debusine:workflow-internal

# Category `debusine:workflow-internal`

This collection stores runtime data of a workflow. Bare items can be used to store arbitrary JSON data, while artifact items can help to share artifacts between all the tasks (and help retain them for long-running workflows).

Items are normally added to this collection using the update-collection-with-artifacts or update-collection-with-data action.

- Variables when adding items: none; pass an item name instead

- Data: none

- Valid items: artifacts of any category

- Per-item data: structure defined by workflows using the update-collection-with-artifacts or update-collection-with-data event reactions. The `variables` or `data` fields respectively are copied into per-item data. Names starting with `promise_` are reserved. This allows matching promises or promised artifacts using workflow-defined criteria.

- Lookup names: only the standard `name:NAME` lookup

Note

When a workflow is contained within another workflow they share the same internal collection, so that a sub-workflow can access the artifacts produced by its parent workflow

Note

The artifacts referenced through the internal collection should not expire while the workflow is running. But they should be allowed to expire once the workflow expiration delay is over.

This will likely require to be able to flag a collection as not retaining their contained artifacts. And the delete-expired-artifact will thus have to be able to remove artifacts from collections that do not retain their artifacts.

Workflow instances can only expire when their internal collection no longer contains any artifact. Otherwise the workflow instance is kept to facilitate the analysis of (the origin of) artifacts that were created by the workflow.

Todo

The whole expiration point needs some redesign, tracked in issue #346