Configure Workflow

Workflows is one of the core components of the workflows manager. It allows you to manage your workflows in a more efficient way. You can create a new workflow by reusing the existing steps or workflows.

There are three types of steps that can be used in the workflows' configuration:

• normal - A normal step is a step that executes a single task that is defined in the code.
• parallel - A parallel step is a step that executes multiple steps in parallel.
• workflow - A workflow step is a step that executes another workflow.

The configuration of the workflows can be done using a *.yaml or *.json file. The file should contain the definition of the workflows and its steps. You can check structure of the configuration file on Developers -> Workflows Syntax page.

Create a new workflow

To create a new workflow you need to create a new yaml file in your project. The file contains the definition of the workflow and its steps.

Here is an example of a simple workflow that uses the console-output step:

YAMLJSON

workflows.yaml

workflows:
  simple-workflow:
    steps:
      - name: Say hello
        step: console-output
        parameters:
          - name: message
            value: "Hello, world!"

workflows.json

{
  "workflows": {
    "simple-workflow": {
      "steps": [
        {
          "name": "Say hello",
          "step": "console-output",
          "parameters": [
            {
              "name": "message",
              "value": "Hello, world!"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

• The workflows key is the root key of the yaml file. All workflows should be defined under this key.
• The simple-workflow key is the name of the workflow.
• The steps key contains the list of steps that should be executed in the workflow.
• The name key is the name of the step, it must be unique within the steps.
• The step key is the name of the step that should be executed. It shall match the name of the step defined in the step file.
• The parameters key contains the list of parameters that should be passed to the step.
• The name key is the name of the parameter that is expected by the step.
• The value key is the value of the parameter.

Parallel Step

You can also create a parallel step that executes multiple steps in parallel. To create a parallel workflow you need to define the steps under the parallel key.

Here is an example of a parallel workflow that executes two steps in parallel:

YAMLJSON

workflows.yaml

workflows:
  parallel-workflow:
    steps:
      - name: Capture message
        type: parallel
        parameters:
          - name: message
            value: "This message will be printed and logged."
        parallels:
          - name: Print message
            step: console-output
          - name: Log message
            step: log-message

workflows.json

{
  "workflows": {
    "parallel-workflow": {
      "steps": [
        {
          "name": "Capture message",
          "type": "parallel",
          "parameters": [
            {
              "name": "message",
              "value": "This message will be printed and logged."
            }
          ],
          "parallels": [
            {
              "name": "Print message",
              "step": "console-output"
            },
            {
              "name": "Log message",
              "step": "log-message"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

• The type key is used to define the type of the step. The parallel type is used to execute multiple steps in parallel.
• The parallels key contains the list of steps that should be executed in parallel.

In this example the Capture message step is a parallel step that print and logs the message in parallel. It has its own set of parameters defined under the parameters key. This will automatically inject the parameters into the steps that are executed in parallel.

Workflow Step

You can also create a workflow step that executes another workflow.

Here is an example of a workflow embedded-workflow with the step that executes the simple-workflow workflow:

YAMLJSON

workflows.yaml

workflows:
  simple-workflow:
    steps:
      - name: Say hello
        step: console-output
  embedded-workflow:
    steps:
      - name: Execute simple workflow
        type: workflow
        workflow: simple-workflow
        parameters:
          - name: message
            value: "Hello, world!"

workflows.json

{
  "workflows": {
    "simple-workflow": {
      "steps": [
        {
          "name": "Say hello",
          "step": "console-output"
        }
      ]
    },
    "embedded-workflow": {
      "steps": [
        {
          "name": "Execute simple workflow",
          "type": "workflow",
          "workflow": "simple-workflow",
          "parameters": [
            {
              "name": "message",
              "value": "Hello, world!"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

• The type key is used to define the type of the step. The workflow type is used to execute another workflow.
• The workflow key is the name of the workflow that should be executed.

In this example the Execute simple workflow step is a workflow step that executes the simple-workflow workflow. It has its own set of parameters defined under the parameters key. This will automatically inject the parameters into the steps that are executed in the workflow.

Template Data

You can also use template data in the workflow configuration. The template data can be used to inject dynamic values into the workflow configuration. Currently, the template data is supported only for the following fields:

• name
• step
• workflow
• parameters[*].value

To inject the template data into the attribute, you need to define a new variable in the parameters. After that you can use the variable in the attribute by using the { variable_name } syntax. Any variable of the type other than str will be converted to a string before injecting it into the attribute, except of parameters[*].value that preserves the original type. However, there is one exception: if the template variable is a string that contains additional text, it will be treated as a string and will not be converted.

Note: To use { and } characters in the value of the parameter, you need to escape them by using double brackets {{ and }}.

Example: let's say you have a parameter age with the value 18 that you want to use in the message variable. You can use the age variable in the message in the following way: "Age, { age }", that will cause that value assigned to message will be of str type, but if you use "{ age }" as a value for message variable, it will be converted to str.

Here is an example of a workflow that uses the template data:

YAMLJSON

workflows.yaml

parameters:
  - name: name
    value: "John Doe"
workflows:
  template-workflow:
    steps:
      - name: Say hello
        step: console-output
        parameters:
          - name: message
            value: "Hello, { name }!"

workflows.json

{
  "parameters": [
    {
      "name": "name",
      "value": "John Doe"
    }
  ],
  "workflows": {
    "template-workflow": {
      "steps": [
        {
          "name": "Say hello",
          "step": "console-output",
          "parameters": [
            {
              "name": "message",
              "value": "Hello, { name }!"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}