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Workflow Engine by Optimajet ships as NuGet packages for .NET and npm packages for the designer UI. Install Workflow Engine Free in minutes, with no registration and no license key.
NuGet derives both compatibility paths from the current core package's .NET Standard 2.0 assets. Each build page covers its runtime specifics. If you want a standalone service instead of a library, that is Workflow Server.
.NET 5 through 10
NuGet reports compatibility with .NET 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 and .NET Core 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 3.0, and 3.1. The package ships .NET Standard 2.0 assets.
Workflow Engine for modern .NET.NET Framework 4.6.1 through 4.8.1
NuGet reports compatibility with .NET Framework 4.6.1 through 4.8.1 for the current core package. Use this build for an application that stays on the classic CLR.
Workflow Engine for .NET FrameworkStandalone server
Prefer a deployable service over a library? Workflow Server is a separate product with an HTTP API, admin console, and Docker image.
Compare with Workflow ServerThe engine is the core runtime package plus one database provider. Add both from NuGet, then follow the integration guide to register the runtime in your application.
# the runtime
dotnet add package WorkflowEngine.NETCore-Core --version 22.1.0
# plus one persistence provider, e.g. PostgreSQL
dotnet add package WorkflowEngine.NETCore-ProviderForPostgreSQL --version 22.1.0Six providers cover the supported databases. Every package links to its NuGet page.
| Database | NuGet package | Version | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|
| SQL Server, Azure SQL | WorkflowEngine.NETCore-ProviderForMSSQL | v22.1.0 | .NET Framework 4.6.2+ and all modern .NET |
| PostgreSQL | WorkflowEngine.NETCore-ProviderForPostgreSQL | v22.1.0 | .NET Framework 4.6.2+ and all modern .NET |
| MySQL | WorkflowEngine.NETCore-ProviderForMySQL | v22.1.0 | .NET Framework 4.6.2+ and all modern .NET |
| MongoDB, Azure Cosmos DB | WorkflowEngine.NETCore-ProviderForMongoDB | v22.1.0 | .NET Framework 4.6.2+ and all modern .NET |
| Oracle | WorkflowEngine.NETCore-ProviderForOracle | v22.1.0 | .NET Core 3.0 and later |
| SQLite | WorkflowEngine.NETCore-ProviderForSQLite | v22.1.0 | .NET 8 and laterFor evaluation. Not recommended for production use. |
Workflow Designer is a JavaScript component you embed in your web app. Three npm packages cover vanilla JavaScript, React, and Angular. Vue and Blazor work too, without a dedicated package: Vue loads the vanilla package, shown with a running sample on the JavaScript workflow designer page, React renders the wrapper component, shown with a running sample on the React workflow designer page, and Blazor embeds the designer through IJSRuntime interop, shown file by file on the Blazor workflow designer page. Integration details for every framework are on the workflow designer page.
Vanilla JavaScript
@optimajet/workflow-designerv22.1.0React
@optimajet/workflow-designer-reactv22.1.0Angular
@optimajet/workflow-designer-angularv22.1.0Licensed engine-source access is unavailable on Team and NEO Subscription. It is a one-year add-on on Complete, NEO Business and NEO SaaS, and included for one year with NEO Enterprise, under a commercial EULA. Evaluate through the NuGet packages and a trial key first.
You start with the same Core and database-provider packages whichever embedded product you choose. Workflow Engine Free needs no key. Workflow Engine and the separate Workflow Engine NEO product have their own editions and licenses. Add optional packages only for the Workflow Engine NEO capabilities you adopt.
Start here
Learning the engine, evaluation and proof-of-concept work within the documented usage limits, under a personal, non-commercial license. Commercial use, internal tools included, needs a paid product and edition.
Then
Production use past the Workflow Engine Free limits, without the capabilities of Workflow Engine NEO.
When you need it
Data API, RPC API, full multitenancy, or the Forms Plugin, all licensed since v19.
// Workflow Engine Free: nothing to register, the free feature set is active.
// Workflow Engine or Workflow Engine NEO: register the key before the runtime starts.
WorkflowRuntime.RegisterLicense("TRIAL-...");
// Workflow Engine HTTP API: if you install it, the same key goes into its options.
// Without a NEO key, Designer and health remain; Data, Search, and RPC stay disabled.
options.LicenseKey = "TRIAL-...";Workflow Engine Free, Workflow Engine, and Workflow Engine NEO use the same Core packages. Your schemes, the process data already in your database, and the C# you wrote around the runtime carry over untouched. Going from Workflow Engine Free to Workflow Engine is registering a key. For an existing application on the same product version, moving from Workflow Engine to Workflow Engine NEO requires only registering the Workflow Engine NEO license key. Add optional packages later as you adopt those capabilities. There is nothing to re-model and no scheme migration.
Never for Workflow Engine Free. Ask for a trial key when you want to test the paid feature set before buying, or when you need the Workflow Engine HTTP API, which does not start without a key. Trial keys carry a TRIAL- prefix, commercial keys carry your company name, and a key is bound to the machine it runs on.
What .NET teams ask before the first install: which packages they need, which product and edition they end up running, and what a move to a paid product costs them.
No. You can install all packages without a key, and Workflow Engine Free runs without registration. To evaluate the paid products, register a trial key; to run Workflow Engine or Workflow Engine NEO commercially, register the applicable commercial key.
Two. The core runtime package WorkflowEngine.NETCore-Core and one database provider package, for example WorkflowEngine.NETCore-ProviderForPostgreSQL. Six providers cover SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, MongoDB, and SQLite.
Yes. NuGet reports the current core package as compatible with .NET Framework 4.6.1 through 4.8.1. The package ships .NET Standard 2.0 assets. Database providers can target a narrower framework set, so use the NuGet link in the package table for the provider you choose.
No. All three embedded products use the same Core and database-provider packages. For an existing application on the same product version, moving from Workflow Engine to Workflow Engine NEO requires only registering the Workflow Engine NEO license key. Existing schemes and Workflow Runtime integration continue; add optional Workflow Engine NEO packages only as you adopt those capabilities.
No. Schemes, the process data already in your database, and your Workflow Runtime integration carry over unchanged. Moving to a paid product starts with registering its license key. For an existing application on the same product version, moving from Workflow Engine to Workflow Engine NEO requires only registering the Workflow Engine NEO license key; adopt Workflow Engine NEO capabilities gradually.
Licensed engine-source access is unavailable on Team and NEO Subscription, a one-year add-on on Complete, NEO Business and NEO SaaS, and included for one year with NEO Enterprise, under a commercial EULA. Day-to-day distribution is through the NuGet and npm packages.
Update the NuGet packages to the new version and read the release notes first. Major releases can include breaking changes and mandatory database migrations, as version 22.0.0 did.
Three steps take you from an empty project to an evaluated engine. Each step links the guide that walks you through it.
01Integrate
Register the runtime, connect your database, and start a first process. The integration guide covers every step with working C#.
02Explore
Embed Workflow Designer, build an approval flow, and browse the documentation for schemes, commands, timers, and plugins.
03Evaluate
Workflow Engine Free has usage limits. A trial key grants temporary access to the licensed product and edition you are evaluating.