Sevro — Open-source low-code backend

Build multi-step automation with visual workflows — trigger on record changes, webhooks, or schedules.

What are workflows?

Workflows are multi-step automations that run inside Sevro. A workflow is a directed graph of nodes — each node does something (call a method, evaluate CEL, make an HTTP request, send an email) and passes data to the next node.

Workflows are defined as part of a module, just like entities and methods. They are declarative configuration, not code.

When to use workflows

Send a notification when a record changes (e.g. email the customer when an invoice is marked paid)
Sync data to an external system via a REST connection (e.g. push new orders to an accounting API)
Run scheduled tasks (e.g. every night, check for stale records and update their status)
React to webhooks from external services (e.g. Stripe payment received → create a record)
Multi-step business processes (e.g. on approval, create a follow-up task, send an email, and update a status field)

Workflow structure

A workflow consists of:

Trigger — what starts the workflow (record event, webhook, schedule, or manual)
Nodes — the steps to execute. Each node has a type and configuration.
Edges — connections between nodes defining execution order.
Input — data passed into the workflow at runtime.

Node types

Node type	What it does
Method call	Execute a method on an entity (create, update, or custom method)
CEL expression	Evaluate a CEL expression and use the result
HTTP request	Call an external API via a REST connection
Send email	Send an email via an SMTP connection
Delay	Wait for a duration or until a specific time
Branch	If/else logic based on a CEL condition
Iterator	Loop over an array of items

Defining a workflow

Workflows are defined in module YAML files:

name: invoicing
entities:
  - ref: invoice
    # ... entity definition ...

workflows:
  - ref: notify-on-paid
    label: Notify on Paid
    trigger:
      type: record_event
      entity: invoice
      event: updated
      condition: "record.status == 'paid'"
    nodes:
      - id: send-email
        type: send_email
        connection: smtp-default
        config:
          to: "{{ record.customer_email }}"
          subject: "Invoice {{ record.id }} has been paid"
          body: "Your invoice has been marked as paid. Thank you!"

Executing workflows

Workflows can be executed:

Automatically — when the trigger condition is met
Manually — via the CLI or API

# Execute a workflow manually
sevro workflow execute \
  --module <module-id> \
  --workflow notify-on-paid \
  --input '{"record_id": "abc-123"}'

Workflow status

Check the status of a workflow execution:

sevro workflow status --execution-id <execution-id>

The response includes the status of each node, the overall output, and any errors.

Next steps

Triggers — full reference for trigger types and conditions
Connections — configure REST and SMTP connections
CEL expressions — write conditions and transformations
CLI reference — workflow commands

Workflows

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