Add a `--url` flag to `inspect`/`web` that prints a run's observability
dashboard deep link to stdout and exits — no browser, no local server —
so scripts and agents can share a link instead of opening a UI.
Fix the Vercel dashboard URL to the current
`…/workflows/runs/<id>?environment=<env>` route (drop the legacy
`/observability` segment) and respect `--env`. Apply the same route fix
to the e2e helpers, CI aggregation scripts, and the nextjs-turbopack
workbench. Document deep-linking in the workflow skill and observability
docs.
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
* Serialize run_failed/step_failed errors through serialization pipeline
Switch run_failed, step_failed, and step_retrying events to persist
the full thrown value via the workflow serialization pipeline (as
SerializedData / Uint8Array) instead of a lossy { message, stack, code }
StructuredError shape. Consumers hydrate via hydrateRunError /
hydrateStepError to reconstruct the original thrown value, preserving
Error subclass identity, cause chains, and custom properties.
- WorkflowRun.error and Step.error are now SerializedData
- WorkflowRun gains a top-level errorCode plaintext field
- WorkflowRunFailedError.cause is now the hydrated thrown value
- Adds world-postgres migration 0010_add_error_code.sql
- Legacy pre-pipeline errorJson records surface as undefined on read
* Update Next.js workbenches for new WorkflowRunFailedError.cause type
cause is now `unknown` (the hydrated thrown value) rather than
`Error & { code }`. Defensively extract Error-shaped fields when the
hydrated value is an Error, otherwise round-trip the raw value, and
expose the new `errorCode` classification field.
* Update docs for WorkflowRunFailedError.cause: unknown
The hydrated `cause` is now `unknown` (the original thrown value
through the serialization pipeline) and the error classification has
moved to the top-level `errorCode` property. Update the two affected
docs pages and the `TSDoc` interface to reflect the new shape, and
narrow `cause` with `instanceof Error` before accessing fields.
* Expand test coverage for the run/step error serialization pipeline
Unit tests:
- 19 new dehydrate/hydrate{Step,Run}Error round-trip tests covering
FatalError, plain Error, built-in Error subclasses, non-Error thrown
values (string, plain object), cause chains, encryption round-trip,
the binary format prefix contract, and the unserializable / unknown-
format error paths.
- 5 new tests for Run.returnValue when the run is failed: hydrated
FatalError + cause as cause, plain Error preservation, non-Error
thrown values surfaced verbatim, cross-class cause chains, and the
hydration-failure fallback that still surfaces errorCode.
E2E tests (new, in 99_e2e.ts + e2e.test.ts):
- Step throw → workflow catch round-trips a FatalError with a TypeError
cause chain, asserting class identity, fatal marker, and cause name +
message all survive the step_failed event pipeline.
- Workflow throw → run_failed reaches status with the new
top-level errorCode metadata exposed (cause-shape coverage lives at
the unit level, since the SWC plugin's class registration is not
invoked in the plain-Node e2e runner).
- Workflow throw of a non-Error value round-trips that value verbatim
as WorkflowRunFailedError.cause.
Adjustments to existing assertions:
- error.cause is now ; tests narrow with
and use the new top-level field instead of .
- step.error / run.error from CLI --withData are now hydrated payloads:
unregistered class instances surface as Instance refs whose
carries the original message + stack.
Observability hydration:
- hydrateStepIO / hydrateWorkflowIO in serialization-format.ts now
hydrate the field via hydrateData, so the CLI and web UI
continue to surface readable run/step error messages and stacks.
* Tighten error serialization changeset description
* Trim error serialization changeset to a single sentence
* Resolve FatalError/RetryableError revivers via cross-realm registry
When a workflow runs in a Node `vm` context, its bundled
`@workflow/errors` is a different module instance than the host's
import (separate prototype chains, separate class identity). Calling
`new FatalError(...)` from the host-side reviver produces a
host-realm instance that fails `err instanceof FatalError` checks
in the workflow code — even when the serialized payload was correctly
tagged via the dedicated `FatalError` reducer.
Surfaced by the local-prod e2e "step throw round-trips FatalError"
test on Next.js Turbopack: each route gets its own bundled chunk, so
the flow handler's `@workflow/errors` and the workflow VM bundle's
`@workflow/errors` are two distinct copies of the same module.
Fix:
- Each bundled copy of `@workflow/errors` self-registers its
`FatalError` and `RetryableError` classes on `globalThis` via
`Symbol.for("@workflow/errors//FatalError")` /
`Symbol.for("@workflow/errors//RetryableError")`. First load wins
per realm; the descriptor is non-writable / non-configurable to make
accidental clobbering loud.
- The revivers in `@workflow/core`'s common reducers module read the
consumer's `globalThis` (passed in as `global`) to pick up the
realm-local class, falling back to the host-imported class when no
registration is present (e.g. in the CLI / test runner).
* Use `types.isNativeError` to remap workflow stacks across VM realms
The runtime's run-failure path computes a source-map-remapped stack
and then assigns it back onto the thrown value via `if (err
instanceof Error) err.stack = errorStack`. Workflows run inside a
Node `vm` context, so a workflow-thrown error is an instance of the
VM realm's `Error` — `instanceof` against the host realm's
`Error` returns `false`, the assignment is skipped, and the
serialized `run_failed` event carries the un-remapped (bundled-line-
number) stack instead of the source-mapped one.
Switch the gate to `types.isNativeError`, which uses V8's internal
type tag and works across realms — same approach already in place
for the serialization reducers.
Caught by the local-prod e2e "nested function calls preserve message
and stack trace" and "cross-file imports preserve message and stack
trace" tests, which assert that the persisted run-error stack
contains `99_e2e.ts` / `helpers.ts`.
* Sync CLI revivers with core + add toJSON shim for Error subclasses
Two issues with the CLI's hand-rolled reviver list:
1. It hadn't been updated for the new first-class Error subclass
reducers (`TypeError`, `RangeError`, `FatalError`, `RetryableError`,
etc.). devalue throws "Unknown type X" when it encounters a
reduced value with no matching reviver, and `hydrateResourceIO`
swallows that error and surfaces the raw `Uint8Array` payload —
so `step.error` / `run.error` showed up as raw byte dumps in
`workflow inspect` output.
2. Even with all the right revivers, `Error.prototype`'s `message`
/ `stack` / `cause` are non-enumerable, so `JSON.stringify`
(used by `workflow inspect --json`) drops them — leaving the
subclass-specific enumerable fields (e.g. `FatalError.fatal`)
visible but the actual error data missing.
Fix:
- Build the CLI reviver set on top of `getCommonRevivers()` from
`@workflow/core` so the CLI stays in sync with the runtime's
reducer set automatically. New core reducers/revivers will Just
Work without any CLI-side change.
- Wrap each Error reviver from the common set with a thin shim that
attaches a non-enumerable `toJSON` method to the produced
`Error` instance. `JSON.stringify` calls `toJSON` and gets a
full object (`name` + `message` + `stack` + `cause` + any
enumerable subclass fields like `fatal` / `retryAfter` /
`errors`); `util.inspect` ignores `toJSON` and renders the
canonical `Error: msg\\n at ...` format. Best of both worlds for
CLI output without compromising the runtime hydration path.
Caught by the local-prod e2e "basic step error preserves" and
"cross-file step error preserves" tests, which read
`failedStep.error.message` / `.stack` from the CLI's JSON output.
* Clarify parseErrorJson JSDoc to match its always-null return
The previous JSDoc described preserving legacy values "for best-effort
hydration" which contradicted the implementation, where legacy errors
are intentionally surfaced as absent (the pre-pipeline shapes can't be
hydrated by the new error revivers). Rewrite the comment so the contract
matches behavior. Also rename the now-unused parameter to `_errorJson`
to reflect that the function ignores it.
Caught by a code review on #1851.
* Refine error-handler ergonomics on the step / run hot paths
Three review-driven adjustments that all touch the queue handlers and
their interaction with the error serialization pipeline:
1. Memoize the per-run encryption key fetch. The step handler used to
eagerly fetch + import the key at the top of every step delivery so
the value would be in scope for every potential dehydrateStepError
path. That pessimized step-started early-return cases (the fetch
happens unconditionally even when the step never reaches user code)
and required duplicating the same boilerplate at four call sites in
runtime.ts. Introduce `memoizeEncryptionKey(world, run)` in
runtime/helpers.ts that returns a lazy, single-fetch accessor;
step-handler / runtime call sites use `await getEncryptionKey()`
instead. The first caller pays the fetch cost, subsequent callers
await the cached promise, and steps that fail before any
encryption-aware work happens skip the fetch entirely.
2. Preserve the prior attempt's serialized error as the cause on the
defensive max-retries-exceeded `step_failed` re-invocation guard.
The existing comment explicitly opted out of cause attachment, but
the symmetric post-failure path below already does this and the
reviewer is right that consumers shouldn't have to walk the
step_retrying event history to recover the underlying error. Best-
effort: if hydration of the prior `step.error` throws, fall back
to a FatalError without cause rather than letting the event write
itself fail.
3. Document the intentional `unflatten` throw in
`hydrateStepError` / `hydrateRunError` for non-Uint8Array input.
SDK version is pinned per workflow run via skew protection so the
non-binary branch is dead in production; if a misshapen value
reaches it, surfacing the throw via the surrounding o11y try/catch
is more debuggable than masking it. Add a comment so future
reviewers don't reach for a defensive fallback.
A standalone `falls back to plaintext` suggestion on the run_failed
key fetch was rejected: when encryption is configured we should fail
loudly rather than silently emit plaintext error data. The queue's
redelivery semantics will retry the key fetch; persistent KMS outages
get logged with the existing "persistent error preventing the run from
being terminated" message rather than a security regression.
* Hydrate `event.eventData.error` in event listings
`hydrateEventData` enumerated the per-event fields that need
hydration (`result`, `input`, `output`, `metadata`, `payload`)
but omitted the new `error` field on `step_failed`,
`step_retrying`, and `run_failed` events. Without this branch,
o11y tools that list events (e.g. `workflow inspect events`) surface
the raw `Uint8Array` payload instead of a hydrated
`{ name, message, stack, … }` object even though the entity-level
`Run.error` / `Step.error` paths already hydrate.
Mirrors the existing per-field branches; the `try/catch` leaves the
field un-hydrated on parse failure rather than failing the whole
event view. Adds a unit test.
* Use `.is()` static checks in `classifyRunError` for cross-realm safety
Workflows execute inside a separate `vm` realm: the
`WorkflowRuntimeError` class bundled into the workflow code and the
host-imported one are distinct constructors, so an
`err instanceof WorkflowRuntimeError` check on a VM-thrown error
returns `false` and we'd misclassify genuine runtime errors (corrupted
event log, missing timestamps, workflow/step not registered) as user
errors.
Switch to each subclass's `.is()` static (a name-based duck check that
works across realms). Since `WorkflowRuntimeError.is` only matches its
own concrete name, enumerate every concrete subclass we want to
recognize (`StepNotRegisteredError`, `WorkflowNotRegisteredError`)
in a `RUNTIME_ERROR_CHECKS` table; keep that table in sync with the
class hierarchy in `@workflow/errors`.
Existing `classify-error.test.ts` already covers `WorkflowRuntimeError`
and `WorkflowNotRegisteredError` cases — both still pass.
* Add e2e coverage for step throws of non-Error values
We had `errorWorkflowThrowNonErrorValue` (workflow body throws a plain
object — round-trips verbatim as `WorkflowRunFailedError.cause`) but
no symmetric coverage for the step-throw side. Step-throw goes through
a different code path: non-Error values aren't recognized as
`FatalError` (no `name === 'FatalError'`) nor `RetryableError`,
so they take the transient retry path. After max retries the runtime
wraps the original thrown value as `cause` on a fresh `FatalError`
which the workflow's catch block then sees.
Add a workflow that throws a recognizable plain object from a step
with `maxRetries = 0` (so we exhaust on first attempt and avoid a
long test wait) and a workflow that asserts the wrapped FatalError
shape: `isFatal`, `instanceof FatalError`, message includes the
original object's serialized form, `cause` is the original non-Error
object verbatim with structure preserved.
Documents the current retry-then-wrap behavior so any future change
to "non-Error throws skip retries" semantics has to update the test.
* Note legacy postgres error-data loss in the run/step error changeset
Pre-upgrade failed runs that wrote into world-postgres's deprecated
`error` text column can't be hydrated through the new pipeline (the
shape is incompatible with the new revivers). The new runtime
intentionally surfaces them as `error: undefined` on read; the
original payload is still readable directly from the `errorJson`
column for manual inspection. Add a one-sentence note to the
changeset's migration text so consumers upgrading don't get blindsided
by suddenly-empty error fields on historical runs.
* refactor(swc-plugin): remove client transform mode, merge into step mode
Remove the `client` transform mode from the SWC compiler plugin. The
`client` and `step` modes were nearly identical — both preserved step
function bodies, replaced workflow bodies with throw stubs, and emitted
the same JSON manifest. Step mode now absorbs all client-mode behaviors:
- Dead code elimination (previously only workflow + client)
- Hoisted variable references for object property steps
- All integrations use mode: 'step' instead of 'client'
BREAKING CHANGE: The `client` value for the SWC plugin `mode` option is
no longer accepted. Use `step` instead.
* fix(nitro): force-inline workflow packages in dev mode for serde classId registration
In dev mode, Nitro's Rollup externalizes npm packages like @workflow/core,
so the SWC transform plugin never processes files like run.js. This means
serde classes (e.g. Run) never get the classId registration IIFE, causing
serialization failures when step functions return Run instances.
Uses a Rollup resolveId hook to force workflow SDK packages to be bundled
(non-external) while leaving all other dependencies external. This is more
targeted than noExternals=true which bundles everything and causes TDZ
errors from circular imports in packages like vue-bundle-renderer/h3.
The Nitro module now also ignores .nitro/workflow/** in watchOptions so
writing generated workflow bundles does not retrigger Nitro's own dev
bundle rebuild loop.
Also wraps dev:reload workflow rebuilds and makes LocalBuilder.build()
atomic (writes to temp files, renames on success) to avoid partial output
state during HMR.
For Nuxt, also configures Vite's ssr.noExternal to bundle workflow
packages in the SSR context.
* fix(nitro,nuxt): address review feedback on dev-mode classId fix
- nitro builders: use crypto.randomUUID() for temp file suffix instead of
Date.now() to avoid collisions under rapid/concurrent build() calls,
and serialize concurrent build() calls through an internal queue so
two overlapping dev rebuilds cannot clobber each other's temp outputs.
- nitro index: use fileURLToPath() to convert file:// URLs to filesystem
paths, which correctly handles Windows paths (file:///C:/... -> C:\...)
and percent-decoding, instead of relying on new URL(...).pathname.
- nuxt module: normalize vite.ssr.noExternal to an array (preserving any
existing string/RegExp/array entry) before appending workflow package
matchers, so the force-bundle behavior is not a no-op when noExternal
is already set to a non-array value.
* [docs] Rename workflowdevkit references to workflowsdk
* [docs] Rename useworkflow.dev to workflow-sdk.dev
* [chore] Add changeset for domain rename
* [docs] Revert sitemap rewrite to useworkflow.dev (crawled-sitemap not yet available for new domain)
* feat: add clickable Run reference rendering in observability UI
When a serialized Run object appears in step input/output data, it is
now rendered as a clickable purple badge showing the runId. Clicking
navigates to the target run's detail page.
Changes:
- serialization-format.ts: Add RunRef type, isRunRef(), serializedRunToRunRef(),
and 'Run' entry in observabilityRevivers
- data-inspector.tsx: Add RunRefInline component (purple badge), RunClickContext,
collapseRefs() to make refs non-expandable in ObjectInspector
- attribute-panel.tsx: Thread onRunClick prop, wrap in RunClickContext.Provider
- entity-detail-panel.tsx: Thread onRunClick prop
- run-trace-view.tsx: Thread onRunClick prop
- workflow-trace-view.tsx: Thread onRunClick prop, reset selected span on run change
- trace-span-construction.ts: Show step name for builtin steps instead of empty string
- hydration.ts: Re-export RunRef types
- run-detail-view.tsx: Add handleRunRefClick that navigates to /run/{targetRunId}
* fix: guard collapseRefs against class instances and memoize result
Only recurse into plain objects (prototype is Object.prototype or null)
to avoid stripping class instances like Date, Error, Map, etc. that
have their own rendering in NodeRenderer. Also memoize the collapsed
result to avoid recomputing on every render.
* fix: detect Run instances in Instance reviver instead of fake Run serde key
The Run class goes through the standard Instance serialization pipeline
(WORKFLOW_SERIALIZE/WORKFLOW_DESERIALIZE), not a dedicated 'Run' key.
Move the RunRef detection into serializedInstanceToRef() which checks
if the className is 'Run' and the data contains a runId string, then
returns a RunRef instead of a generic ClassInstanceRef.
* fix: use serializedInstanceToRef in web and CLI Instance revivers
Both the web and CLI hydration layers override the observabilityRevivers
Instance handler with their own implementation (for react-inspector
named constructors and CLI inspect.custom respectively), bypassing the
RunRef detection in serializedInstanceToRef. Fix by calling
serializedInstanceToRef first and returning a RunRef when detected.
The previous pre-release versions (4.x.y-beta.N) caused two issues:
- semver.inc('4.0.0-beta.N', 'major') returns 4.0.0, not 5.0.0
- Pre-release numbers carried over (beta.61 -> beta.62 instead of beta.0)
Setting all versions to 4.0.0 (non-pre-release) ensures a clean major
bump to 5.0.0-beta.0. Also removes @workflow/swc-playground-wasm from
the changeset and pre.json since it is a private package.
* feat: export semantic error types and add API reference documentation
Add missing error exports (HookNotFoundError, EntityConflictError,
RunExpiredError, TooEarlyError, ThrottleError, RunNotSupportedError,
WorkflowWorldError) to workflow/internal/errors. Create new error
classes for world-level semantics. Tighten TSDoc comments on all
error classes. Add API reference docs for all error types.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
* fix: use @setup declarations, workflow/errors import, and errors/ doc section
- Replace @skip-typecheck with proper `declare` + `// @setup` lines
so code samples are typechecked but setup lines hidden from readers
- Add `workflow/errors` export to package.json (public API, replaces
`workflow/internal/errors` in docs)
- Add `workflow/errors` path mapping in docs-typecheck type-checker
- Add HookConflictError to re-export list
- Move all error docs under api-reference/workflow/errors/ subdirectory
- Update all internal cross-references and links
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
* refactor: move error docs to top-level workflow-errors section
- Move semantic error docs to api-reference/workflow-errors/ (matching
the workflow/errors import path, like workflow-api for workflow/api)
- Keep FatalError and RetryableError in api-reference/workflow/ since
they're imported from workflow, not workflow/errors
- Fix all cross-reference links
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
* chore: update HTTP debug logger JSDoc to clarify scope
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
* fix: make TooEarlyError.retryAfter a number (seconds) matching WorkflowWorldError
TooEarlyError.retryAfter is now seconds (number) instead of a Date,
consistent with ThrottleError and WorkflowWorldError. The conversion
from seconds to Date is done at the consumer site (step-handler) rather
than at construction time.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
* fix: address review feedback on docs accuracy
- WorkflowWorldError docs: add status, code, url, retryAfter properties
to TSDoc; clarify that .is() only matches direct instances (not
subclasses); use instanceof in catch-all example
- TooEarlyError/ThrottleError docs: mark retryAfter as optional (?)
to match actual type definitions
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
---------
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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