Evaluate Workflow Engine
Workflow Engine is an embeddable .NET library that adds workflow automation, business process approvals, document routing, task assignment, to any .NET application. It runs inside your process as a NuGet package; there is no separate server to manage. WorkflowRuntime persists all process state to your existing database. This page covers features, architecture, deployment modes, and how to evaluate the product.
How does Workflow Engine work?
WorkflowRuntime is the central object, it manages process state, evaluates rules, fires timers, and runs actions. You define a process as a scheme (XML or via the Workflow Designer), and WorkflowRuntime executes it.
Workflow Engine runs inside your ASP.NET Core or .NET application as a library. You can call WorkflowRuntime methods directly from C# code, or attach the separate Workflow Engine Web API package to publish Workflow Engine HTTP API endpoints. When attached to classic Workflow Engine, the package provides Designer API and Health Check API endpoints; the Data API and RPC API are Workflow Engine NEO capabilities enabled by the applicable License. WorkflowRuntime persists all state to your existing database through a swappable persistence provider (SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, or MongoDB).
The Designer is a frontend component that embeds in your application (React, Angular, Blazor, or vanilla JS). End users create and modify workflow schemes through the Designer without touching code.
Workflow Engine runs in single-server mode by default, with no coordination overhead. Multi-server mode distributes process execution across multiple application instances that share the same database and requires an Edition of Workflow Engine or Workflow Engine NEO that includes clustering. Both modes use WorkflowRuntime as an in-process library inside each application instance.
Multitenancy: serve multiple customers from one deployment
Workflow Engine NEO supports multitenancy when the selected Edition and License enable it. Full hybrid multitenancy includes physical tenancy, which gives each tenant a dedicated database or database schema, and logical tenancy, which stores multiple tenants in the same database and schema with TenantId-column filtering. Hybrid tenancy combines both storage models in one deployment. Multitenant deployments can use single-server or multi-server mode when the selected Edition also includes that deployment mode. See the Multitenancy feature page for setup code and details.
Tested and stable: 10+ years of backward-compatible releases
Workflow Engine has shipped production releases for over 10 years with guaranteed backward compatibility across major versions. Schemes written for an earlier version continue to run on current releases without schema migration or code changes.
For teams building long-lived systems, backward compatibility reduces upgrade friction. A major version upgrade does not require rewriting process definitions or migrating the persistence schema. The guarantee covers the full version history - schemes from early versions run on the current release unchanged.
Who is this for?
- Developer or tech lead - start with Features, then Why Not Build Your Own.
- CEO or CTO - start with Features, then Editions.
- Product Manager - read Features and Editions in parallel with your technical team.
Try it free
Get a 30-day trial key at trial.workflowengine.io - no credit card required. The trial key unlocks all features for evaluation. See the License Key page for details.
Start using Workflow Engine
Install Workflow Engine via NuGet and run your first process instance in 15 minutes. Workflow Engine Free is a Product without Editions for personal, non-commercial use. It requires no license key and is suitable for evaluation, proof-of-concept work, and learning.
For commercial use, compare the Workflow Engine Editions before you request a commercial license. Capabilities, usage limits, deployment modes, and License terms depend on the selected Product and Edition.
See also
Workflow Engine Features
Browse every feature with a one-sentence description of what it does.
Workflow Engine Editions
Compare capabilities and License models by Product and Edition.
Multitenancy
See how Workflow Engine NEO serves multiple customers or business units from one deployment with data isolation.
Frequently asked questions
What is Workflow Engine?
Workflow Engine is an embeddable .NET library that adds workflow automation, approvals, document routing, task assignment, to any .NET application. It runs inside your process as a NuGet package; WorkflowRuntime manages all process state, rules, timers, and actions, and persists everything to your existing database.
Does Workflow Engine require a separate server to run?
No. Workflow Engine runs inside your ASP.NET Core or .NET application as a library. There is no external service, no agent process, and no sidecar. You initialize WorkflowRuntime once at startup, register it with your DI container, and call its methods directly from C#.
What databases does Workflow Engine support?
Workflow Engine ships persistence providers for SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, and MongoDB. You select a provider at startup by registering the matching NuGet package, for example, WorkflowEngine.NETCore-ProviderForMSSQL for SQL Server or WorkflowEngine.NETCore-ProviderForPostgreSQL for PostgreSQL.
What is the difference between Workflow Engine Free and the commercial Editions?
Workflow Engine Free is a Product without Editions for personal, non-commercial use, and it requires no license key. Workflow Engine Team and Workflow Engine Complete are Editions of Workflow Engine; Workflow Engine NEO Subscription, Workflow Engine NEO Business, Workflow Engine NEO SaaS, and Workflow Engine NEO Enterprise are Editions of Workflow Engine NEO. Capabilities, limits, and License terms differ; see Workflow Engine Editions for a detailed comparison.
Is Workflow Engine backward compatible across major versions?
Yes. Workflow Engine guarantees backward compatibility across major versions. Schemes and persistence data from earlier versions continue to work on current releases without migration scripts or code changes.