Using Sub-Workflows

Using Sub-Workflows

IdentityFlow supports the concept of sub-workflows (or child workflows), allowing you to break down large, complex processes into smaller, more manageable, and often reusable units. A parent workflow can start one or more sub-workflows using flow.startWorkflow() and optionally wait for their completion or react to their outcomes.

Example: Order Fulfillment with Payment Sub-Workflow

export default defineWorkflow('order-fulfillment', async (flow) => {
  // Start a sub-workflow to handle payment processing
  // The parent workflow waits for the sub-workflow to complete
  const paymentResult = await flow.startWorkflow('process-payment', {
    params: { amount: flow.params.orderAmount, customerId: flow.params.customerId },
  });

  // Proceed based on the outcome of the sub-workflow
  if (paymentResult.status === 'paid') {
    await flow.startWorkflow('ship-order', {
      params: { orderId: flow.params.orderId, shippingAddress: flow.params.address },
    });
    return { overallStatus: 'Order Shipped' };
  } else {
    // See Error Handling guide for more details
    flow.error('Payment failed for order', {
      orderId: flow.params.orderId,
      paymentStatus: paymentResult.status,
    }); // See [Error Handling](../10-error-handling/)
    return { overallStatus: 'Order Failed - Payment Issue' };
  }
});

Benefits of Using Sub-Workflows:

• Modularity: Decompose complex logic into focused, understandable pieces.
• Reusability: Design generic sub-workflows (e.g., payment processing, notification sending) that can be invoked by multiple parent workflows.
• Isolation: Failures in a sub-workflow can be handled without necessarily halting the entire parent process, depending on your design.
• Scalability: Different teams can potentially own and develop different sub-workflows independently.
• Clarity: Parent workflows become easier to read as they orchestrate higher-level steps.

Sub-workflows are a key pattern for building sophisticated and maintainable automated processes.

Learn about Complex State Management for more advanced scenarios.