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Overview

What you will learn​

  • What Zigflow is and what it does
  • How it relates to Temporal
  • What Zigflow does not do
  • The five-point mental model

What is Zigflow?​

Zigflow is a workflow worker that reads a YAML file and runs it on Temporal.

You describe your workflow in YAML. Zigflow validates that description, compiles it into a Temporal workflow and starts a worker that processes executions.

workflow.yaml
document:
  dsl: 1.0.0
  taskQueue: zigflow
  workflowType: greet-user
  version: 1.0.0
do:
  - greet:
      set:
        message: Hello from Ziggy

Run the worker:

zigflow run -f workflow.yaml

A client application (using any Temporal SDK) then starts an execution against the zigflow task queue with workflow type greet-user.

How it relates to Temporal​

Temporal is a durable execution platform. It persists workflow state, handles retries and coordinates workers.

Zigflow sits in front of Temporal as the worker side. It:

  • Reads your YAML workflow definition
  • Validates it before doing anything else
  • Registers it with Temporal
  • Polls Temporal for executions
  • Executes tasks deterministically as Temporal replays the history

Zigflow does not replace Temporal. It requires Temporal to function. You still need a Temporal server running somewhere.

The mental model​

  1. A workflow definition is a YAML file, not application code.
  2. Zigflow compiles that YAML into a Temporal workflow at startup.
  3. The worker polls Temporal for executions. It does not listen on a port.
  4. Validation runs before the worker starts. Invalid workflows fail fast.
  5. Execution is deterministic. All side effects belong in activities, not inline workflow logic.

What Zigflow does not do​

Zigflow is a worker and a compiler. It does not:

  • Provide a Temporal server (you must supply one)
  • Act as an HTTP API for triggering workflows (use a Temporal SDK or the Temporal UI)
  • Store workflow results (Temporal handles persistence)
  • Support all constructs from the CNCF Open Workflow Specification (formerly Serverless Workflow) (unsupported features are rejected with a clear error)
  • Allow non-deterministic code inside workflow definitions

Common mistakes​

Confusing document.taskQueue with the Temporal namespace. The document.taskQueue field sets the Temporal task queue name, not the Temporal namespace. The Temporal namespace is set at runtime via --temporal-namespace.

Expecting Zigflow to trigger workflows. Zigflow runs the worker. Triggering an execution is done from a Temporal client, the Temporal CLI or the Temporal UI.