Start Here
- Quickstart for the fastest path to a successful run.
- CLI Quickstart if you need to operate Smithers from the terminal.
- JSX API if you want to build your own workflows.
- Workflows Overview if you want the mental model first.
Choose the Path That Matches Your Job
I need something running today
- Installation gets the workflow pack into your project.
- Quickstart walks through your first run.
- CLI Quickstart shows how to inspect, resume, and unblock runs.
I need to build workflows
- JSX API explains the authoring model.
- JSX Quickstart builds a small workflow from scratch.
- Tutorial: Build a Workflow expands that into a production-style example.
- Components is the reference set for the JSX surface.
I need production operations
- CLI Reference is the full command reference.
- Observability covers logs, spans, and metrics.
- Resumability explains what survives failure and how to recover.
- Time Travel Quickstart covers replay, diff, and fork workflows.
How Smithers Is Organized
| Surface | What it is for | Start here |
|---|---|---|
| CLI | Run, inspect, resume, approve, debug, and operate workflows | CLI Quickstart |
| JSX API | Define workflows as TSX components with typed outputs | JSX API |
| Runtime API | Execute or render workflows programmatically | runWorkflow |
| Concepts | Learn the execution model and data flow | Workflows Overview |
| Guides | Learn common production patterns | Best Practices |
Why Teams Adopt It
- Completed task outputs are persisted to SQLite, so resumed runs skip finished work.
- Zod schemas make task output contracts explicit instead of “hope the model returns JSON.”
- JSX keeps the workflow readable to humans and writable by code assistants.
- Approval gates, signals, time travel, and observability are part of the runtime instead of custom glue.