Workflow rules — declarative record logic

ObjectStack no longer has a standalone Salesforce-style Workflow Rule authoring type. Use:

Flow for event-triggered or scheduled automation.
A state_machine validation rule for strict lifecycle transitions.
Approval nodes inside Flow for human approval pauses.

This page keeps the historical route but documents the current split.

Flow for automation

Use Flow when something should happen after a record event, schedule, button, or subflow call:

import type { Flow } from '@objectstack/spec/automation';

export const dealClosedWon: Flow = {
  name: 'deal_closed_won',
  label: 'Deal Closed Won',
  type: 'record_change',
  status: 'active',
  nodes: [
    {
      id: 'start',
      type: 'start',
      label: 'Start',
      config: {
        triggerType: 'record-after-update',
        objectName: 'opportunity',
        condition: "record.stage == 'closed_won' && previous.stage != 'closed_won'",
      },
    },
    { id: 'set_closed_date', type: 'update_record', label: 'Set Closed Date' },
    { id: 'notify_sales', type: 'notify', label: 'Notify Sales' },
    { id: 'end', type: 'end', label: 'End' },
  ],
  edges: [
    { id: 'e1', source: 'start', target: 'set_closed_date' },
    { id: 'e2', source: 'set_closed_date', target: 'notify_sales' },
    { id: 'e3', source: 'notify_sales', target: 'end' },
  ],
};

Flow node types are open-ended: the schema accepts built-in node ids and plugin-registered node ids. The live automation engine validates executors at registration/runtime.

State machines for lifecycle constraints

Use a state_machine validation rule when the core requirement is "this record can only move through these states." It is one of the object's validations: a flat table of each state's allowed next states, enforced by the write path (see State Machine).

import { ObjectSchema, Field } from '@objectstack/spec/data';

export const SupportCase = ObjectSchema.create({
  name: 'support_case',
  label: 'Support Case',
  sharingModel: 'private',
  fields: {
    status: Field.select({
      label: 'Status',
      required: true,
      options: [
        { label: 'New', value: 'new' },
        { label: 'Assigned', value: 'assigned' },
        { label: 'Escalated', value: 'escalated' },
        { label: 'Resolved', value: 'resolved' },
      ],
    }),
  },
  validations: [
    {
      type: 'state_machine',
      name: 'case_status_flow',
      field: 'status',
      events: ['update'],
      message: 'Invalid case status transition.',
      transitions: {
        new: ['assigned'],
        assigned: ['resolved', 'escalated'],
        escalated: ['resolved'],
        resolved: [],
      },
    },
  ],
});

The rule declares which transitions are legal. Use Flow nodes for side effects around those transitions when you need notifications, record updates, or external calls.

Approvals

Approvals are Flow nodes:

{
  id: 'manager_approval',
  type: 'approval',
  label: 'Manager Approval',
  config: {
    approvers: [{ type: 'field', value: 'owner_manager_id' }],
    behavior: 'unanimous',
    approvalStatusField: 'approval_status',
    lockRecord: true,
  },
}

The approvals plugin persists sys_approval_request and sys_approval_action, enforces record locks, mirrors the optional status field, and resumes the paused Flow after approve/reject.

Migration

Old concept	Current equivalent
Workflow Rule	Flow
Time trigger	Scheduled Flow
Field update action	`update_record` node
Email alert	`notify` node
HTTP call	`http` node
Approval Process	Flow with one or more `approval` nodes

If the old rule was "when X happens, do Y", model it as a small Flow. If the old rule was "this record must move through controlled states", model the lifecycle as a state machine and use Flow for side effects.

Workflow rules — declarative record logic

Flow for automation

State machines for lifecycle constraints

Approvals

Migration

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