that leverages the Dapr sidecar. Usually, you can implement the runtime as a reusable container image that supports loading workflow definition files from Dapr state stores.
The Dapr sidecar doesn’t load any workflow definitions. Rather, the sidecar simply drives the execution of the workflows, leaving all other details to the application layer.
NEED MORE CLARIFICATION ON THESE FEATURES
- Saving custom state values to Dapr state stores
- “Activity” callbacks that execute non-orchestration logic locally inside the workflow pod.
Try out the workflow API
Quickstarts and tutorials
Want to put the Dapr Workflow API to the test? Walk through the following quickstart and tutorials to see in action:
| Quickstart/tutorial | Description |
|---|---|
| Workflow quickstart | Description of the quickstart. |
| Workflow tutorial | Description of the tutorial. |
Start using workflows directly in your app
Want to skip the quickstarts? Not a problem. You can try out the workflow building block directly in your application. After Dapr is installed, you can begin using the workflow API, starting with the workflow how-to guide.
Next steps
- [Learn how to set up a workflow]({{< ref howto-workflow.md >}})
- [Supported workflows]({{< ref supported-workflows.md >}})