---
title: NestJS
description: Set up your first durable workflow in a NestJS application.
type: guide
summary: Set up Workflow SDK in a NestJS app.
prerequisites:
  - /docs/getting-started
related:
  - /docs/foundations/workflows-and-steps
---

This guide will walk through setting up your first workflow in a NestJS app. Along the way, you'll learn more about the concepts that are fundamental to using the Workflow SDK in your own projects.

<Callout>
NestJS integration is experimental and not yet supported for deployment to Vercel.
</Callout>

---

<Steps>

<Step>
## Create Your NestJS Project

Start by creating a new NestJS project using the NestJS CLI.

```bash
npm i -g @nestjs/cli
nest new my-workflow-app
```

Enter the newly made directory:

```bash
cd my-workflow-app
```

### Install `workflow`

```package-install
npm i workflow @workflow/nest
```

### Choose Your Module Format

NestJS projects using `@workflow/nest` can compile as either ESM or CommonJS. Choose the setup that matches your SWC output instead of assuming ESM is required.

#### ESM (default)

Use this when your NestJS project is configured as an ES module app.

```json title="package.json" lineNumbers
{
  "name": "my-workflow-app",
  "type": "module"
}
```

<Callout>
When using ESM with NestJS, local imports must include the `.js` extension (e.g., `import { AppModule } from './app.module.js'`). This applies even though your source files are `.ts`.
</Callout>

#### CommonJS

Use this when your NestJS project compiles CommonJS via SWC.

```typescript title="src/app.module.ts" lineNumbers
import { Module } from '@nestjs/common';
import { WorkflowModule } from '@workflow/nest';

@Module({
  imports: [
    WorkflowModule.forRoot({
      moduleType: 'commonjs',
      distDir: 'dist',
    }),
  ],
})
export class AppModule {}
```

<Callout type="info">
`distDir` should match the directory where NestJS writes compiled `.js` files. In the default SWC setup, that is `dist`.
</Callout>

### Configure NestJS to use SWC

NestJS supports SWC as an alternative compiler for faster builds. The Workflow SDK uses an SWC plugin to transform workflow files.

Install the required SWC packages:

```package-install
npm i -D @swc/cli @swc/core
```

Ensure your `nest-cli.json` has SWC as the builder:

```json title="nest-cli.json" lineNumbers
{
  "$schema": "https://json.schemastore.org/nest-cli",
  "collection": "@nestjs/schematics",
  "sourceRoot": "src",
  "compilerOptions": {
    "builder": "swc",
    "deleteOutDir": true
  }
}
```

### Initialize SWC Configuration

Run the init command to generate the SWC configuration:

```bash
npx @workflow/nest init
```

This creates a `.swcrc` file configured with the Workflow SWC plugin for client-mode transformations.

<Callout>
Add `.swcrc` to your `.gitignore` as it contains machine-specific absolute paths that shouldn't be committed.
</Callout>

### Update `package.json`

Add scripts to regenerate the SWC configuration before builds:

```json title="package.json" lineNumbers
{
  "scripts": {
    "prebuild": "npx @workflow/nest init --force",
    "build": "nest build",
    "start:dev": "npx @workflow/nest init --force && nest start --watch"
  }
}
```

<Accordion type="single" collapsible>
  <AccordionItem value="typescript-intellisense" className="[&_h3]:my-0">
    <AccordionTrigger className="[&_p]:my-0 text-lg [&_p]:text-foreground">
      Setup IntelliSense for TypeScript (Optional)
    </AccordionTrigger>
    <AccordionContent className="[&_p]:my-2">
To enable helpful hints in your IDE, setup the workflow plugin in `tsconfig.json`:

```json title="tsconfig.json" lineNumbers
{
  "compilerOptions": {
    // ... rest of your TypeScript config
    "plugins": [
      {
        "name": "workflow" // [!code highlight]
      }
    ]
  }
}
```

    </AccordionContent>

  </AccordionItem>
</Accordion>

</Step>

<Step>

## Import the WorkflowModule

In your `app.module.ts`, import the `WorkflowModule` and keep the module format you chose above.

```typescript title="src/app.module.ts" lineNumbers
import { Module } from '@nestjs/common';
import { WorkflowModule } from '@workflow/nest';
import { AppController } from './app.controller.js';
import { AppService } from './app.service.js';

@Module({
  imports: [WorkflowModule.forRoot()], // [!code highlight]
  controllers: [AppController],
  providers: [AppService],
})
export class AppModule {}
```

<Callout type="info">
If you chose CommonJS above, keep the CommonJS options here as well:

{/* @skip-typecheck - config snippet, full import shown above */}
```typescript
WorkflowModule.forRoot({
  moduleType: 'commonjs',
  distDir: 'dist',
})
```

The `.js` local import specifiers in this example are the ESM form.
</Callout>

The `WorkflowModule` handles workflow bundle building and provides HTTP routing for workflow execution at `.well-known/workflow/v1/`.

</Step>

<Step>

## Create Your First Workflow

Create a new file for our first workflow in the `src/workflows` directory:

<Callout>
Workflow files must be inside the `src/` directory so they get compiled with the SWC plugin that enables the `start()` function to work correctly.
</Callout>

<Callout type="info">
If `start()` says it received an invalid workflow function, check both of these first:

1. The workflow function includes `"use workflow"`.
2. The workflow file lives inside `src/` so NestJS compiles it with the SWC plugin.

See [start-invalid-workflow-function](/docs/errors/start-invalid-workflow-function) for full examples and fixes.
</Callout>

```typescript title="src/workflows/user-signup.ts" lineNumbers
import { sleep } from "workflow";

export async function handleUserSignup(email: string) {
  "use workflow"; // [!code highlight]

  const user = await createUser(email);
  await sendWelcomeEmail(user);

  await sleep("5s"); // Pause for 5s - doesn't consume any resources
  await sendOnboardingEmail(user);

  return { userId: user.id, status: "onboarded" };
}
```

We'll fill in those functions next, but let's take a look at this code:

- We define a **workflow** function with the directive `"use workflow"`. Think of the workflow function as the _orchestrator_ of individual **steps**.
- The Workflow SDK's `sleep` function allows us to suspend execution of the workflow without using up any resources. A sleep can be a few seconds, hours, days, or even months long.

## Create Your Workflow Steps

Let's now define those missing functions.

```typescript title="src/workflows/user-signup.ts" lineNumbers
import { FatalError } from "workflow";

// Our workflow function defined earlier

async function createUser(email: string) {
  "use step"; // [!code highlight]

  console.log(`Creating user with email: ${email}`);

  // Full Node.js access - database calls, APIs, etc.
  return { id: crypto.randomUUID(), email };
}

async function sendWelcomeEmail(user: { id: string; email: string }) {
  "use step"; // [!code highlight]

  console.log(`Sending welcome email to user: ${user.id}`);

  if (Math.random() < 0.3) {
    // By default, steps will be retried for unhandled errors
    throw new Error("Retryable!");
  }
}

async function sendOnboardingEmail(user: { id: string; email: string }) {
  "use step"; // [!code highlight]

  if (!user.email.includes("@")) {
    // To skip retrying, throw a FatalError instead
    throw new FatalError("Invalid Email");
  }

  console.log(`Sending onboarding email to user: ${user.id}`);
}
```

Taking a look at this code:

- Business logic lives inside **steps**. When a step is invoked inside a **workflow**, it gets enqueued to run on a separate request while the workflow is suspended, just like `sleep`.
- If a step throws an error, like in `sendWelcomeEmail`, the step will automatically be retried until it succeeds (or hits the step's max retry count).
- Steps can throw a `FatalError` if an error is intentional and should not be retried.

<Callout>
  We'll dive deeper into workflows, steps, and other ways to suspend or handle
  events in [Foundations](/docs/foundations).
</Callout>

</Step>

<Step>

## Create Your Controller

To invoke your new workflow, update your controller with a new endpoint:

{/*@skip-typecheck - NestJS decorators require special TypeScript config*/}

```typescript title="src/app.controller.ts" lineNumbers
import { Body, Controller, Post } from '@nestjs/common';
import { start } from 'workflow/api';
import { handleUserSignup } from './workflows/user-signup.js';

@Controller()
export class AppController {
  @Post('signup')
  async signup(@Body() body: { email: string }) {
    await start(handleUserSignup, [body.email]);
    return { message: 'User signup workflow started' };
  }
}
```

<Callout type="info">
If you chose CommonJS above, use the same local import style as the rest of your NestJS app here too. The `.js` extension shown in this example is the ESM form.
</Callout>

This creates a `POST` endpoint at `/signup` that will trigger your workflow.

</Step>

<Step>

## Run in development

To start your development server, run the following command in your terminal:

```bash
npm run start:dev
```

Once your development server is running, you can trigger your workflow by running this command in the terminal:

```bash
curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"email":"hello@example.com"}' http://localhost:3000/signup
```

Check the NestJS development server logs to see your workflow execute as well as the steps that are being processed.

Additionally, you can use the [Workflow SDK CLI or Web UI](/docs/observability) to inspect your workflow runs and steps in detail.

```bash
# Open the observability Web UI
npx workflow web
# or if you prefer a terminal interface, use the CLI inspect command
npx workflow inspect runs
```

![Workflow SDK Web UI](/o11y-ui.png)

</Step>

</Steps>

---

## Configuration Options

The `WorkflowModule.forRoot()` method accepts optional configuration:

{/*@skip-typecheck - Configuration snippet, WorkflowModule not imported*/}

```typescript
WorkflowModule.forRoot({
  // Directory to scan for workflow files (default: ['src'])
  dirs: ['src'],

  // Output directory for generated bundles (default: '.nestjs/workflow')
  outDir: '.nestjs/workflow',

  // Skip building in production when bundles are pre-built
  skipBuild: false,

  // SWC module type: 'es6' (default) or 'commonjs'
  // Set to 'commonjs' if your NestJS project compiles to CJS via SWC
  moduleType: 'es6',

  // Directory where NestJS compiles .ts to .js (default: 'dist')
  // Only used when moduleType is 'commonjs'
  // Should match the outDir in your tsconfig.json
  distDir: 'dist',

  // Source maps on generated workflow bundles (default: 'inline').
  // Accepts the same values as esbuild's sourcemap option: true, false,
  // 'inline', 'linked', 'external', 'both'. Set to false for smaller
  // function bundles (useful for staying under the Vercel 250MB function
  // size limit) at the cost of stack traces pointing at generated code.
  // Can also be set via the WORKFLOW_SOURCEMAP environment variable.
  sourcemap: 'inline',
});
```

## Troubleshooting

### `start()` says it received an invalid workflow function

If you see this error:

```
'start' received an invalid workflow function. Ensure the Workflow Development Kit is configured correctly and the function includes a 'use workflow' directive.
```

Check both of these first:

1. The workflow function includes `"use workflow"`.
2. Your NestJS app imports and registers the `WorkflowModule`.

See [start-invalid-workflow-function](/docs/errors/start-invalid-workflow-function) for full examples and fixes.
## Next Steps

- Learn more about the [Foundations](/docs/foundations).
- Check [Errors](/docs/errors) if you encounter issues.
- Explore the [API Reference](/docs/api-reference).
