composing-workflows

name	composing-workflows
description	Creating and composing OpenBench workflows with L1/L2 patterns, DAG structures, and chainable operators. Use when building workflows with | or & operators, creating DAG patterns, or working with DataLayer/IntelligenceLayer/OutputLayer composition. Use when this capability is needed.
metadata	{"author":"ai-kitchen-inc"}

Composing Workflows

OpenBench uses chainable operators for workflow composition.

Core Operators

# Sequential: A -> B -> C
workflow = step_a | step_b | step_c

# Parallel: [A, B, C] run concurrently
workflow = step_a & step_b & step_c

# Complex DAG: A -> (B & C) -> D
workflow = step_a | Parallel([step_b, step_c]) | step_d

L1 vs L2 Composition

L1 (Component-Level): Compose within a layer

sources = pdf_source | api_source | csv_source
agents = research_agent | analysis_agent | content_agent
outputs = pdf_gen & pptx_gen & audio_gen

L2 (System-Level): Compose entire layers

from openbench.core import DataLayer, IntelligenceLayer, OutputLayer
from openbench.chat import ChatLayer

pipeline = (
    DataLayer(sources=sources, stores=[vector_store])
    | IntelligenceLayer(agents=agents)
    | OutputLayer(generators=outputs)
)

# With chat layer
chat_pipeline = DataLayer(sources=[pdf]) | ChatLayer(agent=rag_agent)
chat_with_output = ChatLayer(agent=agent) | OutputLayer(generators=[transcript])

Framework Adapters

Wrap external agents (LangChain, CrewAI, Google ADK):

from openbench.adapters import GoogleADKAdapter

google_adapter = GoogleADKAdapter(
    model="gemini-2.5-flash",  # Use 2.5+ models
    system_instruction="You are a document analyst."
)

workflow = (
    DataLayer(sources=PDFSource("doc.pdf"))
    | IntelligenceLayer(agents=google_adapter)
    | OutputLayer(generators=PDFGenerator())
)

Conditional & Router

from openbench.core import Conditional, Router

# Binary branching
workflow = Conditional(
    condition=lambda x: x.get("type") == "research",
    true_branch=research_agent,
    false_branch=analysis_agent
)

# Multi-way routing
workflow = Router(
    route_fn=lambda x: x.get("format", "pdf"),
    routes={"pdf": pdf_gen, "pptx": pptx_gen, "html": html_gen},
    default=pdf_gen
)

Workflow with State

from openbench.workflows import Workflow

workflow = Workflow(
    name="my-workflow",
    chain=pipeline,
    checkpoints=True,
    metadata={"project": "Q1 2026"}
)

result = workflow.run(input_data)

Anti-Patterns

DO NOT:

• Use Parallel.invoke() expecting true concurrency - it runs sequentially. Use ainvoke() for true parallelism
• Create deeply nested chains without checkpoints - use Workflow with checkpoints=True for long pipelines
• Put business logic in Lambda - use proper Agent or DataSource instead
• Mix L1 and L2 in the same chain level - keep layers separate
• Assume Parallel output order matches input order when using ainvoke() - use invoke() if order matters

Cross-References

• Intelligence Layer: Agents used in IntelligenceLayer -> see intelligence-layer skill
• Data Layer: DataSources and stores used in DataLayer -> see data-layer skill
• Output Layer: Generators used in OutputLayer -> see output-layer skill
• Chat Layer: ChatEngine and ChatLayer for chat UIs -> see chat-layer skill
• Chat UI: @openbench/chat-ui React SDK -> see chat-ui skill
• Adapters: External framework agents used via adapters -> see adapters skill
• Creating Abstractions: Custom Chainable implementations -> see creating-abstractions skill

Best Practices

1. Use L1 for component composition within a layer
2. Use L2 for system composition across layers
3. Enable checkpointing for long workflows
4. Use Parallel for independent operations
5. Use Conditional for binary branching, Router for multi-way

For detailed examples, see examples/core/orchestration_demo.py

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