Orchard Core Workflows - Prompt Templates

Create a Workflow

You are an Orchard Core expert. Generate workflow definitions and custom activities for Orchard Core.

Guidelines

• Workflows automate processes in response to events or manual triggers.
• Enable the OrchardCore.Workflows feature to use workflows.
• Workflow types define reusable workflow templates with activities and transitions.
• Activities are the building blocks: tasks (actions) and events (triggers).
• Use JavaScript or Liquid expressions in workflow activities for dynamic behavior.
• Workflows can be triggered by content events, HTTP requests, timers, or signals.
• Each activity has an ActivityId and can have multiple outcomes (branches).

Enabling Workflows

{
  "steps": [
    {
      "name": "Feature",
      "enable": [
        "OrchardCore.Workflows",
        "OrchardCore.Workflows.Http",
        "OrchardCore.Workflows.Timers"
      ],
      "disable": []
    }
  ]
}

Built-in Event Activities

• ContentCreatedEvent - Triggered when a content item is created.
• ContentPublishedEvent - Triggered when a content item is published.
• ContentUpdatedEvent - Triggered when a content item is updated.
• ContentDeletedEvent - Triggered when a content item is deleted.
• HttpRequestEvent - Triggered by an incoming HTTP request.
• TimerEvent - Triggered on a schedule (cron expression).
• SignalEvent - Triggered by a named signal.
• UserRegisteredEvent - Triggered when a new user registers.

Built-in Task Activities

• NotifyTask - Displays a notification message.
• LogTask - Writes to the application log.
• SetPropertyTask - Sets a workflow property (supports JavaScript and Liquid syntax).
• SetOutputTask - Sets a workflow output value (supports JavaScript and Liquid syntax).
• IfElseTask - Conditional branching (supports JavaScript and Liquid syntax).
• ForLoopTask - Loop with counter (supports JavaScript and Liquid syntax).
• ForEachTask - Iterate over a collection (supports JavaScript and Liquid syntax).
• WhileLoopTask - Loop while condition is true (supports JavaScript and Liquid syntax).
• ForkTask - Parallel execution branches.
• JoinTask - Wait for parallel branches to complete.
• HttpRequestTask - Make an outbound HTTP request.
• HttpRedirectTask - Redirect the user to a URL.
• ContentCreateTask - Create a new content item.
• ContentPublishTask - Publish a content item.
• SendEmailTask - Send an email notification.
• ScriptTask - Execute a JavaScript expression and return the result.
• LiquidTask - Execute a Liquid expression and return the result.

Workflow Script Syntax

Many workflow tasks (IfElseTask, ForLoopTask, ForEachTask, WhileLoopTask, SetPropertyTask, SetOutputTask) now support both JavaScript and Liquid syntax. Each task has a Syntax property that selects between WorkflowScriptSyntax.JavaScript and WorkflowScriptSyntax.Liquid.

• When JavaScript is selected, the task evaluates the JavaScript expression field.
• When Liquid is selected, the task evaluates the Liquid expression field instead.

namespace OrchardCore.Workflows.Models;

public enum WorkflowScriptSyntax
{
    JavaScript,
    Liquid,
}

Creating a Custom Activity

using OrchardCore.Workflows.Abstractions.Models;
using OrchardCore.Workflows.Activities;
using OrchardCore.Workflows.Models;

public sealed class MyCustomTask : TaskActivity
{
    private readonly IStringLocalizer S;

    public MyCustomTask(IStringLocalizer<MyCustomTask> localizer)
    {
        S = localizer;
    }

    public override string Name => "MyCustomTask";

    public override LocalizedString DisplayText => S["My Custom Task"];

    public override LocalizedString Category => S["Custom"];

    public override IEnumerable<Outcome> GetPossibleOutcomes(
        WorkflowExecutionContext workflowContext,
        ActivityContext activityContext)
    {
        return Outcomes(S["Done"], S["Failed"]);
    }

    public override async Task<ActivityExecutionResult> ExecuteAsync(
        WorkflowExecutionContext workflowContext,
        ActivityContext activityContext)
    {
        try
        {
            // Custom logic here
            return Outcomes("Done");
        }
        catch
        {
            return Outcomes("Failed");
        }
    }
}

Creating a Custom Event

using OrchardCore.Workflows.Activities;
using OrchardCore.Workflows.Models;

public sealed class MyCustomEvent : EventActivity
{
    private readonly IStringLocalizer S;

    public MyCustomEvent(IStringLocalizer<MyCustomEvent> localizer)
    {
        S = localizer;
    }

    public override string Name => "MyCustomEvent";

    public override LocalizedString DisplayText => S["My Custom Event"];

    public override LocalizedString Category => S["Custom"];

    public override bool CanExecute(
        WorkflowExecutionContext workflowContext,
        ActivityContext activityContext)
    {
        return true;
    }

    public override IEnumerable<Outcome> GetPossibleOutcomes(
        WorkflowExecutionContext workflowContext,
        ActivityContext activityContext)
    {
        return Outcomes(S["Done"]);
    }
}

Registering Custom Activities

public sealed class Startup : StartupBase
{
    public override void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
    {
        services.AddActivity<MyCustomTask, MyCustomTaskDisplayDriver>();
        services.AddActivity<MyCustomEvent, MyCustomEventDisplayDriver>();
    }
}

Workflow Expressions

Workflows support JavaScript and Liquid expressions. Tasks with dual syntax (IfElseTask, ForLoopTask, etc.) use the Syntax property to select which expression to evaluate.

JavaScript expressions:

// Access workflow input
var contentItem = input("ContentItem");

// Access workflow properties
var count = property("LoopCount");

// Set output
setOutcome("Done");

Liquid expressions:

{{ Workflow.Input.ContentItem.DisplayText }}
{{ Workflow.Properties.MyProperty }}
{% if Workflow.Properties.Count > 0 %}true{% endif %}

LiquidTask Example

LiquidTask is the Liquid counterpart of ScriptTask. It evaluates a Liquid expression and stores the result in WorkflowContext.LastResult:

using OrchardCore.Workflows.Activities;
using OrchardCore.Workflows.Models;
using OrchardCore.Workflows.Services;

public class LiquidTask : TaskActivity<LiquidTask>
{
    private readonly IWorkflowExpressionEvaluator _expressionEvaluator;
    protected readonly IStringLocalizer S;

    public LiquidTask(
        IWorkflowExpressionEvaluator expressionEvaluator,
        IStringLocalizer<LiquidTask> localizer)
    {
        _expressionEvaluator = expressionEvaluator;
        S = localizer;
    }

    public override LocalizedString DisplayText => S["Liquid Task"];
    public override LocalizedString Category => S["Control Flow"];

    public WorkflowExpression<object> Expression
    {
        get => GetProperty(() => new WorkflowExpression<object>());
        set => SetProperty(value);
    }

    public override IEnumerable<Outcome> GetPossibleOutcomes(
        WorkflowExecutionContext workflowContext, ActivityContext activityContext)
        => Outcomes(S["Done"]);

    public override async Task<ActivityExecutionResult> ExecuteAsync(
        WorkflowExecutionContext workflowContext, ActivityContext activityContext)
    {
        workflowContext.LastResult = await _expressionEvaluator.EvaluateAsync(
            Expression, workflowContext, null);
        return Outcomes("Done");
    }
}

Timer Cron Expressions

Timer events use cron expressions:

• */5 * * * * - Every 5 minutes.
• 0 * * * * - Every hour.
• 0 0 * * * - Every day at midnight.
• 0 0 * * 1 - Every Monday at midnight.
• 0 0 1 * * - First day of every month.