flow

README

flow is a workflow manager for developers who work across many projects. One interface for all your scripts, secrets, and automation — no matter the stack.

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Why Flow

Most projects come with their own Makefile, npm scripts, or shell scripts — each with different conventions, flags and undocumented quirks. AI-generated tools and side projects have made this worse. The real cost isn't running the scripts; it's remembering how everything works every time you switch contexts.

Flow sits above your projects, not inside them: one place to see, run, and compose everything — regardless of what's underneath.

Quick Start

# Install
curl -sSL https://install.flowexec.io | bash

# Add the examples workspace
flow workspace add examples https://github.com/flowexec/examples.git --set

# Explore all workflows in the TUI
flow browse

You'll have a real workspace with runnable examples immediately. No configuration needed.

See the full quickstart guide to define your own workflows.

Key Features

flow complements existing CLI tools by adding multi-project organization, built-in security, and visual discovery to your automation toolkit.

• Works across all your projects — Register any repo as a workspace; run its workflows from anywhere on your machine
• Find anything instantly — Browse, search, and filter all workflows across all projects from one TUI
• Secrets as first-class citizens — Encrypted local vaults with multiple backends; secrets inject at runtime, never hardcoded
• Any execution pattern — Serial, parallel, conditional, HTTP requests, interactive prompts, background jobs
• Reusable templates — Bootstrap new projects with flow-ready scaffolding from your own templates
• AI-native — MCP server lets Claude Code, Cursor, and other AI tools run your workflows directly

Example Workflows

# api.flow
executables:
  - verb: deploy
    name: staging
    serial:
      execs:
        - cmd: npm run build
        - cmd: docker build -t api:staging .
        - ref: shared-tools/k8s:deploy-staging
        - cmd: curl -f https://api-staging.example.com/health

  - verb: backup
    name: database
    exec:
      params:
        - secretRef: database-url
          envKey: DATABASE_URL
      cmd: pg_dump $DATABASE_URL > backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql

# Run workflows
flow deploy staging
flow backup database

# Visual discovery
flow browse

Documentation

Complete documentation at flowexec.io

• Installation - Multiple installation methods
• Quick Start - Get up and running in 5 minutes
• Core Concepts - Understand workspaces, executables, and vaults
• User Guides - Comprehensive guides for all features

Community

• Discord Community - Get help and share workflows
• Issue Tracker - Report bugs and request features
• Examples Repository - Real-world workflow patterns
• Contributing Guide - Help make flow better
• llms.txt - Documentation index for AI tools