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⚡ AutoFlow.NET

Automate anything. Write less code. Ship faster.

A modern, cross-platform automation framework with elegant YAML DSL.
Build workflows in minutes, not days.

---

🎯 Why AutoFlow.NET?

Stop writing boilerplate automation scripts. Define your workflows in clean YAML and let the engine handle the complexity.

schema_version: 1
name: fetch_and_process

tasks:
  main:
    steps:
      - parallel:
          max_concurrency: 5
          steps:
            - step: { id: users, uses: http.request, with: { url: "${api}/users" } }
            - step: { id: posts, uses: http.request, with: { url: "${api}/posts" } }
            - step: { id: comments, uses: http.request, with: { url: "${api}/comments" } }

That's it. 3 parallel HTTP requests with automatic error handling, logging, and reporting.

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✨ Features that matter

Feature	What it means for you
YAML DSL	Describe workflows declaratively — no complex code
Parallel Execution	Run independent steps concurrently — 5x faster workflows
Exponential Backoff Retry	Auto-retry with smart delays — resilient by default
Secrets Management	Inject secrets safely — auto-masked in logs & reports
Lifecycle Hooks	Intercept any event — full observability
Browser Automation	Playwright-powered — test any web app
SQLite Persistence	Full execution history — audit everything

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🧩 VS Code Extension

Install the AutoFlow.NET extension for the best development experience:

Features:

Feature	Description
🎨 Syntax Highlighting	Keywords, variables, control flow
💡 IntelliSense	Keywords, arguments, outputs, variables
🔍 Code Navigation	Go to Definition, Find References, Workspace Symbols
✏️ Code Editing	Quick Fixes, Signature Help, Code Folding
🖥️ UI	Status Bar, Tree View, Document Links
📝 Snippets	20+ workflow patterns
🚀 CLI Integration	Run, validate, history, stats

# Download from releases and install
code --install-extension autoflow-1.1.0.vsix

See vscode-autoflow/README.md for full documentation.

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🚀 Quick Start

# Clone and run in 30 seconds
git clone https://github.com/chelslava/autoflow-net.git
cd autoflow-net
dotnet run --project src/AutoFlow.Cli -- run examples/flow.yaml

Prerequisites: .NET 10 SDK

Browser Automation Setup

For browser automation workflows, install Playwright browsers:

# Build the CLI first
dotnet build src/AutoFlow.Cli

# Install browsers (Chromium, Firefox, WebKit)
pwsh src/AutoFlow.Cli/bin/Debug/net10.0/playwright.ps1 install

# Or install only Chromium (faster, ~150 MB)
pwsh src/AutoFlow.Cli/bin/Debug/net10.0/playwright.ps1 install chromium

Run browser example:

dotnet run --project src/AutoFlow.Cli -- run examples/browser_login.yaml

---

📖 Examples

Ready-to-run workflows in examples/

File	Shows
examples/flow.yaml	Smallest possible workflow with log.info
examples/file_roundtrip.yaml	Local file automation with files.write, files.exists, files.read, datetime.now, and if
examples/http_json_report.yaml	HTTP request + JSON extraction + local report generation
examples/excel_summary.yaml	Downloading an Excel file and reading rows with excel.read
examples/imports_report.yaml	Focused imports example with shared variables and imported tasks
examples/parallel_fetch_report.yaml	Focused parallel example that writes a summary report
examples/report_cli_demo.yaml	Simple workflow intended for JSON/HTML report generation from the CLI
examples/advanced_flow.yaml	if, foreach, call, and file reads
examples/advanced_features.yaml	parallel, retry, on_error, and finally
examples/imports/main.yaml	Workflow imports and reusable tasks
examples/browser_login.yaml	Browser login flow
examples/browser_ecommerce.yaml	Browser e-commerce scenario
examples/rpa_challenge.yaml	Full 10-round RPA Challenge run until Congratulations!
examples/reframework/main.yaml	REFramework-style structure for the RPA Challenge

Quick start for the new examples:

dotnet run --project src/AutoFlow.Cli -- run examples/file_roundtrip.yaml
dotnet run --project src/AutoFlow.Cli -- run examples/http_json_report.yaml
dotnet run --project src/AutoFlow.Cli -- run examples/excel_summary.yaml
dotnet run --project src/AutoFlow.Cli -- run examples/imports_report.yaml
dotnet run --project src/AutoFlow.Cli -- run examples/parallel_fetch_report.yaml

JSON/HTML report generation from the CLI

# JSON report
dotnet run --project src/AutoFlow.Cli -- run examples/report_cli_demo.yaml --output reports/report_cli_demo.json

# HTML report
dotnet run --project src/AutoFlow.Cli -- run examples/report_cli_demo.yaml --output reports/report_cli_demo.html

Real-world Example

Parallel API Fetch with Retry

schema_version: 1
name: data_pipeline

variables:
  api_base: https://api.example.com

tasks:
  main:
    on_error:
      - step: { id: alert, uses: log.info, with: { message: "❌ Pipeline failed!" } }
    
    finally:
      - step: { id: cleanup, uses: log.info, with: { message: "🧹 Cleanup done" } }
    
    steps:
      # Fetch in parallel — 3 concurrent requests
      - parallel:
          id: fetch_data
          max_concurrency: 3
          steps:
            - step:
                id: users
                uses: http.request
                with: { url: "${api_base}/users", method: GET }
                save_as: { body: users_data }
            
            - step:
                id: posts
                uses: http.request
                with: { url: "${api_base}/posts", method: GET }
                save_as: { body: posts_data }
      
      # Auto-retry with exponential backoff
      - step:
          id: unstable_endpoint
          uses: http.request
          with: { url: "${api_base}/flaky", method: GET }
          retry:
            attempts: 5
            type: exponential
            delay: "1s"
            max_delay: "30s"

Browser Automation

schema_version: 1
name: login_test

tasks:
  main:
    steps:
      - step:
          id: open_browser
          uses: browser.open
          with: { browser: chromium, headless: true }
          save_as: { browserId: browser_id }
      
      - step:
          id: navigate
          uses: browser.goto
          with: { browserId: "${browser_id}", url: "https://app.example.com/login" }
      
      - step:
          id: fill_credentials
          uses: browser.fill
          with:
            browserId: "${browser_id}"
            selector: "#email"
            value: "${secret:TEST_USER_EMAIL}"
      
      - step:
          id: submit
          uses: browser.click
          with: { browserId: "${browser_id}", selector: "button[type=submit]" }
      
      - step:
          id: verify
          uses: browser.assert_text
          with: { browserId: "${browser_id}", selector: ".welcome", expected: "Welcome" }

---

🔧 CLI Commands

# Run a workflow
dotnet run --project src/AutoFlow.Cli -- run workflow.yaml

# Generate HTML report
dotnet run --project src/AutoFlow.Cli -- run workflow.yaml --output report.html

# Validate before running
dotnet run --project src/AutoFlow.Cli -- validate workflow.yaml

# View execution history
dotnet run --project src/AutoFlow.Cli -- history --status Failed

# Get statistics
dotnet run --project src/AutoFlow.Cli -- stats --days 7

# List available keywords
dotnet run --project src/AutoFlow.Cli -- list-keywords

---

🧩 Available Keywords

HTTP & Data

Keyword	Description
http.request	HTTP/HTTPS requests with full control
json.parse	Extract values from JSON

Files

Keyword	Description
files.read	Read file contents
files.write	Write to files
files.exists	Check file existence
files.delete	Delete files

Browser (Playwright)

Keyword	Description
browser.open	Launch Chromium/Firefox/WebKit
browser.goto	Navigate to URL
browser.click	Click elements
browser.fill	Fill form fields
browser.wait	Wait for elements
browser.screenshot	Capture screenshots
browser.assert_text	Verify page content
browser.evaluate	Execute JavaScript

Control Flow

Keyword	Description
if	Conditional execution
for_each	Loop over items
parallel	Concurrent execution
call	Reusable tasks
group	Logical grouping

---

🔐 Security First

Path Traversal Protection

File operations automatically reject ../ and absolute paths outside allowed directories.

SSRF Protection

HTTP requests to localhost, 192.168.x.x, 10.x.x.x blocked by default. Enable explicitly with allowPrivateNetworks: true.

Secret Masking

Secrets are automatically masked in logs and reports:

[INFO] Calling API with token: ***

---

🔌 Extend with Custom Keywords

[Keyword("slack.notify", Category = "Notifications", Description = "Send Slack message")]
public class SlackNotifyKeyword : IKeywordHandler<SlackNotifyArgs>
{
    public async Task<KeywordResult> ExecuteAsync(
        KeywordContext context,
        SlackNotifyArgs args,
        CancellationToken ct = default)
    {
        // Your logic here
        return KeywordResult.Success(new { messageId = "msg_123" });
    }
}

Register and use:

- step:
    id: notify_team
    uses: slack.notify
    with:
      channel: "#deployments"
      message: "Deploy complete! 🚀"

---

📊 Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     YAML Workflow                        │
└─────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────┘
                      ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Parser (AST)                          │
└─────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────┘
                      ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                   Validation                             │
└─────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────┘
                      ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                   Runtime Engine                         │
│  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐     │
│  │   Secrets   │  │   Hooks     │  │  Variables  │     │
│  └─────────────┘  └─────────────┘  └─────────────┘     │
└─────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────┘
                      ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              Keyword Executors                           │
│  ┌────────┐ ┌────────┐ ┌────────┐ ┌────────┐           │
│  │  HTTP  │ │ Files  │ │Browser │ │ Custom │           │
│  └────────┘ └────────┘ └────────┘ └────────┘           │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

---

📦 Project Structure

AutoFlow.NET/
├── src/
│   ├── AutoFlow.Abstractions/    # Core contracts
│   ├── AutoFlow.Runtime/         # Execution engine
│   ├── AutoFlow.Parser/          # YAML → AST
│   ├── AutoFlow.Validation/      # Schema validation
│   ├── AutoFlow.Reporting/       # JSON/HTML reports
│   ├── AutoFlow.Database/        # SQLite persistence
│   └── AutoFlow.Cli/             # Command-line tool
├── libraries/
│   ├── AutoFlow.Library.Http/    # HTTP keywords
│   ├── AutoFlow.Library.Files/   # File keywords
│   └── AutoFlow.Library.Browser/ # Browser keywords
└── tests/                        # Test projects

---

🗺️ Roadmap

Feature	Status
YAML Parser	✅
Control Flow (if/foreach/call)	✅
Parallel Execution	✅
Lifecycle Hooks	✅
Secrets Management	✅
Browser Automation	✅
SQLite Persistence	✅
Expression Language	🚧
Visual Workflow Editor	📋 Planned
Cloud Execution	📋 Planned

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🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

1. Fork the repo
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'feat: add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

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📄 License

MIT License — use it for anything, commercial or personal.

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💬 Community

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Discussions: GitHub Discussions

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