Duramation: Distributed Workflow Automation Platform

Duramation is a white-label, multi-tenant automation platform architected to handle complex, long-running business processes. Unlike simple task runners, it separates the Workflow Engine (Durable Execution) from the Management Plane (UI/API), allowing for independent scaling and failure isolation.

Why this exists: To provide an embeddable, type-safe automation layer for SaaS platforms that requires "ROI Tracking" (Time/Cost savings) as a first-class citizen—something missing from standard tools like n8n or Zapier.

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🏗 System Architecture

The system follows a distributed event-driven architecture using Next.js for the control plane and Inngest for the execution plane.

graph TD
    subgraph "Control Plane (Next.js)"
        UI[Dashboard UI] --> API[Next.js API Routes]
        API --> DB[(PostgreSQL)]
        API --> Cache[(Upstash Redis)]
    end

    subgraph "Execution Plane (Inngest)"
        Worker[Inngest Worker] --> EventBus[Event Bus]
        EventBus --> Worker
        Worker --> Integrations[Integration Layer]
        Worker --> DB
    end

    subgraph "External World"
        Users --> UI
        Webhooks --> API
        Integrations --> 3rdParty[Google / Slack / Firecrawl]
    end

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Key Architectural Decisions

1. Durable Execution (Inngest):

   • Solves the "Dual Write" problem and handles transient failures (rate limits, network blips) automatically.
   • Workflows can sleep for days (e.g., "Wait for email reply") without consuming compute resources.

2. Monorepo Strategy (TurboRepo):

   • apps/frontend: Management dashboard (Next.js 15, React 19).
   • apps/inngest-app: Stateless worker nodes.
   • packages/integrations: A strict, type-safe abstraction layer for 3rd-party APIs, decoupling business logic from vendor SDKs.
   • packages/db: Shared Prisma schema with field-level encryption for credentials.

3. Security-First Design:

   • Credential Encryption: OAuth2 tokens and API keys are encrypted at rest in PostgreSQL using prisma-field-encryption.
   • Scoped Access: Workflows run with the principle of least privilege, accessing only specifically granted connections.

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⚡ Key Features

• Multi-Tenant by Design: Built for SaaS. Data, workflows, and credentials are strictly isolated by User/Organization ID.
• Realtime Feedback Loop: Uses Server-Sent Events (SSE) and Redis Pub/Sub to push workflow progress (steps, logs, errors) to the UI instantly.
• Business Value Tracking: Native AutomationMetrics engine tracks timeSaved and costSaved per run, aggregating ROI for end-users.
• Resilient Integrations:
  • Smart Rate Limiting: Automatically backs off when 429s are detected.
  • Token Refresh: Middleware automatically refreshes expired OAuth2 tokens before execution.

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🛠 Tech Stack

Layer	Technology	Justification
Frontend	Next.js 15 (App Router)	Server Components for secure data fetching; Streaming for performance.
Engine	Inngest	Handles state, retries, and scheduling better than bespoke queues (BullMQ).
Database	PostgreSQL + Prisma	Type-safe queries; ACID compliance for critical business data.
Caching	Upstash Redis	Serverless-friendly caching and Pub/Sub for realtime features.
Styling	Tailwind v4 + Shadcn/UI	Accessible, standardized design system.

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🚀 Quick Start (Local Development)

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+
• pnpm
• PostgreSQL & Redis (Local or Cloud)

1. Clone & Install

git clone https://github.com/abdssamie/duramation.git
cd duramation
pnpm install

2. Configure Environment

Copy .env.example to .env in the root and both app directories.

cp .env.example .env
# Update DATABASE_URL, REDIS_URL, and INNGEST keys

3. Initialize Database

pnpm db:generate
pnpm db:migrate

4. Run the Stack

pnpm dev

• Dashboard: http://localhost:3000
• Inngest Dev Server: http://localhost:3001/api/inngest

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🛡️ Security

• Zero-Trust Secrets: Secrets are never sent to the client.
• Authentication: Clerk for identity management.
• Validation: Zod schemas for all API inputs and workflow configurations.

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📄 License

MIT © Abdssamie