# Workflow Orchestration Patterns

Design durable workflows with Temporal for distributed systems.

- Repository: https://github.com/wshobson/agents (42077 stars)
- Category: Design
- License: MIT
- Last updated: 2026-10-30
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add wshobson/agents --skill workflow-orchestration-patterns -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add wshobson/agents --skill workflow-orchestration-patterns -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add wshobson/agents --skill workflow-orchestration-patterns -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add wshobson/agents --skill workflow-orchestration-patterns -g -a gemini-cli -y`
Claude Code plugin marketplace: `/plugin marketplace add wshobson/agents`

## Description

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.

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

# 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**:

The rest: https://github.com/wshobson/agents/blob/HEAD/plugins/backend-development/skills/workflow-orchestration-patterns/SKILL.md