OpenWorkflow

OpenWorkflow is a TypeScript framework for building durable, resumable workflows that can pause for seconds or months, survive crashes and deploys, and resume exactly where they left off - all without extra servers to manage.

import { defineWorkflow } from "openworkflow";

export const sendWelcomeEmail = defineWorkflow(
  { name: "send-welcome-email" },
  async ({ input, step }) => {
    const user = await step.run({ name: "fetch-user" }, async () => {
      return await db.users.findOne({ id: input.userId });
    });

    await step.run({ name: "send-email" }, async () => {
      return await resend.emails.send({
        from: "[email protected]",
        to: user.email,
        replyTo: "[email protected]",
        subject: "Welcome!",
        html: "<h1>Welcome to our app!</h1>",
      });
    });

    await step.run({ name: "mark-welcome-email-sent" }, async () => {
      await db.users.update(input.userId, { welcomeEmailSent: true });
    });

    return { user };
  },
);

Quick Start

# npm
npx @openworkflow/cli init

# pnpm
pnpx @openworkflow/cli init

# bun
bunx @openworkflow/cli init

The CLI will guide you through setup and generate everything you need to get started.

For more details, check out our docs.

Features

• ✅ Durable - Workflows survive crashes and deploys
• ✅ Resumable - Pick up exactly where you left off
• ✅ Type-safe - Full TypeScript support
• ✅ Step memoization - Never repeat completed work
• ✅ Automatic retries - Built-in exponential backoff
• ✅ Long pauses - Sleep for seconds or months
• ✅ Scheduled runs - Start workflows at a specific time
• ✅ Parallel execution - Run steps concurrently
• ✅ Idempotency keys - Deduplicate repeated run requests (24h window)
• ✅ No extra servers - Uses your existing database
• ✅ Dashboard included - Monitor and debug workflows
• ✅ Production ready - PostgreSQL and SQLite support

Documentation

• Documentation
• Quick Start Guide
• Core Concepts
• Advanced Patterns
• Production Checklist

Architecture

Read ARCHITECTURE.md for a deep dive into how OpenWorkflow works under the hood.

Examples

Check out examples/ for working examples.

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please read CONTRIBUTING.md before submitting a pull request.

Community

• GitHub Issues - Report bugs and request features
• Roadmap - See what's coming next