AWS Step Functions

AWS Step Functions is a serverless orchestration service that lets you build and run workflows using state machines. Coordinate multiple AWS services into business-critical applications.

Table of Contents

• Core Concepts
• Common Patterns
• CLI Reference
• Best Practices
• Troubleshooting
• References

Core Concepts

Workflow Types

Type	Description	Pricing
Standard	Long-running, durable, exactly-once	Per state transition
Express	High-volume, short-duration	Per execution (time + memory)

State Types

State	Description
Task	Execute work (Lambda, API call)
Choice	Conditional branching
Parallel	Execute branches concurrently
Map	Iterate over array
Wait	Delay execution
Pass	Pass input to output
Succeed	End successfully
Fail	End with failure

Amazon States Language (ASL)

JSON-based language for defining state machines.

Common Patterns

Simple Lambda Workflow

{
  "Comment": "Process order workflow",
  "StartAt": "ValidateOrder",
  "States": {
    "ValidateOrder": {
      "Type": "Task",
      "Resource": "arn:aws:lambda:us-east-1:123456789012:function:ValidateOrder",
      "Next": "ProcessPayment"
    },
    "ProcessPayment": {
      "Type": "Task",
      "Resource": "arn:aws:lambda:us-east-1:123456789012:function:ProcessPayment",
      "Next": "FulfillOrder"
    },
    "FulfillOrder": {
      "Type": "Task",
      "Resource": "arn:aws:lambda:us-east-1:123456789012:function:FulfillOrder",
      "End": true
    }
  }
}

Create State Machine

AWS CLI: