workflow-orchestration-patterns
Design durable workflows with Temporal for distributed systems. Covers workflow vs activity separation, saga patterns, state management, and determinism constraints. Use when building long-running processes, distributed transactions, or microservice orchestration.
What this skill does
# Workflow Orchestration Patterns Master workflow orchestration architecture with Temporal, covering fundamental design decisions, resilience patterns, and best practices for building reliable distributed systems. ## When to Use Workflow Orchestration ### Ideal Use Cases (Source: docs.temporal.io) - **Multi-step processes** spanning machines/services/databases - **Distributed transactions** requiring all-or-nothing semantics - **Long-running workflows** (hours to years) with automatic state persistence - **Failure recovery** that must resume from last successful step - **Business processes**: bookings, orders, campaigns, approvals - **Entity lifecycle management**: inventory tracking, account management, cart workflows - **Infrastructure automation**: CI/CD pipelines, provisioning, deployments - **Human-in-the-loop** systems requiring timeouts and escalations ### When NOT to Use - Simple CRUD operations (use direct API calls) - Pure data processing pipelines (use Airflow, batch processing) - Stateless request/response (use standard APIs) - Real-time streaming (use Kafka, event processors) ## Detailed patterns and worked examples Detailed pattern documentation lives in `references/details.md`. Read that file when the navigation tier above is insufficient. ## Best Practices ### Workflow Design 1. **Keep workflows focused** - Single responsibility per workflow 2. **Small workflows** - Use child workflows for scalability 3. **Clear boundaries** - Workflow orchestrates, activities execute 4. **Test locally** - Use time-skipping test environment ### Activity Design 1. **Idempotent operations** - Safe to retry 2. **Short-lived** - Seconds to minutes, not hours 3. **Timeout configuration** - Always set timeouts 4. **Heartbeat for long tasks** - Report progress 5. **Error handling** - Distinguish retryable vs non-retryable ### Common Pitfalls **Workflow Violations**: - Using `datetime.now()` instead of `workflow.now()` - Threading or async operations in workflow code - Calling external APIs directly from workflow - Non-deterministic logic in workflows **Activity Mistakes**: - Non-idempotent operations (can't handle retries) - Missing timeouts (activities run forever) - No error classification (retry validation errors) - Ignoring payload limits (2MB per argument) ### Operational Considerations **Monitoring**: - Workflow execution duration - Activity failure rates - Retry attempts and backoff - Pending workflow counts **Scalability**: - Horizontal scaling with workers - Task queue partitioning - Child workflow decomposition - Activity batching when appropriate ## Additional Resources **Official Documentation**: - Temporal Core Concepts: docs.temporal.io/workflows - Workflow Patterns: docs.temporal.io/evaluate/use-cases-design-patterns - Best Practices: docs.temporal.io/develop/best-practices - Saga Pattern: temporal.io/blog/saga-pattern-made-easy **Key Principles**: 1. Workflows = orchestration, Activities = external calls 2. Determinism is non-negotiable for workflows 3. Idempotency is critical for activities 4. State preservation is automatic 5. Design for failure and recovery
Related in Design
contribute
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architectural-analysis
IncludedUser-triggered deep architectural analysis of a codebase or scoped subtree across eight modes — information architecture, data flow, integration points, UI surfaces, interaction patterns, data model, control flow, and failure modes. This skill should be used when the user asks to "diagram this codebase," "map the architecture," "show the data flow," "give me an ERD," "trace control flow," "find the integration points," "verify the layout pattern," "audit the UX architecture," or any similar request whose primary deliverable is mermaid diagrams plus cited reports under docs/architecture/. Dispatches haiku/sonnet sub-agents in parallel for per-mode exploration, then verifies every citation mechanically before any node lands in a diagram. Not for one-off prose explanations of code (use code-explanation) or for high-level system design from scratch (use system-design).
mcp
IncludedModel Context Protocol (MCP) server development and tool management. Languages: Python, TypeScript. Capabilities: build MCP servers, integrate external APIs, discover/execute MCP tools, manage multi-server configs, design agent-centric tools. Actions: create, build, integrate, discover, execute, configure MCP servers/tools. Keywords: MCP, Model Context Protocol, MCP server, MCP tool, stdio transport, SSE transport, tool discovery, resource provider, prompt template, external API integration, Gemini CLI MCP, Claude MCP, agent tools, tool execution, server config. Use when: building MCP servers, integrating external APIs as MCP tools, discovering available MCP tools, executing MCP capabilities, configuring multi-server setups, designing tools for AI agents.
react-native-skia
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plaid
IncludedProduct Led AI Development — guides founders from idea to launched product. Six capabilities: Idea (discover a product idea), Validate (pressure-test the idea against fatal flaws, problem reality, competition, and 2-week MVP feasibility), Plan (vision intake + document generation), Design (translate image references into a design.md spec), Launch (go-to-market strategy), and Build (roadmap execution). Use when someone says "PLAID", "plaid idea", "help me find an idea", "product idea", "idea from my business", "idea from my expertise", "plaid validate", "validate my idea", "pressure-test", "is this idea good", "find fatal flaws", "validate the problem", "plan a product", "define my vision", "generate a PRD", "product strategy", "plaid design", "design from image", "translate image to design", "create design.md", "extract design tokens", "plaid launch", "go-to-market", "launch plan", "GTM strategy", "launch playbook", "plaid build", "build the app", "start building", or "execute the roadmap".
nextjs-framer-motion-animations
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