Current Version: NET8

SlickFlow: Intelligent Workflow Automation with Large Language Models

Slickflow integrates cutting-edge Large Language Model (LLM) nodes directly into BPMN workflows, enabling advanced conversational reasoning, RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation), image understanding and other AI capabilities as first-class workflow steps.
This transforms traditional workflow systems into dynamic, AI-driven orchestration platforms.

• Add LLM / RAG / Agent nodes into your process diagrams as easily as traditional service tasks.
• Orchestrate multi-step AI pipelines: prompt construction, tool calls, knowledge base retrieval, post-processing, persistence, notification, etc.

Flexible integration with leading AI services:

• OpenAI API (GPT-4, GPT-3.5, and beyond)
• QianWen (Alibaba’s large language model)
• Extensible architecture for additional providers (DeepSeek, custom gateways, etc.)

• Image classification & analysis directly through LLM nodes
• Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG): combine vector search / knowledge bases with LLM reasoning to provide grounded, up-to-date answers

• Detailed article: Slickflow.AI – Large Language Model Integration

AI Image Classification Process Demo

Besides designer-based processes, Slickflow provides a code-first auto-execution model based on Slickflow.Graph and WorkflowExecutor.
You can define workflows in C#, run them fully in memory, and let the engine automatically execute all steps without human interaction.

Use Slickflow.Graph.Model.Workflow to build BPMN-style flows programmatically:

using Slickflow.Graph.Model;

var wf = new Workflow("Order Process", "OrderProcess_Code");

wf.Start("Start")
  .ServiceTask("Validate Order", "Validate001", "ValidateOrder")   // LocalMethod
  .ServiceTask("Calculate Amount", "Calc001", "CalcAmount")       // LocalMethod
  .RagService("RAG Reply", "RAG001")                              // RAG AI node
  .LlmService("LLM Enrich", "LLM001")                             // General LLM node
  .ServiceTask<SaveOrderService>("Save Order", "Save001")         // Local service class
  .End("End");

Key points:

• Workflow supports rich node types: Start, Task, ServiceTask, RagService, LlmService, Agent, Parallels, Branch, End, etc.
• BuildInMemory() produces an in-memory ProcessEntity without touching the database.
• WorkflowExecutorExtensions.UseProcess(Workflow) binds this in-memory model to the runtime engine and caches it by ProcessId:Version.

Auto-execution loop (conceptual):

1. Start the process and create an instance.
2. While there are executable activities:
   • Collect next activities.
   • Execute each activity (local method, service class, AI/RAG/LLM, external API, etc.).
   • Move the process forward to the next activity.
3. Return execution result (status, message, variables, AI response, etc.).

Typical code pattern:

using Slickflow.Engine.Executor;
using Slickflow.Engine.Core.Result;

var result = await new WorkflowExecutor()
    .UseApp("OrderApp-001", "OrderApp")
    .UseProcess(wf)                      // Use code-defined workflow
    .AddVariable("OrderId", "ORD-2025-001")
    .AddVariable("Quantity", "3")
    .AddVariable("UnitPrice", "99.50")
    .Run();

This mode is ideal for:

• ETL and data pipelines
• Backend batch / microservice orchestration
• AI agents and chat workflows
• Unit tests and demos (no DB dependency)

• .NET, cross-platform: works on Windows, Linux, macOS.
• BPMN2-style diagrams with an HTML5 designer for visual modeling.
• High performance with Dapper.NET micro-ORM.
• Multi-database support: SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL and others (via Dapper / EF Core).

On top of AI and auto-execution, Slickflow remains a full-featured human-centric workflow engine for traditional BPM scenarios: approvals, reviews, multi-level routing, etc.

Supported patterns (BPMN-style):

• Sequence – the most common pattern
• Split / Merge – AND / OR gateways with conditions on transitions
• Sub-process – start a child process from the main flow
• Multi-instance – multiple performers handle the same task (sequence or parallel), with count/percentage thresholds

Slickflow manages human tasks with features such as:

• Start / Run – launch and move a process instance to the next step
• Withdraw – pull back a task you just sent to the next user
• SendBack – send a task back to the previous step
• Resend / Reverse / Jump – advanced control for exception handling and special routing

Code style (simplified):

// Start a process instance
IWorkflowService wfService = new WorkflowService();
var startResult = wfService.CreateRunner("10", "Jack")
    .UseApp("DS-100", "Book-Order", "DS-100-LX")
    .UseProcess("PriceProcessCode")
    .Start();

// Run to next step
var runResult = wfService.CreateRunner("10", "Jack")
    .UseApp("DS-100", "Book-Order", "DS-100-LX")
    .UseProcess("PriceProcessCode")
    .NextStepInt("20", "Alice")
    .Run();

You can also define simple approval processes purely in code (sequence example) using Workflow:

using Slickflow.Graph.Model;

// create a simple sequence process diagram by hand code rather than an HTML designer
var wf = new Workflow("simple-process-name", "simple-process-code");

wf.Start("Start")
  .Task("Task1")
  .Task("Task2")
  .End("End");

This gives developers both designer-based and code-based options for modeling human approval workflows.

• WebDemo, MvcDemo, WinformDemo – example integration with different enterprise application types.

• Software teams or companies who want to embed a workflow engine into their products.
• Developers who prefer combining AI orchestration, auto-execution, and human approval in one engine.

• License: Slickflow follows the MIT open source license and can be used in commercial projects.
• Technical Support: Enterprise, Ultimate and Universe editions can be provided with technical support and upgrade services.

If you have any further inquiry, please feel free to contact:

• Email (Support): support@ruochisoft.com

• English: http://doc.slickflow.net
• 中文: http://doc.slickflow.com

• https://github.com/besley/Slickflow/wiki

• Tutorial
• User Manual

• English: http://www.slickflow.net
• 中文: http://www.slickflow.com

• Demo: http://www.slickflow.com/demo/index
• Designer Demo: http://demo.slickflow.com/sfd/

Pre-built Docker images are available on Docker Hub. Get started in minutes without building from source.

The easiest way to get started – pull one image and run all three services:

docker pull besley2096/slickflow-all:latest
docker run -d \
  -p 5000:5000 \
  -p 5001:5001 \
  -p 8090:8090 \
  -e WfDBConnectionType=PGSQL \
  -e WfDBConnectionString="Server=host.docker.internal;Port=5432;Database=wfdbbpmn2;User Id=postgres;Password=your-password;TimeZone=UTC;" \
  --name slickflow-all \
  besley2096/slickflow-all:latest

Access:

• Frontend Designer: http://localhost:8090
• Backend API: http://localhost:5000
• WebTest: http://localhost:5001

Docker Hub: https://hub.docker.com/r/besley2096/slickflow-all

For better isolation and scaling, use separate images:

Backend API

docker pull besley2096/slickflow-api:latest
docker run -d -p 5000:5000 \
  -e WfDBConnectionType=PGSQL \
  -e WfDBConnectionString="Server=host.docker.internal;Port=5432;Database=wfdbbpmn2;User Id=postgres;Password=your-password;TimeZone=UTC;" \
  --name slickflow-api \
  besley2096/slickflow-api:latest

Frontend Designer

docker pull besley2096/slickflow-designer:latest
docker run -d -p 8090:8090 \
  --name slickflow-designer \
  besley2096/slickflow-designer:latest

WebTest

docker pull besley2096/slickflow-webtest:latest
docker run -d -p 5001:5001 \
  -e WfDBConnectionType=PGSQL \
  -e WfDBConnectionString="Server=host.docker.internal;Port=5432;Database=wfdbbpmn2;User Id=postgres;Password=your-password;TimeZone=UTC;" \
  --name slickflow-webtest \
  besley2096/slickflow-webtest:latest

Use docker-compose.hub.yml from this repository:

docker-compose -f docker-compose.hub.yml pull
docker-compose -f docker-compose.hub.yml up -d

Available tags for each image:

• latest – Latest stable version
• v3.5.0 – Version 3.5.0

• https://hub.docker.com/r/besley2096/slickflow-all
• https://hub.docker.com/r/besley2096/slickflow-api
• https://hub.docker.com/r/besley2096/slickflow-designer
• https://hub.docker.com/r/besley2096/slickflow-webtest

API and WebTest containers require database configuration. Supported databases: PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle.

Database on Host Machine

-e WfDBConnectionString="Server=host.docker.internal;Port=5432;Database=wfdbbpmn2;User Id=postgres;Password=your-password;TimeZone=UTC;"

Database in Docker Container

-e WfDBConnectionString="Server=postgres;Port=5432;Database=wfdbbpmn2;User Id=postgres;Password=your-password;TimeZone=UTC;"

Remote Database

-e WfDBConnectionString="Server=192.168.1.100;Port=5432;Database=wfdbbpmn2;User Id=postgres;Password=your-password;TimeZone=UTC;"

• Email: sales@ruochisoft.com
• QQ (Author): 47743901
• WeChat (Author): besley2008

Your donation will be used for the continuous research and development of the product and community building.
您的捐赠将用于产品的持续研发和社区建设。