Workflows

Workflows are a JSON-based orchestration engine that lets you build complex automation pipelines using a visual editor. A workflow is a directed graph of nodes that can call functions, transform data, handle conditions, iterate over collections, and more. Workflows can be executed manually, triggered via API, or scheduled as periodic jobs.

UI page

You can find all workflows here

Properties

• id: unique identifier of the workflow
• name: display name of the workflow
• description: description of the workflow
• tags: list of tags associated to the workflow
• metadata: list of metadata associated to the workflow
• config: the root node configuration of the workflow (a JSON object describing the node graph)
• job: optional job scheduling configuration (see below)
• functions: a map of custom reusable functions defined within the workflow
• test_payload: a JSON object used as input when testing the workflow from the UI
• orphans: disconnected nodes and edges stored by the visual editor
• notes: visual annotations placed on the workflow canvas in the editor

Job configuration

A workflow can optionally be scheduled as a periodic job:

• enabled: is the job scheduling enabled
• cron: a cron expression defining when the workflow should run (e.g., */5 * * * * ? for every 5 seconds)
• config: additional job configuration

Node types

Workflows are composed of nodes. Each node has a type that determines its behavior:

• workflow: a sequential execution of child nodes
• call: invoke a built-in or custom function
• assign: assign a value to a variable in workflow memory
• value: return a static value
• if: conditional branching (if/then/else)
• switch: multi-path conditional branching based on value matching
• foreach: iterate over an array and execute a node for each element
• map: transform each element of an array
• filter: filter elements of an array based on a predicate
• flatmap: transform and flatten arrays
• parallel: execute multiple nodes in parallel
• while: loop while a condition is true
• try: try/catch/finally error handling
• error: raise an error
• wait: wait for a specified duration
• pause: pause workflow execution
• end: terminate the workflow
• jump: jump to another node in the workflow
• async: execute a node asynchronously
• breakpoint: debugging breakpoint in the visual editor

Functions

Workflows provide a rich set of built-in functions that can be called from call nodes. These include:

• HTTP: http_client for making HTTP requests
• Storage: store_get, store_set, store_del, store_keys, store_match for persistent key-value storage
• State: state_get, state_get_all for accessing Otoroshi proxy state
• Configuration: config_read for reading Otoroshi configuration
• Files: file_read, file_write, file_del for file system operations
• WASM: wasm_call for calling WASM functions
• Workflows: workflow_call for calling other workflows
• Events: emit_event for emitting custom events
• Email: send_mail for sending emails
• System: system_call for executing system commands
• Logging: log for logging messages

You can also define custom functions in the functions map of the workflow entity.

Learn more

For detailed information about node configuration, operators, expression syntax, and examples, see Otoroshi Workflows.

For information about the visual editor, debugging tools, and breakpoints, see Workflows Editor.