agent-framework/dotnet/samples/03-workflows/README.md

Workflow Getting Started Samples

The getting started with workflow samples demonstrate the fundamental concepts and functionalities of workflows in Agent Framework.

Samples Overview

Foundational Concepts - Start Here

Please begin with the Start Here samples in order. These three samples introduce the core concepts of executors, edges, agents in workflows, streaming, and workflow construction.

The folder name starts with an underscore (_StartHere) to ensure it appears first in the explorer view.

Sample	Concepts
Streaming	Extends workflows with event streaming
Agents	Use agents in workflows
Agentic Workflow Patterns	Demonstrates common agentic workflow patterns
Multi-Service Workflows	Shows using multiple AI services in the same workflow
Sub-Workflows	Demonstrates composing workflows hierarchically by embedding workflows as executors
Mixed Workflow with Agents and Executors	Shows how to mix agents and executors with adapter pattern for type conversion and protocol handling
Writer-Critic Workflow	Demonstrates iterative refinement with quality gates, max iteration safety, multiple message handlers, and conditional routing for feedback loops

Once completed, please proceed to other samples listed below.

Note that you don't need to follow a strict order after the foundational samples. However, some samples build upon concepts from previous ones, so it's beneficial to be aware of the dependencies.

Agents

Sample	Concepts
Foundry Agents in Workflows	Demonstrates using Azure Foundry Agents within a workflow
Custom Agent Executors	Shows how to create a custom agent executor for more complex scenarios
Workflow as an Agent	Illustrates how to encapsulate a workflow as an agent
Group Chat with Tool Approval	Shows multi-agent group chat with tool approval requests and human-in-the-loop interaction

Concurrent Execution

Sample	Concepts
Fan-Out and Fan-In	Introduces parallel processing with fan-out and fan-in patterns

Loop

Sample	Concepts
Looping	Shows how to create a loop within a workflow

Workflow Shared States

Sample	Concepts
Shared States	Demonstrates shared states between executors for data sharing and coordination

Conditional Edges

Sample	Concepts
Edge Conditions	Introduces conditional edges for dynamic routing based on executor outputs
Switch-Case Routing	Extends conditional edges with switch-case routing for multiple paths
Multi-Selection Routing	Demonstrates multi-selection routing where one executor can trigger multiple downstream executors

These 3 samples build upon each other. It's recommended to explore them in sequence to fully grasp the concepts.

Declarative Workflows

Sample	Concepts
Declarative	Demonstrates execution of declartive workflows.

Checkpointing

Sample	Concepts
Checkpoint and Resume	Introduces checkpoints for saving and restoring workflow state for time travel purposes
Checkpoint and Rehydrate	Demonstrates hydrating a new workflow instance from a saved checkpoint
Checkpoint with Human-in-the-Loop	Combines checkpointing with human-in-the-loop interactions

Human-in-the-Loop

Sample	Concepts
Basic Human-in-the-Loop	Introduces human-in-the-loop interaction using input ports and external requests