Install
npm install workflowWho it's for
This skill fits people who want to write “durable” functions in TypeScript or JavaScript: the official text says it saves workflow progress, retries failed steps, and provides built-in observability. It also fits people already using Next.js who plan to wire the official wrapper into config.
It does not fit people who only want to start a workflow directly in the browser. The source limits the start location to API routes, Server Actions, or other server code. If you cannot run npm yet, or cannot accept a local package install, stop at reading the guide.
After the package is installed, a coding agent can read version-matched guides from node_modules/workflow/docs. The official repository is
https://github.com/vercel/workflow
Follow the commands already written on that page.
First try in 3 minutes
Take only the one install path the official text writes.
Prerequisite: this machine can run npm, and the current directory is a project that may receive new dependencies. Confirm first: npm install workflow will change the dependency list and download a package. If you do not want to change this project yet, do not run it.
Install location: open a terminal at the project root, confirm those side effects, then run:
npm install workflow
Low-risk task: after the package is installed, do not rush to start a workflow in a live route. First have the coding agent open node_modules/workflow/docs read-only, check that a local guide matching the current version is visible, and find the import Next.js should use. Do not write files and do not send outbound requests.
Success signal: the workflow package appears in project dependencies, node_modules/workflow/docs can be opened locally, and the agent can point to the official import import { withWorkflow } from 'workflow/next'. If the agent invents another install command, go back to the official command above and retry.
Use cases
Case 1: Attach the official wrapper to a Next.js project. The import the source gives is import { withWorkflow } from 'workflow/next'. This fits people who already have a Next.js project and want to check the config entry first. You can first have the agent mark the config file that should change, read-only, then write after confirmation. When the source does not expand a complete config object, stop at “use that import”; do not invent options that never appear.
Case 2: Start a durable workflow from the server. The source says you can then start a workflow from an API route, a Server Action, or other server code. This fits people who already installed the package and have one server entry. The first time, have the agent point to which existing server entry you will start from; do not create an unexplained client entry. Progress is persisted and failed steps retry; how many retries and how to open an observability panel are not written — do not invent them.
Boundaries
Only one official install command is written in the source: npm install workflow. Do not put an installer that never appears onto the main path. Capabilities cover persistence, failed-step retries, and built-in observability for TypeScript and JavaScript functions; they do not prove use in other languages.
The start location is only written as API routes, Server Actions, or other server code. Do not start directly from the browser or an unnamed client. The local docs path is node_modules/workflow/docs, for a coding agent to read version-matched guides; it does not give a client list, so do not treat this as exclusive to a few assistants.
Secrets, queue backends, and production observability accounts are not expanded. The official page is
https://github.com/vercel/workflow
If an agent suggests a command that does not match that page, that page wins.