Temporal functions as a distributed open-source workflow orchestration platform, purpose-built to solve reliability and scalability challenges in complex applications. At its heart is the unique ability to capture and persist the state of app workflows at every execution step. If any part of the system crashes
Temporal offers a way to handle complex, multi-step processes in distributed applications without constant worry about failures, retries or state loss. Developers define workflows in familiar programming languages via SDKs the workflow describes the business logic (e.g. order processing, payment handling, infrastructure deployment, data pipelines). Once running, the platform tracks the full execution history. If anything goes wrong server crash, network error, process interruption Temporal resumes the workflow exactly where it left off. Temporal separates pure business logic (workflow code) from tasks that interact with the outside world (called activities), so transient failures in external services can be retried automatically without manual boilerplate. The platform scales horizontally and supports many concurrent workflows, making it suitable for large systems or high-volume automation. Teams can self-host Temporal or use a managed, cloud-hosted version. By moving failure handling, retries, persistence and orchestration out of the business code, Temporal lets developers focus on core logic, reduces custom error-handling code, and improves reliability of distributed systems.
Durable execution ensures workflows complete even after crashes or outages.
Workflow state is persisted automatically so processes can pause or resume reliably over time.
Supports multiple programming languages via SDKs integrates with existing developer tools and stacks.
Automatically handles retries, timeouts, task queues and failure recovery reducing need for custom boilerplate code.
Scales well capable of managing many workflows concurrently for large or distributed systems.
Simplifies orchestration across microservices or external systems, making complex operations more manageable.
Offers both self-hosted and managed cloud deployment options gives flexibility depending on team’s infrastructure or compliance needs.
Event-dRequires developers to write code not suitable for teams wanting drag-and-drop or no-code workflow building.
Learning curve exists, especially for developers unfamiliar with workflow orchestration or long-running distributed systems.
Because workflow logic is code, versioning and changes need careful management mistakes in code may affect workflow stability.
May be overkill for small applications or simple tasks where full orchestration and durability are not needed.
Running a self-hosted instance adds infrastructure overhead l maintaining database, service, workers, task queues.
Debugging complex workflows can require understanding of event history and Temporal behavior rather than simple linear logic.
Using Temporal cloud involves reliance on external service provider may raise compliance or latency considerations depending on workload.
