Execute a workflow using the Cloud Client Libraries

Execute a workflow using the Cloud Client Libraries

This quickstart shows you how to execute a workflow and view the execution results using the Cloud Client Libraries.

For more information about installing the Cloud Client Libraries and setting up your development environment, see the Workflows client libraries overview.

You can complete the following steps by using the Google Cloud CLI in either your terminal or Cloud Shell.

Before you begin

Security constraints defined by your organization might prevent you from completing the following steps. For troubleshooting information, see Develop applications in a constrained Google Cloud environment.

Sign in to your Google Cloud account. If you're new to Google Cloud, create an account to evaluate how our products perform in real-world scenarios. New customers also get $300 in free credits to run, test, and deploy workloads.
Install the Google Cloud CLI.
If you're using an external identity provider (IdP), you must first sign in to the gcloud CLI with your federated identity.
To initialize the gcloud CLI, run the following command:
gcloud init
Create or select a Google Cloud project.
Note: If you don't plan to keep the resources that you create in this procedure, create a project instead of selecting an existing project. After you finish these steps, you can delete the project, removing all resources associated with the project.
• Create a Google Cloud project:

  gcloud projects create PROJECT_ID

  Replace PROJECT_ID with a name for the Google Cloud project you are creating.

• Select the Google Cloud project that you created:

  gcloud config set project PROJECT_ID

  Replace PROJECT_ID with your Google Cloud project name.
Make sure that billing is enabled for your Google Cloud project.
Enable the Workflows API:
gcloud services enable workflows.googleapis.com
Set up authentication:
1. Create the service account:

   gcloud iam service-accounts create SERVICE_ACCOUNT_NAME

   Replace SERVICE_ACCOUNT_NAME with a name for the service account.

2. Grant the roles/owner IAM role to the service account:

   gcloud projects add-iam-policy-binding PROJECT_ID --member="serviceAccount:SERVICE_ACCOUNT_NAME@PROJECT_ID.iam.gserviceaccount.com" --role=roles/owner

   Replace the following:

   • SERVICE_ACCOUNT_NAME: the name of the service account
   • PROJECT_ID: the project ID where you created the service account
   Note: The --role flag affects which resources the service account can access in your project. You can revoke these roles or grant additional roles later. In production environments, do not grant the Owner, Editor, or Viewer roles. Instead, grant a predefined role or custom role that meets your needs.

Install the Google Cloud CLI.

If you're using an external identity provider (IdP), you must first sign in to the gcloud CLI with your federated identity.

To initialize the gcloud CLI, run the following command:

gcloud init

Create or select a Google Cloud project.

Note: If you don't plan to keep the resources that you create in this procedure, create a project instead of selecting an existing project. After you finish these steps, you can delete the project, removing all resources associated with the project.

• Create a Google Cloud project:

  gcloud projects create PROJECT_ID

  Replace PROJECT_ID with a name for the Google Cloud project you are creating.

• Select the Google Cloud project that you created:

  gcloud config set project PROJECT_ID

  Replace PROJECT_ID with your Google Cloud project name.

Make sure that billing is enabled for your Google Cloud project.

Enable the Workflows API:

gcloud services enable workflows.googleapis.com

Set up authentication:

1. Create the service account:

   gcloud iam service-accounts create SERVICE_ACCOUNT_NAME

   Replace SERVICE_ACCOUNT_NAME with a name for the service account.

2. Grant the roles/owner IAM role to the service account:

   gcloud projects add-iam-policy-binding PROJECT_ID --member="serviceAccount:SERVICE_ACCOUNT_NAME@PROJECT_ID.iam.gserviceaccount.com" --role=roles/owner

   Replace the following:

   • SERVICE_ACCOUNT_NAME: the name of the service account
   • PROJECT_ID: the project ID where you created the service account
   Note: The --role flag affects which resources the service account can access in your project. You can revoke these roles or grant additional roles later. In production environments, do not grant the Owner, Editor, or Viewer roles. Instead, grant a predefined role or custom role that meets your needs.
1. (Optional) To send logs to Cloud Logging, grant the roles/logging.logWriter role to the service account.

   gcloud projects add-iam-policy-binding PROJECT_ID \
       --member "serviceAccount:SERVICE_ACCOUNT_NAME@PROJECT_ID.iam.gserviceaccount.com" \
       --role "roles/logging.logWriter"

   To learn more about service account roles and permissions, see Grant a workflow permission to access Google Cloud resources.

2. If required, download and install the Git source code management tool.

Deploy a sample workflow

After defining a workflow, you deploy it to make it available for execution. The deploy step also validates that the source file can be executed.

The following workflow sends a request to a public API and then returns the API's response.

1. Create a text file with the filename myFirstWorkflow.yaml with the following content:

   # This workflow accepts an optional "searchTerm" argument for the Wikipedia API.
   # If no input arguments are provided or "searchTerm" is absent,
   # it will fetch the day of the week in Amsterdam and use it as the search term.
   
   main:
       params: [input]
       steps:
       - validateSearchTermAndRedirectToReadWikipedia:
           switch:
               - condition: '${map.get(input, "searchTerm") != null}'
                 assign:
                   - searchTerm: '${input.searchTerm}'
                 next: readWikipedia
       - getCurrentTime:
           call: http.get
           args:
               url: https://timeapi.io/api/Time/current/zone?timeZone=Europe/Amsterdam
           result: currentTime
       - setFromCallResult:
           assign:
               - searchTerm: '${currentTime.body.dayOfWeek}'
       - readWikipedia:
           call: http.get
           args:
               url: 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php'
               query:
                   action: opensearch
                   search: '${searchTerm}'
           result: wikiResult
       - returnOutput:
               return: '${wikiResult.body[1]}'

2. After creating the workflow, you can deploy it, but don't execute the workflow:

   gcloud workflows deploy myFirstWorkflow \
       --source=myFirstWorkflow.yaml \
       --service-account=SERVICE_ACCOUNT_NAME@PROJECT_ID.iam.gserviceaccount.com \
       --location=CLOUD_REGION

   Replace CLOUD_REGION with a supported location for the workflow. The default region used in the code samples is us-central1.

Get the sample code

You can clone the sample code from GitHub.

1. Clone the sample app repository to your local machine:

   C#

   git clone https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/dotnet-docs-samples.git

   Alternatively, you can download the sample as a zip file and extract it.

   Go

   git clone https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/golang-samples.git

   Alternatively, you can download the sample as a zip file and extract it.

   Java

   git clone https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/java-docs-samples.git

   Alternatively, you can download the sample as a zip file and extract it.

   Node.js

   git clone https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/nodejs-docs-samples.git

   Alternatively, you can download the sample as a zip file and extract it.

   Python

   git clone https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/python-docs-samples.git

   Alternatively, you can download the sample as a zip file and extract it.

2. Change to the directory that contains the Workflows sample code:

   C#

   cd dotnet-docs-samples/workflows/api/Workflow.Samples/

   Go

   cd golang-samples/workflows/executions/

   Java

   cd java-docs-samples/workflows/cloud-client/

   Node.js

   cd nodejs-docs-samples/workflows/quickstart/

   Python

   cd python-docs-samples/workflows/cloud-client/

3. Take a look at the sample code. Each sample app does the following:

   1. Sets up the Cloud Client Libraries for Workflows.
   2. Executes a workflow.
   3. Polls the workflow's execution (using exponential backoff) until the execution terminates.
   4. Prints the execution results.

   C#

   
   using Google.Cloud.Workflows.Common.V1;
   using Google.Cloud.Workflows.Executions.V1;
   using System;
   using System.Threading;
   using System.Threading.Tasks;
   
   public class ExecuteWorkflowSample
   {
       /// <summary>
       /// Execute a workflow and return the execution operation.
       /// </summary>
       /// <param name="projectID">Your Google Cloud Project ID.</param>
       /// <param name="locationID">The region where your workflow is located.</param>
       /// <param name="workflowID">Your Workflow ID.</param>
       /// <returns>
       /// An Execute object representing the completed workflow execution.
       /// </returns>
       public async Task<Execution> ExecuteWorkflow(
           string projectId = "YOUR-PROJECT-ID",
           string locationID = "YOUR-LOCATION-ID",
           string workflowID = "YOUR-WORKFLOW-ID")
       {
           // Initialize the client.
           ExecutionsClient client = await ExecutionsClient.CreateAsync();
   
           // Build the parent location path.
           WorkflowName parent = new WorkflowName(projectId, locationID, workflowID);
   
           // Create an execution request.
           CreateExecutionRequest createExecutionRequest = new CreateExecutionRequest
           {
               ParentAsWorkflowName = parent,
           };
   
           // Execute the operation.
           Execution execution = await client.CreateExecutionAsync(createExecutionRequest);
           Console.WriteLine("- Execution started...");
   
           TimeSpan backoffDelay = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1);
           TimeSpan maxBackoffDelay = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(16);
   
           // Keep polling the state until the execution finishes, using exponential backoff.
           while (execution.State == Execution.Types.State.Active)
           {
               await Task.Delay(backoffDelay);
   
               // Implement exponential backoff by doubling the delay, but limiting it to a practical duration.
               backoffDelay = (backoffDelay < maxBackoffDelay) ? backoffDelay * 2 : maxBackoffDelay;
   
               execution = await client.GetExecutionAsync(execution.Name);
           }
   
           // Print results.
           Console.WriteLine($"Execution finished with state: {execution.State}");
           Console.WriteLine($"Execution results: {execution.Result}");
   
           // Return the fetched execution.
           return execution;
       }
   }

   Go

   import (
   	"context"
   	"fmt"
   	"io"
   	"time"
   
   	workflowexecutions "google.golang.org/api/workflowexecutions/v1"
   )
   
   // Execute a workflow and print the execution results.
   //
   // For more information about Workflows see:
   // https://cloud.google.com/workflows/docs/overview
   func executeWorkflow(w io.Writer, projectID, workflowID, locationID string) error {
   	// TODO(developer): Uncomment and update the following lines:
   	// projectID := "YOUR_PROJECT_ID"
   	// workflowID := "YOUR_WORKFLOW_ID"
   	// locationID := "YOUR_LOCATION_ID"
   
   	ctx := context.Background()
   
   	// Construct the location path.
   	parent := fmt.Sprintf("projects/%s/locations/%s/workflows/%s", projectID, locationID, workflowID)
   
   	// Create execution client.
   	client, err := workflowexecutions.NewService(ctx)
   	if err != nil {
   		return fmt.Errorf("workflowexecutions.NewService error: %w", err)
   	}
   
   	// Get execution service.
   	service := client.Projects.Locations.Workflows.Executions
   
   	// Build and run the new workflow execution.
   	res, err := service.Create(parent, &workflowexecutions.Execution{}).Do()
   	if err != nil {
   		return fmt.Errorf("service.Create.Do error: %w", err)
   	}
   	fmt.Fprintln(w, "- Execution started...")
   
   	// Set initial value for backoff delay in one second.
   	backoffDelay := time.Second
   
   	for res.State == "ACTIVE" {
   		time.Sleep(backoffDelay)
   
   		// Request the updated state for the execution.
   		getReq := service.Get(res.Name)
   		res, err = getReq.Do()
   		if err != nil {
   			return fmt.Errorf("getReq error: %w", err)
   		}
   
   		// Double the delay to provide exponential backoff (capped at 16 seconds).
   		if backoffDelay < time.Second*16 {
   			backoffDelay *= 2
   		}
   	}
   
   	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Execution finished with state: %s\n", res.State)
   	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Execution results: %s\n", res.Result)
   
   	return nil
   }
   

   Java

   // Imports the Google Cloud client library
   
   import com.google.cloud.workflows.executions.v1.CreateExecutionRequest;
   import com.google.cloud.workflows.executions.v1.Execution;
   import com.google.cloud.workflows.executions.v1.ExecutionsClient;
   import com.google.cloud.workflows.executions.v1.WorkflowName;
   import java.io.IOException;
   import java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;
   
   public class WorkflowsQuickstart {
   
     private static final String PROJECT = System.getenv("GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT");
     private static final String LOCATION = System.getenv().getOrDefault("LOCATION", "us-central1");
     private static final String WORKFLOW =
         System.getenv().getOrDefault("WORKFLOW", "myFirstWorkflow");
   
     public static void main(String... args)
         throws IOException, InterruptedException, ExecutionException {
       if (PROJECT == null) {
         throw new IllegalArgumentException(
             "Environment variable 'GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT' is required to run this quickstart.");
       }
       workflowsQuickstart(PROJECT, LOCATION, WORKFLOW);
     }
   
     private static volatile boolean finished;
   
     public static void workflowsQuickstart(String projectId, String location, String workflow)
         throws IOException, InterruptedException, ExecutionException {
       // Initialize client that will be used to send requests. This client only needs
       // to be created once, and can be reused for multiple requests. After completing all of your
       // requests, call the "close" method on the client to safely clean up any remaining background
       // resources.
       try (ExecutionsClient executionsClient = ExecutionsClient.create()) {
         // Construct the fully qualified location path.
         WorkflowName parent = WorkflowName.of(projectId, location, workflow);
   
         // Creates the execution object.
         CreateExecutionRequest request =
             CreateExecutionRequest.newBuilder()
                 .setParent(parent.toString())
                 .setExecution(Execution.newBuilder().build())
                 .build();
         Execution response = executionsClient.createExecution(request);
   
         String executionName = response.getName();
         System.out.printf("Created execution: %s%n", executionName);
   
         long backoffTime = 0;
         long backoffDelay = 1_000; // Start wait with delay of 1,000 ms
         final long backoffTimeout = 10 * 60 * 1_000; // Time out at 10 minutes
         System.out.println("Poll for results...");
   
         // Wait for execution to finish, then print results.
         while (!finished && backoffTime < backoffTimeout) {
           Execution execution = executionsClient.getExecution(executionName);
           finished = execution.getState() != Execution.State.ACTIVE;
   
           // If we haven't seen the results yet, wait.
           if (!finished) {
             System.out.println("- Waiting for results");
             Thread.sleep(backoffDelay);
             backoffTime += backoffDelay;
             backoffDelay *= 2; // Double the delay to provide exponential backoff.
           } else {
             System.out.println("Execution finished with state: " + execution.getState().name());
             System.out.println("Execution results: " + execution.getResult());
           }
         }
       }
     }
   }

   Node.js

   const {ExecutionsClient} = require('@google-cloud/workflows');
   const client = new ExecutionsClient();
   /**
    * TODO(developer): Uncomment these variables before running the sample.
    */
   // const projectId = 'my-project';
   // const location = 'us-central1';
   // const workflow = 'myFirstWorkflow';
   // const searchTerm = '';
   
   /**
    * Executes a Workflow and waits for the results with exponential backoff.
    * @param {string} projectId The Google Cloud Project containing the workflow
    * @param {string} location The workflow location
    * @param {string} workflow The workflow name
    * @param {string} searchTerm Optional search term to pass to the Workflow as a runtime argument
    */
   async function executeWorkflow(projectId, location, workflow, searchTerm) {
     /**
      * Sleeps the process N number of milliseconds.
      * @param {Number} ms The number of milliseconds to sleep.
      */
     function sleep(ms) {
       return new Promise(resolve => {
         setTimeout(resolve, ms);
       });
     }
     const runtimeArgs = searchTerm ? {searchTerm: searchTerm} : {};
     // Execute workflow
     try {
       const createExecutionRes = await client.createExecution({
         parent: client.workflowPath(projectId, location, workflow),
         execution: {
           // Runtime arguments can be passed as a JSON string
           argument: JSON.stringify(runtimeArgs),
         },
       });
       const executionName = createExecutionRes[0].name;
       console.log(`Created execution: ${executionName}`);
   
       // Wait for execution to finish, then print results.
       let executionFinished = false;
       let backoffDelay = 1000; // Start wait with delay of 1,000 ms
       console.log('Poll every second for result...');
       while (!executionFinished) {
         const [execution] = await client.getExecution({
           name: executionName,
         });
         executionFinished = execution.state !== 'ACTIVE';
   
         // If we haven't seen the result yet, wait a second.
         if (!executionFinished) {
           console.log('- Waiting for results...');
           await sleep(backoffDelay);
           backoffDelay *= 2; // Double the delay to provide exponential backoff.
         } else {
           console.log(`Execution finished with state: ${execution.state}`);
           console.log(execution.result);
           return execution.result;
         }
       }
     } catch (e) {
       console.error(`Error executing workflow: ${e}`);
     }
   }
   
   executeWorkflow(projectId, location, workflowName, searchTerm).catch(err => {
     console.error(err.message);
     process.exitCode = 1;
   });
   

   Python

   import time
   
   from google.cloud import workflows_v1
   from google.cloud.workflows import executions_v1
   
   from google.cloud.workflows.executions_v1.types import executions
   
   # TODO(developer): Update and uncomment the following lines.
   # project_id = "YOUR_PROJECT_ID"
   # location = "YOUR_LOCATION"  # For example: us-central1
   # workflow_id = "YOUR_WORKFLOW_ID"  # For example: myFirstWorkflow
   
   # Initialize API clients.
   execution_client = executions_v1.ExecutionsClient()
   workflows_client = workflows_v1.WorkflowsClient()
   
   # Construct the fully qualified location path.
   parent = workflows_client.workflow_path(project_id, location, workflow_id)
   
   # Execute the workflow.
   response = execution_client.create_execution(request={"parent": parent})
   print(f"Created execution: {response.name}")
   
   # Wait for execution to finish, then print results.
   execution_finished = False
   backoff_delay = 1  # Start wait with delay of 1 second.
   print("Poll for result...")
   
   # Keep polling the state until the execution finishes,
   # using exponential backoff.
   while not execution_finished:
       execution = execution_client.get_execution(
           request={"name": response.name}
       )
       execution_finished = execution.state != executions.Execution.State.ACTIVE
   
       # If we haven't seen the result yet, keep waiting.
       if not execution_finished:
           print("- Waiting for results...")
           time.sleep(backoff_delay)
           # Double the delay to provide exponential backoff.
           backoff_delay *= 2
       else:
           print(f"Execution finished with state: {execution.state.name}")
           print(f"Execution results: {execution.result}")

Run the sample code

You can run the sample code and execute your workflow. Executing a workflow runs the deployed workflow definition associated with the workflow.

1. To run the sample, first install dependencies:

   C#

   dotnet restore

   Go

   go mod download

   Java

   mvn compile

   Node.js

   npm install -D tsx

   Python

   pip3 install -r requirements.txt

2. Run the script:

   C#

   GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT=PROJECT_ID LOCATION=CLOUD_REGION WORKFLOW=WORKFLOW_NAME dotnet run

   Go

   GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT=PROJECT_ID LOCATION=CLOUD_REGION WORKFLOW=WORKFLOW_NAME go run .

   Java

   GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT=PROJECT_ID LOCATION=CLOUD_REGION WORKFLOW=WORKFLOW_NAME mvn compile exec:java -Dexec.mainClass=com.example.workflows.WorkflowsQuickstart

   Node.js

   npx tsx index.js

   Python

   GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT=PROJECT_ID LOCATION=CLOUD_REGION WORKFLOW=WORKFLOW_NAME python3 main.py

   Replace the following:

   • PROJECT_ID: your Google Cloud project name
   • CLOUD_REGION: the location of your workflow (default: us-central1)
   • WORKFLOW_NAME: your workflow name (default: myFirstWorkflow)

   The output is similar to the following:

   Execution finished with state: SUCCEEDED
   Execution results: ["Thursday","Thursday Night Football","Thursday (band)","Thursday Island","Thursday (album)","Thursday Next","Thursday at the Square","Thursday's Child (David Bowie song)","Thursday Afternoon","Thursday (film)"]
   

Pass data in an execution request

Depending on the client library language, you can also pass a runtime argument in an execution request. For example:

C#

public class ExecuteWorkflowWithArgumentsSample
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Execute a workflow with arguments and return the execution operation.
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="projectID">Your Google Cloud Project ID.</param>
    /// <param name="locationID">The region where your workflow is located.</param>
    /// <param name="workflowID">Your Workflow ID.</param>
    /// <returns>
    /// An Execute object representing the completed workflow execution.
    /// </returns>
    public async Task<Execution> ExecuteWorkflowWithArguments(
        string projectId = "YOUR-PROJECT-ID",
        string locationID = "YOUR-LOCATION-ID",
        string workflowID = "YOUR-WORKFLOW-ID")
    {
        // Initialize the client.
        ExecutionsClient client = await ExecutionsClient.CreateAsync();

        // Build the parent location path.
        WorkflowName parent = new WorkflowName(projectId, locationID, workflowID);

        // Serialize the argument.
        string argument = JsonSerializer.Serialize(new
        {
            searchTerm = "Cloud"
        });

        // Create an execution request.
        CreateExecutionRequest createExecutionRequest = new CreateExecutionRequest
        {
            ParentAsWorkflowName = parent,
            Execution = new Execution
            {
                Argument = argument,
            }
        };

        // Execute the operation and recieve the execution.
        Execution execution = await client.CreateExecutionAsync(createExecutionRequest);
        Console.WriteLine("- Execution started...");

        TimeSpan backoffDelay = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1);
        TimeSpan maxBackoffDelay = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(16);

        // Keep polling the state until the execution finishes, using exponential backoff.
        while (execution.State == Execution.Types.State.Active)
        {
            await Task.Delay(backoffDelay);

            // Implement exponential backoff by doubling the delay, but limiting it to a practical duration.
            backoffDelay = (backoffDelay < maxBackoffDelay) ? backoffDelay * 2 : maxBackoffDelay;

            execution = await client.GetExecutionAsync(execution.Name);
        }

        // Print results.
        Console.WriteLine($"Execution finished with state: {execution.State}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Execution results: {execution.Result}");

        // Return the fetched execution.
        return execution;
    }
}

Go

import (
	"context"
	"encoding/json"
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"time"

	workflowexecutions "google.golang.org/api/workflowexecutions/v1"
)

// Execute a workflow with arguments and print the execution results.
//
// For more information about Workflows see:
// https://cloud.google.com/workflows/docs/overview
func executeWorkflowWithArguments(w io.Writer, projectID, workflowID, locationID string) error {
	// TODO(developer): Uncomment and update the following lines:
	// projectID := "YOUR_PROJECT_ID"
	// workflowID := "YOUR_WORKFLOW_ID"
	// locationID := "YOUR_LOCATION_ID"

	ctx := context.Background()

	// Construct the location path.
	parent := fmt.Sprintf("projects/%s/locations/%s/workflows/%s", projectID, locationID, workflowID)

	// Create execution client.
	client, err := workflowexecutions.NewService(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("workflowexecutions.NewService error: %w", err)
	}

	// Get execution service.
	service := client.Projects.Locations.Workflows.Executions

	// Create argument.
	argument := struct {
		SearchTerm string `json:"searchTerm"`
	}{
		SearchTerm: "Cloud",
	}

	// Encode argument to JSON.
	argumentEncoded, err := json.Marshal(argument)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("json.Marshal error: %w", err)
	}

	// Build and run the new workflow execution adding the argument.
	res, err := service.Create(parent, &workflowexecutions.Execution{
		Argument: string(argumentEncoded),
	}).Do()
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("service.Create.Do error: %w", err)
	}
	fmt.Fprintln(w, "- Execution started...")

	// Set initial value for backoff delay in one second.
	backoffDelay := time.Second

	for res.State == "ACTIVE" {
		time.Sleep(backoffDelay)

		// Request the updated state for the execution.
		getReq := service.Get(res.Name)
		res, err = getReq.Do()
		if err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("getReq error: %w", err)
		}

		// Double the delay to provide exponential backoff (capped at 16 seconds).
		if backoffDelay < time.Second*16 {
			backoffDelay *= 2
		}
	}

	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Execution finished with state: %s\n", res.State)
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Execution arguments: %s", res.Argument)
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Execution results: %s\n", res.Result)

	return nil
}

Java

// Creates the execution object
CreateExecutionRequest request =
    CreateExecutionRequest.newBuilder()
        .setParent(parent.toString())
        .setExecution(Execution.newBuilder().setArgument("{\"searchTerm\":\"Friday\"}").build())
        .build();

Node.js

// Execute workflow
try {
  const createExecutionRes = await client.createExecution({
    parent: client.workflowPath(projectId, location, workflow),
    execution: {
      argument: JSON.stringify({"searchTerm": "Friday"})
    }
});
const executionName = createExecutionRes[0].name;

Python

import time

from google.cloud import workflows_v1
from google.cloud.workflows import executions_v1

from google.cloud.workflows.executions_v1.types import executions

# TODO(developer): Update and uncomment the following lines.
# project_id = "YOUR_PROJECT_ID"
# location = "YOUR_LOCATION"  # For example: us-central1
# workflow_id = "YOUR_WORKFLOW_ID"  # For example: myFirstWorkflow

# Initialize API clients.
execution_client = executions_v1.ExecutionsClient()
workflows_client = workflows_v1.WorkflowsClient()

# Construct the fully qualified location path.
parent = workflows_client.workflow_path(project_id, location, workflow_id)

# Execute the workflow adding an dictionary of arguments.
# Find more information about the Execution object here:
# https://cloud.google.com/python/docs/reference/workflows/latest/google.cloud.workflows.executions_v1.types.Execution
execution = executions_v1.Execution(
    name=parent,
    argument='{"searchTerm": "Cloud"}',
)

response = execution_client.create_execution(
    parent=parent,
    execution=execution,
)
print(f"Created execution: {response.name}")

# Wait for execution to finish, then print results.
execution_finished = False
backoff_delay = 1  # Start wait with delay of 1 second.
print("Poll for result...")

# Keep polling the state until the execution finishes,
# using exponential backoff.
while not execution_finished:
    execution = execution_client.get_execution(
        request={"name": response.name}
    )
    execution_finished = execution.state != executions.Execution.State.ACTIVE

    # If we haven't seen the result yet, keep waiting.
    if not execution_finished:
        print("- Waiting for results...")
        time.sleep(backoff_delay)
        # Double the delay to provide exponential backoff.
        backoff_delay *= 2
    else:
        print(f"Execution finished with state: {execution.state.name}")
        print(f"Execution results: {execution.result}")

For more information about passing runtime arguments, see Pass runtime arguments in an execution request.

Clean up

To avoid incurring charges to your Google Cloud account for the resources used on this page, delete the Google Cloud project with the resources.

1. Delete the workflow you created:

   gcloud workflows delete myFirstWorkflow
   

2. When asked if you want to continue, enter y.

The workflow is deleted.

What's next

• Control the order of execution in a workflow

• Update an existing workflow

• Sample workflows

• Workflows syntax reference