Blog

Articles & Guides

Tips, tutorials, and updates about Symfony workflows and SymFlowBuilder.

15 days ago
laravelpetri-netstutorialshowcase

When status = 'pending' Stops Being Enough — Laravel + Petri Nets in Three Real Apps

Why every Laravel app eventually outgrows the status enum, and what a real workflow engine looks like underneath. Three runnable demos built on symflow-laravel — parallel reviewers, parallel code+QA review, and three concurrent lifecycles on one model — each with a live SymFlowBuilder embed mirroring the host's marking.

16 days ago
showcaselaravelsymflow-laravelpetri-net

Two Runnable symflow-laravel Showcases: Expense Approval and Issue Tracker

Two open-source Laravel apps that put symflow-laravel through its paces — Petri-net AND-splits and AND-joins, role-based guards, audit middleware, live Mermaid diagrams, and a one-click round-trip back to the SymFlowBuilder canvas.

16 days ago
featureembedmarkinglaravel

Embed Your Workflow's Live State with One Query Param

The /embed iframe now accepts ?marking=place_a,place_b and lights up the active places in real time. Drop the canvas into your Symfony or Laravel app, push your domain object's marking on every render, and the embed mirrors live state — no JS, no postMessage, no polling.

17 days ago
tutorialsimulatorscenariosarticlewalkthrough

Walkthrough: Building the 'Publishing an Article' Scenario from Scratch

A step-by-step walkthrough of designing a playable workflow scenario in SymFlowBuilder — from drawing places and transitions, to writing patches, to attaching mock API calls, to embedding the result in your docs.

17 days ago
featuresimulatorscenariosmock-http

Playable Scenarios: Walk Through a Workflow Like You're Publishing an Article

The simulator now carries a real subject — an article, an order, a document — through your workflow. Each transition can mutate the subject and show a mock API request. Click through it like an n8n run.

19 days ago
featureshareembedmermaiddocumentation

Embed SymFlowBuilder Workflows in Any README, Doc, or Wiki

Two new ways to put a live workflow next to the code it describes: a one-click Mermaid block for GitHub READMEs, and an iframe embed for docs sites that want pan, zoom, and minimap.

23 days ago
featureeditorpetri-net

Weighted Arcs: Advanced Petri Net Modeling in SymFlowBuilder

Configure consume and produce weights on transitions for advanced Petri net workflows. Weights display on the canvas and export to all formats automatically.

23 days ago
featureexportgraphviz

Export Workflows as Graphviz DOT Diagrams

SymFlowBuilder now exports Graphviz DOT notation. Generate publication-quality workflow diagrams for documentation, presentations, and CI pipelines.

23 days ago
featurelaravelexport

Design Workflows Visually, Run Them in Laravel with symflow-laravel

SymFlowBuilder now exports symflow-laravel compatible PHP config files. Design your workflow on a canvas, click Export, and drop the file into your Laravel project.

27 days ago
featureimport

Import Workflows from Any URL — YAML and JSON

Paste a GitHub raw URL, a Gist link, or any public YAML/JSON endpoint and SymFlowBuilder imports it instantly. No download, no copy-paste.

27 days ago
announcementsymfonyworkfloweditor

SymFlowBuilder: Design Symfony Workflows Visually, Export Production-Ready YAML

A visual editor, a working simulator, and a standalone TypeScript engine — all for the state machines powering your Symfony apps. Here is what SymFlowBuilder is, why we built it, and how to try it.

27 days ago
featureannouncementmermaidcomposition

Mermaid Diagram Export and Workflow Composition

Export your workflows as Mermaid stateDiagram-v2 diagrams for documentation, and compose complex systems by nesting sub-workflows inside a parent workflow.

28 days ago
announcementenginenodejs

Introducing symflow: A Symfony-Compatible Workflow Engine for Node.js

We built a TypeScript workflow engine that mirrors Symfony's Workflow component. Use it in any Node.js app to manage state machines, Petri nets, guards, and events — no PHP required.

29 days ago
featuresimulatorguards

Testing Guards and Watching Events Fire

The simulator now lets you toggle guards on and off to test different workflow paths. See which Symfony events fire at each step.

about 1 month ago
featuresimulator

Introducing the Workflow Simulator

Step through your Symfony workflows visually. See active states glow, click transitions to advance, and use auto-play to watch the full flow unfold.

about 1 month ago
guidepatterns

AND vs OR Patterns: How Symfony Workflows Really Work

Understand the difference between AND-split (parallel forks), AND-join (synchronization), and OR (exclusive choice) in Symfony workflows.

about 1 month ago
guidesymfony

Getting Started with Symfony Workflows

A beginner-friendly introduction to the Symfony Workflow component. Learn about places, transitions, marking stores, and how to design your first state machine.

about 1 month ago
guidesymfony

State Machine vs Workflow: When to Use Which

Symfony offers two types: workflow (Petri net, multiple active places) and state_machine (single active place). Here is when to choose each one.

about 2 months ago
tutorialyaml

Exporting Production-Ready YAML with SymFlowBuilder

Learn how SymFlowBuilder generates valid Symfony workflow YAML with proper null handling, flow arrays, guards, metadata, and version-specific output.