Elsa Workflows is a workflow engine for .NET that enables workflow execution within any .NET application.
The tool addresses the need to define and execute business processes programmatically within .NET systems. Elsa allows workflows to be specified in multiple ways: as C# code, through a visual designer interface, or as JSON definitions. This flexibility means teams can choose the authoring method that best fits their development practices and use cases. The engine handles workflow execution, state management, and orchestration of activities within the .NET runtime.
Elsa suits teams building .NET applications that require embedded workflow capabilities without external workflow services. It works well for organizations wanting to define business processes visually or in code while keeping everything within their .NET stack. The project provides a Docker-based reference implementation for quick evaluation, though this is explicitly not intended for production use. For production deployments, secure JWT signing keys must be injected through environment variables or secrets managers rather than committed configuration. The tool includes built-in support for HTTPS endpoints and can be configured to trust private or corporate certificate authorities through mounted certificates or standard environment variables.
The project maintains active development with ongoing evolution of its capabilities. Documentation is available through a dedicated documentation website. The README acknowledges known issues and limitations while indicating that Elsa continues to evolve. The project provides both community support channels and enterprise support options for organizations requiring commercial assistance.
