Workflow Templates

Workflow templates define reusable deployment pipelines for Axio stacks — the ordered stages executed when you Run stack (Plan, Apply, Destroy, Drift detection, and related operations). A template specifies supported IaC engines and cloud providers, pipeline steps (checkout, validate, plan, approval, apply, notifications, policy checks, and security scans), and optional governance metadata.

Manage templates under Stacks → Workflow Templates (/stacks/workflow-templates). Attach a template when creating a stack manually, reference one in axio.yaml, or select one each time you start a run.

Warning

Important

Workflow templates are not the same as PaC kind: Workflow. Templates describe the deployment pipeline for stack runs (Plan / Apply / Destroy). PaC Workflow resources are a separate automation catalog kind. Stack blueprints use axio.yaml (kind: Stack), not Platform as Code project manifests.

Only published organization templates appear in stack run pickers. Built-in platform templates (standard deploy, destroy, and drift per IaC engine) are available immediately without publishing.

Info

Prerequisites

  • View templates — workflow:template:read (all organization roles).
  • Create, edit, import, or publish — workflow:template:create, workflow:template:edit, workflow:template:publish (Administrators and Members).
  • Run stack with a template — workflow:template:execute and iac:manage in the target scope.
  • For Git-backed org templates via Platform as Code — a connected repository registered under Platform as Code → Synchronizations.

Axio supports two YAML shapes when authoring or importing workflow templates.

1. Deployment Template Format

Recommended

Steps-based YAML used for built-in platform templates, the admin Import YAML wizard, the template editor YAML tab, and raw files in Git repositories.

  • Human-readable and easy to version in Git
  • Ordered pipeline with sequential and parallel: step blocks
  • Required fields: id, name, supportedIacEngines, supportedOperations, steps
  • Recommended for most custom templates

2. Designer Graph Format

Visual graph (nodes and edges) used by the workflow template editor. Imported YAML with a top-level nodes array is converted to executable steps automatically.

  • Graph-based workflow design in the UI
  • Automatic conversion to the steps pipeline at save or publish time
  • Use config.catalogStage on nodes to reference catalog stage IDs explicitly

Where templates come from

▤

Built-in platform templates

Built-in · Read-only

Registered in the API at startup through the code registry and optional YAML files.

How it is loaded stacks/workflow-templates
In the UI

Shown as Built-in. Available immediately and cannot be edited.

▦

Organization catalog

User Managed

Templates created or imported in the Axio UI and stored with version history.

How it is loaded

Stacks → Workflow Templates. Versions are stored in PostgreSQL and published individually.

In the UI

Editable by authorized users. A version must be Published before it can be selected for stack runs.

⌘

Platform as Code Git sync

GitOps

Workflow templates managed as code in Platform as Code repositories.

How it is loaded kind: WorkflowTemplate

Raw deployment-template YAML is also supported.

In the UI

Synchronize through Platform as Code → Synchronizations. Templates appear in the organization catalog after sync.

Use spec.publish: true or status: ACTIVE for auto-publish.
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Standard built-in workflows

Built-in templates include one standard deploy, destroy, and drift workflow per IaC engine: Terraform, OpenTofu, Pulumi, CloudFormation, Crossplane, and Azure ARM/Bicep.

terraform-standard-deploy opentofu-standard-deploy

How templates are used

01

Manual stack creation

Select a compatible published template on the Workflow Template wizard step.

Create Stack Manually →
02

From axio.yaml

Set workflowTemplate or workflowHint in the manifest. Axio resolves a matching template after upload.

Create Stack from axio.yaml →
03

Run stack

Choose a template when starting Plan, Apply, Destroy, or other operations. The stack may remember a default template from provisioning.

04

Stack detail

View or change the linked template. Deprecated versions display a banner with upgrade guidance.

What’s on this page?

This section is the overview for workflow templates. Use the topics below and child pages for format details, built-in templates, and authoring guidance.

YAML Formats

Deployment-template steps syntax and designer nodes/edges graphs.

Loading & Git

Built-in YAML at API startup, org import/publish, and PaC WorkflowTemplate sync from connected repositories.

axio.yaml Integration

Reference workflowTemplate: terraform-standard-deploy or workflowHint in your stack manifest so Create Stack and Run stack resolve the right pipeline.

Validation & Governance

Parse-time checks (valid YAML, non-empty steps, well-formed parallel blocks), publish-time graph integrity, and org governance rules (production approval, plan-before-apply, valid stage IDs).

Export

Export published org template versions as YAML from the template detail page or via the admin API for reuse in Git or other environments.

Where to start?

If you are new to workflow templates, start with the built-in standard deploy templates — then read the deployment-template YAML format before authoring custom pipelines.

Next: Built-In Templates →