phoenix_demo

Durable Phoenix Demo

A sample Phoenix LiveView application demonstrating the Durable workflow engine with human-in-the-loop approval capabilities.

Features

• Document Processing Workflow: A multi-step workflow that validates, parses, and transforms documents
• Human-in-the-Loop: Workflow pauses and waits for manager approval before proceeding
• Real-time Updates: LiveView pages update in real-time as workflows progress
• Dashboard: Monitor all workflow executions with status tracking
• Approval Queue: Review and approve/reject pending workflow approvals

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Elixir 1.15+
• PostgreSQL 13+

Setup

1. Start the database (using Docker):

   cd examples/phoenix_demo
   docker-compose up -d

   This starts PostgreSQL on port 53412.

2. Install dependencies:

   mix deps.get

3. Create and migrate the database:

   mix ecto.create
   mix ecto.migrate

4. Start the server:

   mix phx.server

5. Open in browser:

   Navigate to http://localhost:4005 (the dashboard is mounted at http://localhost:4005/dashboard)

Stopping the Database

docker-compose down

To also remove the data volume:

docker-compose down -v

Usage

Creating a Workflow

1. Click "New Workflow" in the navigation
2. Enter a filename (e.g., report.pdf, data.csv)
3. Click "Start Workflow"

Workflow Steps

The document processing workflow goes through these steps:

1. Validate Document - Checks the file extension is valid
2. Parse Content - Extracts simulated content from the document
3. Request Approval - Pauses and waits for human approval
4. Transform Data - Processes the approved data
5. Generate Report - Creates the final report

Approving Workflows

1. Navigate to "Approvals" in the navigation
2. You'll see pending approval requests
3. Click "Review" to see document details
4. Click "Approve" or "Reject"

When approved, the workflow resumes and completes. When rejected, it handles the rejection gracefully.

Architecture

Workflow Definition

defmodule PhoenixDemo.Workflows.DocumentWorkflow do
  use Durable
  use Durable.Helpers
  use Durable.Context
  use Durable.Wait

  workflow "process_document", timeout: hours(24) do
    step :validate_document do
      # Validate document format
    end

    step :parse_content do
      # Extract content from document
    end

    step :request_approval do
      # Wait for human approval
      wait_for_approval("document_approval",
        prompt: "Please review the extracted document data"
      )
    end

    decision :check_approval do
      # Route based on approval response
    end

    step :transform_data do
      # Transform approved data
    end

    step :generate_report do
      # Generate final report
    end

    step :handle_rejection do
      # Handle rejection case
    end
  end
end

Key Components

• WorkflowLive: Dashboard showing all workflow executions
• DocumentLive: Form to create new document workflows
• ApprovalLive: Queue for pending human approvals
• WorkflowDetailLive: Detailed view of a single workflow

Database Tables

Durable creates these tables in the durable schema:

• durable.workflow_executions - Workflow instances
• durable.step_executions - Step execution history
• durable.pending_inputs - Human input requests

Development

Compiling

mix compile

Running Tests

mix test

Code Style

mix format

Learn More

• Durable Documentation
• Phoenix LiveView
• Ecto