Skip to main content
Last updated on
Tags:
Options
Open in ChatGPTAsk ChatGPT about this pageOpen in ClaudeAsk Claude about this page

Temporal 101

OpenBox plugs into Temporal — a workflow engine that provides durable execution for distributed applications. This page explains the Temporal concepts you'll encounter in the OpenBox docs and shows how each one connects to governance.

Concepts at a Glance​

Workflow​

A Workflow is a durable function that orchestrates a sequence of steps. If the process crashes mid-execution, Temporal replays the Workflow from its event history so it can resume exactly where it left off.

OpenBox connection: When a Workflow starts, OpenBox creates a governance session. When it completes or fails, OpenBox closes the session and triggers attestation. Every Workflow execution maps 1:1 to a governance session in your dashboard.

Temporal docs: Workflows

Activity​

An Activity is a single unit of work inside a Workflow — calling an LLM, querying a database, invoking a tool, or making an HTTP request. Activities are where side effects happen.

OpenBox connection: OpenBox captures the inputs and outputs of every Activity execution, evaluates governance policies against them, and records a decision (ALLOW, BLOCK, REQUIRE_APPROVAL, etc.) for each one.

Temporal docs: Activities

Worker​

A Worker is a process that hosts your Workflow and Activity code and polls Temporal for tasks to execute. You start a Worker, register your Workflows and Activities on it, and it handles execution.

OpenBox connection: The Worker is the single integration point. You replace Temporal's Worker with create_openbox_worker — one code change that wraps the Worker with the trust layer. No changes to your Workflows or Activities.

Temporal docs: Workers

Where OpenBox Sits in the Execution Flow​

The diagram below shows how the OpenBox SDK wraps the Temporal Worker to intercept events at each stage of execution:

  • Your App starts a Workflow on the Temporal Server.
  • Temporal dispatches tasks to the Wrapped Worker (create_openbox_worker).
  • The Worker sends every Workflow and Activity event to the OpenBox Platform, which evaluates policies and returns a governance decision (allow, block, require approval, etc.).
  • The Worker continues execution based on the decision and reports results back to Temporal.

Next Steps​