WorkflowForge - A forge for workflows

Zero-dependency workflow orchestration for .NET with microsecond-level performance

What Makes WorkflowForge Different?

True Zero Dependencies: Core package with no external dependencies, small footprint
Measured Performance: Microsecond-level per-operation execution (medians ~14–36 μs; typical range ~14–80 μs). See benchmarks.
Production Ready: Built-in compensation (saga pattern), observability via extensions
Developer First: Fluent API, clear metaphor, extensive samples

Quick Start

dotnet add package WorkflowForge

using WorkflowForge;

var workflow = WorkflowForge.CreateWorkflow()
    .WithName("ProcessOrder")
    .AddOperation("ValidateOrder", async (order, foundry, ct) => 
    {
        foundry.Logger.LogInformation("Validating order {OrderId}", order.Id);
        return await ValidateOrderAsync(order, ct);
    })
    .AddOperation("ProcessPayment", async (order, foundry, ct) => 
    {
        foundry.Logger.LogInformation("Processing payment for order {OrderId}", order.Id);
        return await ProcessPaymentAsync(order, ct);
    })
    .Build();

using var foundry = WorkflowForge.CreateFoundry("ProcessOrder");
using var smith = WorkflowForge.CreateSmith();

await smith.ForgeAsync(workflow, foundry);

Learn & Explore

Start Here: Interactive Samples

Best way to learn → Run 22 progressive examples from basic to advanced:

cd src/samples/WorkflowForge.Samples.BasicConsole
dotnet run

Browse all examples: src/samples/WorkflowForge.Samples.BasicConsole/

Documentation Hub

Complete guides and reference → docs/ folder contains:

• Getting Started Guide - Step-by-step tutorial
• Architecture Overview - Core design principles
• API Reference - Complete API documentation
• Extensions Guide - Available extensions

Extensions Ecosystem

Add capabilities without dependencies → Optional extensions available:

Extension	Purpose	Package
Serilog Logging	Structured logging	WorkflowForge.Extensions.Logging.Serilog
Polly Resilience	Circuit breakers, retries	WorkflowForge.Extensions.Resilience.Polly
Performance Monitoring	Metrics & profiling	WorkflowForge.Extensions.Observability.Performance
Health Checks	Application health	WorkflowForge.Extensions.Observability.HealthChecks
OpenTelemetry	Distributed tracing	WorkflowForge.Extensions.Observability.OpenTelemetry

Complete Extensions Documentation: docs/extensions.md

Performance Characteristics

Metric	Performance	Context
Operation Execution	Microsecond-level (median ~14–36 μs)	Per-operation timing (see OperationPerformance benchmarks)
Foundry Creation	~5–7 μs median (means ~13–16 μs)	Setup time (ConfigurationProfiles benchmarks)
Parallel Throughput	Improves with concurrent execution	See throughput benchmarks
Memory Footprint	≈2.2 KB per foundry; ≈0.9–2.3 KB per operation	Allocations from benchmarks

Detailed Benchmarks & Analysis: src/benchmarks/WorkflowForge.Benchmarks/

Industrial Metaphor

WorkflowForge uses an industrial metaphor for intuitive understanding:

• The Forge - Main factory creating workflows and components
• Foundries - Execution environments where operations are performed
• Smiths - Orchestration engines managing workflow execution
• Operations - Individual tasks within workflows

Quick Links

Resource	Description
Getting Started	Step-by-step tutorial
Interactive Samples	22 hands-on examples
Complete Documentation	Comprehensive guides
Extensions	Available extensions
Benchmarks	Performance analysis

Building & Contributing

git clone https://github.com/animatlabs/workflow-forge.git
cd workflow-forge
dotnet restore && dotnet build && dotnet test

Contributing Guidelines | License: MIT

---

WorkflowForge - Build workflows with industrial strength