Durable Workflow Sample App
September 5, 2026 ยท View on GitHub
Runnable examples for Durable Workflow 2.0. Start a PHP-authored workflow that calls Python and Rust activities through a standalone Server, build a workflow with any first-party SDK, or run the workflow engine inside Laravel.
Already have a Cloud namespace? Start with PHP on Cloud.
Choose a path
| Path | Use it when | Command |
|---|---|---|
| Service mode | PHP, Python, and Rust workers share a standalone or managed runtime | scripts/polyglot.sh |
| SDK playground | You want to author a small workflow and activity in one SDK | scripts/playground php, python, or rust |
| Embedded Laravel | Laravel owns workflow execution and storage | composer run dev |
The Codespaces image already contains PHP, Composer, Python, Rust, Cargo,
Docker Compose, Node, Chromium, dw, and rg. Setup installs only this
repository's Composer and npm dependencies.
Service mode
Run the featured PolyglotWorkflow:
scripts/polyglot.sh
The command starts a published Durable Workflow Server and three workers. A PHP workflow sends an order calculation to a Python activity, then sends that result to a Rust activity that produces a receipt. The final result identifies all three runtimes and the artifact versions used for the run.
The isolated sample-app-polyglot-demo Compose project remains available for
inspection. Stop it with:
scripts/polyglot.sh down
See polyglot/README.md for the worker layout and the larger directional runtime matrix.
SDK playground
Use the same interface for each first-party SDK:
scripts/playground php
scripts/playground python
scripts/playground rust
Each command creates editable source under .playground/<language>, starts an
isolated local Server and Waterline, waits for the worker registration, starts
the workflow, verifies its result and history, and prints the matching
Waterline run URL. Existing authored files are preserved.
The generated workflow and activity are yours to edit. .playground/ and the
default evidence files are ignored by Git; the evidence is a run report, not
application source. To keep authored code in your project, choose a directory
with --source, review the generated files, and commit only your source, not
credentials or run reports. Existing files are preserved on subsequent runs.
Create a caller-owned project elsewhere with --source:
scripts/playground rust --source "$HOME/my-durable-rust-worker"
Inspect the effective contract without starting anything:
scripts/playground doctor
scripts/playground rust --print-contract
Remove one playground's containers and state with:
scripts/playground down rust
Managed runtime
PHP on Cloud
The same authored project can run against Durable Workflow Cloud or another
existing runtime, without starting a local Server or Waterline. Use the exact
runtime URL and namespace shown by Cloud; do not append /api. Supply the
runtime worker and client SDK credentials, not a Cloud control-plane API key:
export DURABLE_WORKFLOW_WORKER_TOKEN='<worker credential>'
export DURABLE_WORKFLOW_CLIENT_TOKEN='<client credential>'
scripts/playground php \
--runtime managed \
--runtime-url 'https://runtime.example/namespaces/example' \
--namespace 'example' \
--task-queue 'my-php-worker'
The worker receives only the worker credential, and the client receives only
the client credential. The runner prints the workflow type, activity type,
task queue, worker command, start command, and expected result before it runs.
Expect Worker ready: target=managed, followed by Completed php workflow
and the result containing workflow_runtime: php and activity_runtime: php.
Use python or rust in place of php for the other SDKs.
This PHP path is service mode using the Laravel bridge, not the embedded
workflow engine. Laravel provides configuration, dependency injection, PSR
logging, and the SDK test fake. The SDK worker polls Cloud; Laravel's embedded
queue worker is not its executor. The generated bootstrap.php and activity
use Laravel, while the core PHP SDK also supports framework-free processes.
For those, use scripts/playground scaffold php --standalone --source <dir>
to inspect the installed SDK's own worker/client examples.
Embedded Laravel
Start Laravel's web server, queue worker, logs, and Vite process:
composer run dev
In a second terminal, start the example workflow:
php artisan app:workflow
Open /waterline on the forwarded application URL to inspect the run. Run the
Laravel workflow and activity tests with:
php artisan test
The embedded examples live under app/Workflows, with focused tests under tests/Feature/Workflows.
Example index
| Example | What it demonstrates |
|---|---|
SimpleWorkflow | Minimal embedded workflow and activity |
AccountOnboardingWorkflow | Signals, timers, and external interaction |
BatchProcessingWorkflow | Bounded concurrency and fan-out |
DataPipelineWorkflow | Multi-step activity orchestration |
DeployWorkflow | Child workflows and deployment stages |
SagaWorkflow | Compensation after a failed step |
SubscriptionWorkflow | Long-running lifecycle and cancellation |
SandboxAgentWorkflow | Durable sandbox provisioning, snapshots, recovery, and cleanup |
PolyglotWorkflow | PHP workflow with Python and Rust activities |
Repository map
| Path | Purpose |
|---|---|
app/Workflows/ | Embedded Laravel examples |
polyglot/ | Service-mode workers and Compose topology |
playground/ | PHP, Python, and Rust authoring templates |
scripts/polyglot.sh | Featured PHP to Python to Rust run |
scripts/playground | Symmetric SDK authoring runner |
.devcontainer/ | Prepared Codespaces development image |
Local development
Codespaces is the shortest path. For an existing PHP 8.4, Node, Docker, and Docker Compose environment:
cp .env.example .env
composer install
npm install
php artisan key:generate
docker compose up -d
php artisan migrate
composer run dev
Run the focused checks with:
php artisan test
npm test
npm run build
Documentation
The Laravel 12 / Durable Workflow 1.x sample remains available on the
Laravel-12 branch.
License
Durable Workflow Sample App is open source software licensed under the MIT license.