Behavior Integration

The plugin provides two ways to interact with workflows:

1. Workflow Object (recommended) - clean, entity-centric API via WorkflowRegistry
2. ORM Behavior - table-level methods mixed into your Table class

Workflow Object API

The Workflow class provides a Symfony-style API for working with entities:

// In your controller, inject or fetch the registry
$registry = $this->getService(WorkflowRegistry::class);

// Get a workflow for an entity (auto-detects workflow from table)
$workflow = $registry->get($order);

// Or specify the workflow name explicitly
$workflow = $registry->get($order, 'order');

// Check if transition is allowed
if ($workflow->can('pay')) {
    $result = $workflow->apply('pay', ['user_id' => $userId]);
    if ($result->isSuccess()) {
        $this->Orders->saveOrFail($order);
    }
}

// Query state
$workflow->getStateName();           // 'pending'
$workflow->getState();               // State object
$workflow->isInState('pending');     // true
$workflow->isInFinalState();         // false
$workflow->hasFlag('done');          // false

// Get transitions
$workflow->getEnabledTransitions();  // ['pay', 'cancel'] - passes guards
$workflow->getAvailableTransitions(); // ['pay', 'cancel'] - ignores guards

// Access definition and entity
$workflow->getDefinition();          // Definition object
$workflow->getEntity();              // The entity
$workflow->getName();                // 'order'

Transaction Safety

The apply() method only changes the entity in memory. You must call save() to persist. For atomic operations where apply + save must succeed or fail together, use the behavior's transition() method instead. See Persisted Transitions.

ORM Behavior API

The Workflow.Workflow behavior adds methods to your Table class.

Configuration

$this->addBehavior('Workflow.Workflow', [
    'workflow' => 'order',
    'validateOnSave' => true,
    'autoSave' => false,
    'autoLog' => false,
    'logAllOutcomes' => true,
    'model' => 'Orders',
]);

Configuration Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
workflow	string	null	Workflow name (auto-detected from definition if not set)
validateOnSave	bool	true	Prevent direct state changes on save
autoSave	bool	false	Auto-save entity after transition
autoLog	bool	false	Log transitions to workflow_transitions table
logAllOutcomes	bool	true	Log blocked/locked/error transitions for audit
model	string	null	Polymorphic model value stored in the model column (defaults to the table's registry alias)
stateTimestampField	string|null	state_changed_at	Column stamped with the current time on each state change (auto-applied only if the column exists; null disables)
useLocking	bool|null	null	Pessimistic locking via the lock table (null = auto-detect from the lock table)
useOptimisticLock	bool	false	Lock-free concurrency via compare-and-set on the state field (takes precedence over useLocking)

Time in State

If the table has a state_changed_at column, the behavior stamps it with the current time on every state change — no configuration needed. This makes aging/SLA queries trivial:

// Orders sitting in their current state for more than 3 days
$stale = $this->Orders->find()
    ->where(['state_changed_at <' => new \Cake\I18n\DateTime('-3 days')])
    ->all();

Add the column with a migration:

$this->table('orders')->addColumn('state_changed_at', 'datetime', [
    'null' => true,
    'default' => null,
])->addIndex(['state_changed_at'])->update();

Use a different column name via 'stateTimestampField' => 'entered_state_at', or set it to null to disable. The stamp is only written when the state actually changes.

Concurrency: Pessimistic vs Optimistic

Two ways to keep concurrent transitions from racing on the same record:

• Pessimistic (useLocking) — acquires a row in the workflow_locks table for the duration of the transition. A competing caller is told the record is locked.
• Optimistic (useOptimisticLock) — no lock table. The state change is persisted with a compare-and-set: UPDATE ... SET state = :to WHERE id = :id AND state = :from. If another writer already advanced the row, the UPDATE matches nothing and the caller gets a locked (conflict) result instead of double-applying.

$this->addBehavior('Workflow.Workflow', [
    'workflow' => 'order',
    'useOptimisticLock' => true,
]);

$result = $this->Orders->getBehavior('Workflow')->transition($order, 'pay');
if ($result->isLocked()) {
    // Lost the race - reload and retry, or report a conflict.
}

Optimistic locking needs no extra table or version column (it compares on the state field) and suits high-contention or multi-server setups; it takes precedence over useLocking when both are set. Wrap retries around the conflict result as needed.

The claim is made before the transition's commands run, so a lost race executes no side effects, and the claim is rolled back if the transition then fails — keep useTransaction enabled (the default) so that rollback applies.

Constraints:

• Requires a single-column primary key (throws otherwise).
• Detects conflicts only when the transition changes the state value — a self-loop (same from and to) writes nothing to compare against.

Audit Logging

When autoLog is enabled, all transition attempts are logged to the workflow_transitions table. The logAllOutcomes option (default: true) controls whether failed attempts are logged:

• success: Transition completed successfully
• blocked: Guards prevented the transition
• locked: Another process held the lock
• error: Command threw an exception

This provides a complete audit trail for compliance and debugging:

// Get full transition history
$transitions = $this->Orders->getBehavior('Workflow')
    ->getTransitionHistory($order);

// Filter by status
$failedTransitions = $this->fetchTable('Workflow.WorkflowTransitions')
    ->find('failed')
    ->where(['foreign_key' => $order->id])
    ->toArray();

// Check blocked reasons
foreach ($transitions as $t) {
    if ($t->isBlocked()) {
        $reasons = $t->getBlockedBy();
        // ['checkBalance' => 'Insufficient funds']
    }
}

Each transition record includes:

• status: success, blocked, locked, or error
• from_state, to_state: State before and after
• user_id, reason: Context from the transition call
• context: JSON with runtime metadata, blocked reasons, or error details

Core Methods

Access behavior methods via getBehavior():

$behavior = $this->Orders->getBehavior('Workflow');

Check if a transition is possible

$behavior->canTransition($order, 'pay');

Apply a transition

$result = $behavior->applyTransition($order, 'pay', [
    'user_id' => '42',
    'reason' => 'Payment captured',
]);

Run a persisted/orchestrated transition

$result = $behavior->transition($order, 'pay', [
    'user_id' => '42',
    'reason' => 'Payment captured',
]);

For the full persisted API, per-call options, and default orchestration config, see Persisted Transitions.

For automatic timeout scheduling/cancellation during persisted transitions, see Timeout Orchestration.

Get available transitions

$transitions = $behavior->getAvailableTransitions($order);

Read the current state

$state = $behavior->getCurrentState($order);

Querying Entities by State

The behavior provides custom finders for querying entities based on workflow state properties.

Find by flag

Query entities in states that have (or don't have) a specific flag:

// Find all orders in states with the 'done' flag
$doneOrders = $this->Orders->find('withFlag', flag: 'done')->toArray();

// Find all orders NOT in states with the 'done' flag
$activeOrders = $this->Orders->find('withoutFlag', flag: 'done')->toArray();

Find by final state

Query entities based on whether they're in a final state:

// Find all completed orders (in any final state)
$completedOrders = $this->Orders->find('inFinalState')->toArray();

// Find all active orders (not in a final state)
$activeOrders = $this->Orders->find('notInFinalState')->toArray();

Find by specific state

Query entities in a specific state:

// Find all pending orders
$pendingOrders = $this->Orders->find('inState', state: 'pending')->toArray();

Helper methods

Get state names programmatically for custom queries:

$behavior = $this->Orders->getBehavior('Workflow');

// Get all state names with a specific flag
$doneStates = $behavior->getStateNamesWithFlag('done');
// Returns: ['completed', 'delivered']

// Get all state names without a specific flag
$notDoneStates = $behavior->getStateNamesWithoutFlag('done');
// Returns: ['pending', 'processing', 'shipped']

// Get all final state names
$finalStates = $behavior->getFinalStateNames();
// Returns: ['completed', 'cancelled']

Save Protection

When validateOnSave is enabled, direct state mutation is rejected.

This prevents code from bypassing the workflow engine by changing the state field manually and calling save().

For new entities:

• empty state is allowed
• the initial state is allowed
• any other state is rejected

For existing entities:

• state changes must go through applyTransition()

Convenience Traits

Two optional traits give you statically-typed, discoverable access without reaching through getBehavior('Workflow').

Add WorkflowTableTrait to a table that has the behavior:

use Cake\ORM\Table;
use Workflow\Model\Table\WorkflowTableTrait;

class OrdersTable extends Table
{
    use WorkflowTableTrait;

    public function initialize(array $config): void
    {
        parent::initialize($config);
        $this->addBehavior('Workflow.Workflow', ['workflow' => 'order']);
    }
}

$this->Orders->transition($order, 'pay', ['user_id' => $userId]); // save + log (+ lock when enabled)
$this->Orders->canTransition($order, 'pay');
$this->Orders->availableTransitions($order);
$this->Orders->currentState($order);

Add WorkflowTrait to the entity for read-only inspection helpers (mutating transitions stay on the table):

use Cake\ORM\Entity;
use Workflow\Model\Entity\WorkflowTrait;

class Order extends Entity
{
    use WorkflowTrait;
}

$order->currentState();              // 'pending'
$order->canTransition('pay');        // true
$order->availableTransitions();      // ['pay']
$order->isInState('pending');        // true
$order->isFinalState();              // false
$order->hasStateFlag('done');        // false

Next Steps

• Definitions - Define workflows with attributes or config files
• Persisted Transitions - High-level transition() API
• View Helper - Render diagrams and buttons in templates