Quickstart

Install

Run the CLI inside an existing Express, NestJS, or Next.js project:

npx flowlib-cli init

The wizard will:

1. Detect your framework and database driver
2. Install @flowlib/core, @flowlib/ui, and the framework adapter
3. Generate flowlib.config.ts and an encryption key
4. Create database schema files and run the initial migration

Start the server

The CLI installs everything, but you still need to mount the router. Here's the minimal Express setup — the config is imported from the generated flowlib.config.ts:

import express from 'express';
import { createFlowlibRouter } from '@flowlib/express';
import { flowlibConfig } from './flowlib.config';

const app = express();
app.use(express.json());
app.use('/flowlib', await createFlowlibRouter(flowlibConfig));

app.listen(3000, () => console.log('http://localhost:3000/flowlib'));

For NestJS or Next.js mounting patterns, see Installation.

Add the visual editor

The flow editor, execution viewer, and credential manager all live in the <Flowlib> React component. It takes a single config prop — the same object you passed to the backend, so import the generated flowlib.config.ts on both sides.

With Express or NestJS, the UI is a separate React app. Install @flowlib/ui there:

pnpm add @flowlib/ui

import { Flowlib } from '@flowlib/ui';
import '@flowlib/ui/styles';
import { flowlibConfig } from '../flowlib.config';

function App() {
  return <Flowlib config={flowlibConfig} />;
}

With Next.js, mount it in a catch-all client page (dynamic import with ssr: false — the editor uses browser APIs):

'use client';

import dynamic from 'next/dynamic';
import '@flowlib/ui/styles';
import config from '../../flowlib.config';

const Flowlib = dynamic(() => import('@flowlib/ui').then((m) => ({ default: m.Flowlib })), {
  ssr: false,
});

export default function FlowlibPage() {
  return <Flowlib config={config} />;
}

Open the dashboard

Start your server and frontend, then visit your editor (e.g. http://localhost:5173 for a Vite app, or http://localhost:3000/flowlib for Next.js). You should see the Flowlib dashboard where you can create and run flows.

What's next?

• Triggers — Start flows manually, on a schedule, or from webhooks
• Execution Model — How flows execute under the hood
• Plugins — Authentication, RBAC, webhooks, and more
• Reference — Configuration, CLI, and API docs