Program
Source plus its compiled artifact. Real control flow that can call agents, capabilities, and Workflows.
the workWorkflows
Publish the way work gets done.
A Program is executable work. An agent can run it once—or you can publish it as a named, versioned Workflow that waits, resumes, and remains operable after the originating turn is gone.
Program · customer_onboarding publish preview
canonical source onboarding.rn
01
let docs = documents::ingest(input)02
let draft = onboarding_agent(docs)03
if draft.needs_review04
approval::wait(draft)05
access::provision(draft)06
return summary(draft)source · 7c9e31 the only definition that executes
publish validate bind freeze
Workflow published v3
identitycustomer_onboarding
inputonboarding.request.v1
outputonboarding.result.v1
resources4 explicitly bound
topologyderived · complete
status● published
immutable version · ready to start
Run · 01J6Z7 · Workflow v3 pinned ● paused at approval · $0.00 while it waits
01 · capabilityingest_documents✓ recorded
02 · agentdraft_setup✓ recorded
03 · approvalhuman_review● parked 2d 4h
04 · capabilityprovision_accesswaiting
The model
One executable. Two ways to run.
Program, Run, Workflow, and Automation each name one thing. The Program holds the logic. A Run is one execution. Publishing gives that Program a durable identity and operating contract.
run now→
Run
One execution in the current turn, against the agent’s bound surface. It cannot wait.
ends with the turnpublish→
Workflow
Named, versioned, schema-bound work with durable Runs that can wait and resume.
the commitment04 · when
Automation
Starts an Agent or published Workflow on a schedule, check-in, or watcher match.
One source of truth
Code owns the logic. The graph explains it.
Programs express decisions, loops, parallel work, local transformations, and nested calls without turning a canvas into another programming language.
Noorle derives a read-only topology from the exact compiled source. Every external effect links back to its source location. The view can explain the Workflow; it can never quietly become a second definition.
- source
- the only thing that executes
- topology
- compiler-derived and source-linked
- coverage
- every external effect accounted for
customer_onboarding · overview read-only
external effect control flow durable wait coverage · complete
The publication boundary
Same source. A stronger promise.
Publishing does not rewrite the Program. It recompiles the same source under a stricter durable profile and turns its operating assumptions into an explicit contract.
The originating agent’s surface does not carry over. Resources are bound on the Workflow itself, so a Run never gains ambient access. Agent-bound Computers stay with agents.
publish · customer_onboarding contract preview
01 · validate
Prove it can last
Replay-safe calls, bounded work, durable values, and allowed waits.
durable profile · passed02 · bind
Name every authority
Agents, capabilities, knowledge, and child Workflows resolve to stable resources.
4 resources · explicit03 · freeze
Seal the interface
Source, artifact, input/output schemas, and derived topology become one version.
version 3 · immutable04 · pin
Keep Runs stable
Each Run retains the version and execution contracts it started with.
future edits → version 4no source rewriteno inherited surfaceno mutable in-flight version
Durable by record
Lose the process. Keep the place.
A published Run advances through bounded activations over Noorle’s run ledger. Each activation reconstructs from the pinned Program and recorded outcomes, does bounded work, then commits its next state.
Run · 01J6Z7 · ledger version 28 Workflow customer_onboarding@3
activation 17committed
- replay4 recorded outcomes restored
- executeapproval::wait
- commitwait.approval · ordinal 1
- releaseprocess exits cleanly
parked 2d 4h no resident worker
activation 18resumed
- inputapproval recorded
- recreatefresh Program guest
- replaycontinue at the same call site
- executeprovision_access
same Run IDsame Workflow versionno VM state to keep alive
external effectprovision_access
outcomeprovider may have accepted it
safe responsepark for resolution
Recorded results are replayed. If an external write may have landed, the Run parks for resolution instead of risking a duplicate.
Run detail ● waiting
Workflowcustomer_onboarding@3
Run01J6Z7
Started byautomation:onboarding
Current waithuman_review · approval
14:02:11RunStartedversion 3 pinned
14:02:13EffectCompletedingest_documents
14:02:19AgentCompleteddraft_setup
14:02:20ApprovalRequesteduser:operations
ApproveSend signalCancel Run
Operations, not archaeology
A Run other people can operate.
The durable record carries enough context for someone else to understand the work without asking the originating agent to reconstruct its intent.
- 01Inspect
See the pinned version, inputs, outputs, effects, and complete run history.
- 02Resolve
Approve a gate, deliver a signal, or satisfy an external callback.
- 03Control
Cancel a Run without needing the process—or actor—that originally started it.
The handoff
Workflow is what. Automation is when.
Keep the execution contract separate from the condition that starts it. Change a schedule without editing the Workflow; publish a new Workflow version without rebuilding every trigger.
Workflow · customer_onboarding@3
ingest→draft→approve→provision
named · versioned · durableAutomation · new_customer
scheduleone-shot · interval · cron
watcherincoming activity matches
check-inperiodic proactive nudge
The portal, an agent, or another Program can start a Workflow too. An external callback resumes a Run already waiting; it is not an Automation trigger.
Choose the right surface
Judgment, or a published process?
Agent
The next step depends on judgment.
Open-ended work, ongoing threads, and an actor that carries context and learned practice forward.
relationship persists · path adapts →Workflow
The process should be published.
Named, versioned work with schemas, durable waits, and a Run someone else can inspect or operate.
version pins · Automation starts it