Motia Workflow Engine

Overview

Motia is an event-driven workflow orchestration engine that coordinates complex geospatial processing pipelines. It manages the execution of multi-step workflows, handles dependencies between processing steps, and provides monitoring and error recovery capabilities.

Technology Stack

Framework: Motia workflow framework
Runtime: Node.js with event-driven architecture
Communication: Event streams and message queues
State Management: In-memory state with persistence options
Monitoring: Built-in metrics and logging

Key Features

Workflow Orchestration

Event-Driven: React to events from various sources
Step Dependencies: Define complex dependency chains
Parallel Execution: Run independent steps concurrently
Error Recovery: Automatic retry and compensation logic

Pipeline Management

Dynamic Workflows: Modify workflows at runtime
Step Reusability: Share processing steps across workflows
Parameter Passing: Pass data between workflow steps
Conditional Logic: Branch workflows based on conditions

Monitoring & Observability

Execution Tracking: Real-time workflow progress monitoring
Performance Metrics: Step execution times and resource usage
Error Reporting: Detailed error information and stack traces
Audit Logging: Complete execution history and logs

Architecture

Event-Driven Design

Motia uses an event-driven architecture where:

Triggers initiate workflow execution
Steps process events and emit new events
Flows coordinate step execution and data flow
States track execution progress and results

Project Structure

apps/motia/
├── steps/
│   ├── lib/                    # Shared utilities
│   ├── nodes/                  # Processing node steps
│   │   ├── api-node.step.ts    # API interaction steps
│   │   ├── aura-node.step.ts   # AI processing steps
│   │   └── ...                 # Other processing steps
│   ├── node-completion-handler.step.ts
│   ├── single-node-execution-start.step.ts
│   ├── workflow-completion-handler.step.ts
│   ├── workflow-execute-node.step.ts
│   └── workflow-execution-start.step.ts
├── utils/                      # Utility functions
├── config.yml                  # Motia configuration
└── package.json

Workflow Components

Steps

Individual processing units that:

Receive input events
Perform specific operations
Emit output events
Handle errors gracefully

Flows

Workflow definitions that:

Define step sequences
Specify dependencies
Configure error handling
Set execution parameters

Triggers

Event sources that:

Start workflow execution
Provide initial data
Schedule recurring workflows
Respond to external events

Configuration

Motia Configuration

# config.yml
name: geoflow-motia
port: 4010

# Environment variables
env:
  NODE_ENV: development
  GEOFLOW_DATA_PATH: /tmp/geoflow-data

# Steps configuration
steps:
  - name: workflow-execution-start
    file: steps/workflow-execution-start.step.ts
  - name: workflow-execute-node
    file: steps/workflow-execute-node.step.ts

Environment Variables

# Service configuration
NODE_ENV=development
GEOFLOW_DATA_PATH=/tmp/geoflow-data

# External services
WORKER_URL=http://geoflow-worker:3002
CONVEX_SELF_HOSTED_URL=http://geoflow-convex-backend:3210

# Processing settings
MAX_CONCURRENT_WORKFLOWS=10
STEP_TIMEOUT_SECONDS=300

Workflow Types

Data Processing Workflows

File Ingestion: Upload and validate input files
Format Conversion: Convert between geospatial formats
Data Processing: Apply algorithms and transformations
Quality Assurance: Validate processing results

Analysis Workflows

Spatial Analysis: Proximity analysis, overlay operations
Statistical Analysis: Generate statistics and reports
Visualization: Create maps and charts
Export: Generate final deliverables

Integration Workflows

API Integration: Connect with external services
Data Synchronization: Sync with external databases
Notification: Send alerts and reports
Archiving: Long-term data storage

Development

Creating Workflow Steps

// steps/custom-processing.step.ts
import { Step } from '@motiadev/core'

export default Step({
  name: 'custom-processing',
  description: 'Custom geospatial processing step',
  handler: async (input) => {
    // Process input data
    const result = await processData(input.data)

    // Emit result event
    return {
      event: 'processing-complete',
      data: result
    }
  }
})

Defining Workflows

// Define a processing workflow
const processingWorkflow = {
  name: 'data-processing',
  steps: [
    {
      name: 'validate-input',
      handler: 'validate-input-step'
    },
    {
      name: 'process-data',
      handler: 'process-data-step',
      dependsOn: ['validate-input']
    },
    {
      name: 'generate-report',
      handler: 'generate-report-step',
      dependsOn: ['process-data']
    }
  ]
}

Local Development

# Install dependencies
bun install

# Start development server
bunx motia dev --port 4010

# Run tests
bun test

# Build for production
bun run build

API Integration

Workflow Execution

// Start workflow execution
POST /workflows/execute
{
  "workflowId": "data-processing-workflow",
  "input": {
    "fileId": "input-file-123",
    "parameters": {
      "format": "GeoTIFF",
      "projection": "EPSG:4326"
    }
  }
}

// Get execution status
GET /executions/:executionId

// Cancel execution
POST /executions/:executionId/cancel

Step Communication

Steps communicate through events:

// Emit event from step
return {
  event: 'step-complete',
  data: {
    result: processedData,
    metadata: {
      processingTime: 1500,
      fileSize: '45MB'
    }
  }
}

// Listen for events in next step
Step({
  name: 'next-step',
  triggers: ['step-complete'],
  handler: async (event) => {
    const { result, metadata } = event.data
    // Process result...
  }
})

Monitoring & Observability

Execution Monitoring

Real-time Dashboard: View active workflow executions
Step Progress: Track individual step completion
Performance Metrics: Execution times and resource usage
Error Tracking: Failed steps and error details

Logging

{
  "timestamp": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
  "level": "info",
  "workflowId": "wf-123",
  "executionId": "exec-456",
  "step": "data-processing",
  "message": "Processing completed successfully",
  "duration": 2500,
  "metadata": {
    "inputSize": "100MB",
    "outputSize": "50MB"
  }
}

Metrics

Workflow Success Rate: Percentage of successful executions
Average Execution Time: Mean time for workflow completion
Step Failure Rate: Error rates by step type
Resource Utilization: CPU and memory usage trends

Error Handling

Retry Logic

Step({
  name: 'unreliable-step',
  retry: {
    attempts: 3,
    delay: 1000,
    backoff: 'exponential'
  },
  handler: async (input) => {
    // Step implementation with potential failures
  }
})

Compensation

Step({
  name: 'compensating-step',
  compensate: 'cleanup-step',
  handler: async (input) => {
    // Main processing
    return { success: true }
  }
})

// Cleanup step runs if main step fails
Step({
  name: 'cleanup-step',
  handler: async (input) => {
    // Cleanup resources
  }
})

Error Propagation

Step-Level Errors: Handled within individual steps
Workflow-Level Errors: Can stop entire workflow execution
System Errors: Logged and alerted for investigation

Scaling & Performance

Horizontal Scaling

Multiple Instances: Run multiple Motia instances
Load Balancing: Distribute workflows across instances
Shared State: Coordinate through shared database
Event Distribution: Broadcast events to all instances

Performance Optimization

Step Parallelization: Run independent steps concurrently
Resource Pooling: Reuse expensive resources (database connections)
Caching: Cache frequently used data and results
Async Processing: Non-blocking I/O operations

Resource Management

Memory Limits: Configure heap size and garbage collection
CPU Limits: Control concurrent step execution
Timeout Settings: Prevent runaway processes
Queue Management: Control workflow queue depth

Security

Access Control

Workflow Permissions: Control who can execute workflows
Step Isolation: Sandbox step execution
Data Validation: Validate inputs and outputs
Audit Logging: Track all workflow activities

Network Security

Service Communication: Secure inter-service communication
API Authentication: Authenticate external API calls
Data Encryption: Encrypt sensitive workflow data
Firewall Rules: Restrict network access

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Workflow Not Starting: Check trigger configuration and event routing Step Timeouts: Increase timeout settings or optimize step performance Event Loss: Verify event broker configuration and connectivity Memory Issues: Monitor heap usage and adjust resource limits

Debug Tools

# View workflow status
curl http://localhost:4010/workflows/status

# Get execution logs
curl http://localhost:4010/executions/:id/logs

# List active workflows
curl http://localhost:4010/workflows/active

# Check service health
curl http://localhost:4010/health

Logging Levels

DEBUG: Detailed step execution information
INFO: General workflow progress and completion
WARN: Non-critical issues and warnings
ERROR: Failed executions and system errors

Core Services

Supporting Services

​Overview

​Technology Stack

​Key Features

​Workflow Orchestration

​Pipeline Management

​Monitoring & Observability

​Architecture

​Event-Driven Design

​Project Structure

​Workflow Components

​Steps

​Flows

​Triggers

​Configuration

​Motia Configuration

​Environment Variables

​Workflow Types

​Data Processing Workflows

​Analysis Workflows

​Integration Workflows

​Development

​Creating Workflow Steps

​Defining Workflows

​Local Development

​API Integration

​Workflow Execution

​Step Communication

​Monitoring & Observability

​Execution Monitoring

​Logging

​Metrics

​Error Handling

​Retry Logic

​Compensation

​Error Propagation

​Scaling & Performance

​Horizontal Scaling

​Performance Optimization

​Resource Management

​Security

​Access Control

​Network Security

​Troubleshooting

​Common Issues

​Debug Tools

​Logging Levels

Overview

Technology Stack

Key Features

Workflow Orchestration

Pipeline Management

Monitoring & Observability

Architecture

Event-Driven Design

Project Structure

Workflow Components

Steps

Flows

Triggers

Configuration

Motia Configuration

Environment Variables

Workflow Types

Data Processing Workflows

Analysis Workflows

Integration Workflows

Development

Creating Workflow Steps

Defining Workflows

Local Development

API Integration

Workflow Execution

Step Communication

Monitoring & Observability

Execution Monitoring

Logging

Metrics

Error Handling

Retry Logic

Compensation

Error Propagation

Scaling & Performance

Horizontal Scaling

Performance Optimization

Resource Management

Security

Access Control

Network Security

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Debug Tools

Logging Levels