Parent App Integration Example

Durable Docket runs can reference app-owned users, accounts, and workflow rows without making the parent application a second persistence driver.

Configure one backend

defmodule MyApp.Docket do
  use Docket,
    tenant_mode: :required,
    checkpoint_observers: [MyApp.DocketProjection],
    backend:
      {Docket.Postgres,
       repo: MyApp.Repo,
       claim_policy: [
         implementation: Docket.Postgres.ClaimPolicy.WindowedInterleave
       ],
       pruner: [
         interval_ms: :timer.hours(1),
         event_retention_ms: :timer.hours(24 * 30),
         run_retention_ms: :timer.hours(24 * 90),
         batch_size: 1_000
       ]}
end

Start the Repo before the facade in the application's supervision tree:

children = [MyApp.Repo, MyApp.Docket]
Supervisor.start_link(children, strategy: :one_for_one)

Docket.Postgres owns graph/run persistence, claiming, scheduling, and cold recovery. The private ETF state stored by the existing PostgreSQL stores is not an application wire format.

Publish, then start

Publish an effective graph once and retain its stable reference on the application's workflow record. Given an application-built graph and workflow record:

tenant_id = to_string(workflow.account_id)
{:ok, graph_ref} = MyApp.Docket.save_graph(graph, tenant_id: tenant_id)

workflow =
  MyApp.Workflows.update_graph_ref!(workflow, %{
    graph_id: graph_ref.graph_id,
    graph_hash: graph_ref.graph_hash
  })

Keep graph input separate from app-owned metadata when starting a run:

def run_workflow(user, workflow, attrs) do
  # Authorization must establish that this workflow belongs to the user's
  # account before its ID becomes the durable storage scope.
  tenant_id = to_string(user.account_id)

  graph_ref = %Docket.GraphRef{
    graph_id: workflow.graph_id,
    graph_hash: workflow.graph_hash
  }

  metadata = %{
    "user_id" => user.id,
    "account_id" => user.account_id,
    "workflow_id" => workflow.id
  }

  with {:ok, run} <-
         MyApp.Docket.start_run(graph_ref, Map.new(attrs),
           tenant_id: tenant_id,
           metadata: metadata
         ) do
    MyApp.Workflows.link_docket_run!(workflow, run.id)
  end
end

input is workflow data. metadata is durable app context that Docket preserves but does not interpret. Applications should keep metadata terms portable and free of processes, references, ports, and functions. The linked workflow must remain in the same authorized account; reads and signals must derive their tenant ID from that trusted ownership relationship, not from caller-controlled input.

Read and inspect

Application rows store the Docket run ID and business projections, not a copy of Docket's durable run state:

tenant_id = to_string(workflow.account_id)

{:ok, run} =
  MyApp.Docket.fetch_run(workflow.docket_run_id,
    tenant_id: tenant_id
  )

{:ok, info} =
  MyApp.Docket.inspect_run(workflow.docket_run_id,
    tenant_id: tenant_id
  )

fetch_run returns the last committed %Docket.Run{}. inspect_run adds token-free scheduling and operational health facts.

Project after commit

Checkpoint observers are suitable for best-effort UI projections and notifications. They run after the durable transaction and cannot veto it:

defmodule MyApp.DocketProjection do
  @behaviour Docket.Checkpoint.Observer

  @impl true
  def observe(%Docket.Checkpoint{run: run}, _context) do
    MyApp.Workflows.project_status(run.id, run.status, run.updated_at)
    :ok
  end
end

Observers may be lost or duplicated around a crash. Consumers that require a durable delivery guarantee should consume retained events rather than treating the observer as an outbox.

Important boundaries

• Use a stable, non-empty binary tenant_id for storage authorization and scope; convert integer application IDs explicitly.
• Store business identity in Run metadata, not graph input.
• Store run.id and app projections in parent tables; do not duplicate the private Run state blob.
• Publish graphs explicitly and start runs only from the returned GraphRef.
• Use fetch_run/inspect_run; v0.1.0 has no host-owned Run map codec or resume orchestration.
• Docket does not provide actor persistence, audit history, hold/drain states, bulk policy changes, weights, borrowing, or preemption.