Temporal HTTP API

A first-party grpc-gateway that maps a REST/JSON subset of the WorkflowService onto HTTP paths under /api/v1 (for example POST /api/v1/namespaces/{namespace}/workflows/{workflow_id} to start a workflow). It supports the same core operations as the gRPC API - start, describe, list, signal, query, terminate, cancel, reset, and read history - using standard HTTP and Bearer (API key) auth. Not all gRPC methods are exposed over HTTP; the worker task-polling RPCs remain gRPC-only.

OpenAPI Specification

temporal-io-openapi.yml Raw ↑
openapi: 3.0.3
info:
  title: Temporal HTTP API
  description: >-
    The Temporal HTTP API is a first-party grpc-gateway that maps a REST/JSON
    subset of the Temporal WorkflowService (gRPC) onto HTTP paths under
    `/api/v1`. Temporal's primary and complete API surface is gRPC
    (WorkflowService and OperatorService, defined as protobuf in
    github.com/temporalio/api); this HTTP API exists for automation, CI/CD, and
    environments where gRPC is impractical, and it exposes only a subset of the
    gRPC methods. The worker task-polling and task-completion RPCs
    (PollWorkflowTaskQueue, PollActivityTaskQueue, RespondWorkflowTaskCompleted,
    PollNexusTaskQueue, and similar) are NOT exposed over HTTP and remain
    gRPC-only. On Temporal Cloud the HTTP API is served per namespace over HTTPS;
    self-hosted it is served by the frontend service when the HTTP port is
    enabled. Requests authenticate with a Bearer API key (or mTLS on
    self-hosted). The paths and verbs below are drawn from the google.api.http
    annotations on the WorkflowService proto and are modeled here, not exhaustively
    confirmed against a live namespace.
  version: '1.0'
  contact:
    name: Temporal Technologies
    url: https://temporal.io
  license:
    name: MIT
    url: https://github.com/temporalio/api/blob/master/LICENSE
servers:
  - url: https://{namespace}.{account}.tmprl.cloud/api/v1
    description: Temporal Cloud (per-namespace HTTP API endpoint)
    variables:
      namespace:
        default: your-namespace
        description: Your Temporal Cloud namespace name.
      account:
        default: your-account
        description: Your Temporal Cloud account (short) ID.
  - url: http://localhost:7243/api/v1
    description: Self-hosted frontend HTTP API (when the HTTP port is enabled)
security:
  - bearerAuth: []
tags:
  - name: Workflows
    description: Start, describe, list, count, and read the history of workflow executions.
  - name: Workflow Messaging
    description: Signal, query, and update running workflow executions.
  - name: Workflow Lifecycle
    description: Cancel, terminate, and reset workflow executions.
  - name: Namespaces
    description: Read namespace metadata (read-only subset over HTTP).
  - name: Cluster
    description: Cluster and system information.
paths:
  /namespaces/{namespace}/workflows/{workflow_id}:
    parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/Namespace'
      - name: workflow_id
        in: path
        required: true
        description: The workflow ID to start (client-assigned).
        schema:
          type: string
    post:
      operationId: startWorkflowExecution
      tags:
        - Workflows
      summary: Start a workflow execution
      description: >-
        Starts a new workflow execution. Maps to the gRPC
        StartWorkflowExecution RPC. The request body carries the workflow type,
        task queue, input, and options.
      requestBody:
        required: true
        content:
          application/json:
            schema:
              $ref: '#/components/schemas/StartWorkflowExecutionRequest'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: The started workflow execution's run ID.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/StartWorkflowExecutionResponse'
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
        '429':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/ResourceExhausted'
  /namespaces/{namespace}/workflows/{execution.workflow_id}:
    parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/Namespace'
      - name: execution.workflow_id
        in: path
        required: true
        description: The workflow ID of the execution to describe.
        schema:
          type: string
    get:
      operationId: describeWorkflowExecution
      tags:
        - Workflows
      summary: Describe a workflow execution
      description: >-
        Returns information about the specified workflow execution - its status,
        type, task queue, timestamps, pending activities, and more. Maps to the
        gRPC DescribeWorkflowExecution RPC.
      parameters:
        - name: execution.run_id
          in: query
          required: false
          description: Optional run ID; defaults to the latest run.
          schema:
            type: string
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Details about the workflow execution.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/DescribeWorkflowExecutionResponse'
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
        '404':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/NotFound'
  /namespaces/{namespace}/workflows:
    parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/Namespace'
    get:
      operationId: listWorkflowExecutions
      tags:
        - Workflows
      summary: List workflow executions
      description: >-
        Lists workflow executions in a namespace, optionally filtered with a
        List Filter (SQL-like visibility query). Maps to the gRPC
        ListWorkflowExecutions RPC.
      parameters:
        - name: query
          in: query
          required: false
          description: A List Filter (visibility query) to filter executions.
          schema:
            type: string
        - name: page_size
          in: query
          required: false
          schema:
            type: integer
        - name: next_page_token
          in: query
          required: false
          schema:
            type: string
            format: byte
      responses:
        '200':
          description: A page of workflow executions.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/ListWorkflowExecutionsResponse'
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
  /namespaces/{namespace}/workflow-count:
    parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/Namespace'
    get:
      operationId: countWorkflowExecutions
      tags:
        - Workflows
      summary: Count workflow executions
      description: >-
        Returns the number of workflow executions matching a visibility query.
        Maps to the gRPC CountWorkflowExecutions RPC.
      parameters:
        - name: query
          in: query
          required: false
          schema:
            type: string
      responses:
        '200':
          description: The matching execution count.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: object
                properties:
                  count:
                    type: string
                    format: int64
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
  /namespaces/{namespace}/archived-workflows:
    parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/Namespace'
    get:
      operationId: listArchivedWorkflowExecutions
      tags:
        - Workflows
      summary: List archived workflow executions
      description: >-
        Lists workflow executions that have been archived. Maps to the gRPC
        ListArchivedWorkflowExecutions RPC.
      parameters:
        - name: query
          in: query
          required: false
          schema:
            type: string
        - name: page_size
          in: query
          required: false
          schema:
            type: integer
        - name: next_page_token
          in: query
          required: false
          schema:
            type: string
            format: byte
      responses:
        '200':
          description: A page of archived workflow executions.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/ListWorkflowExecutionsResponse'
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
  /namespaces/{namespace}/workflows/{execution.workflow_id}/history:
    parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/Namespace'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/ExecutionWorkflowId'
    get:
      operationId: getWorkflowExecutionHistory
      tags:
        - Workflows
      summary: Get workflow execution history
      description: >-
        Returns the event history of a workflow execution. Maps to the gRPC
        GetWorkflowExecutionHistory RPC.
      parameters:
        - name: execution.run_id
          in: query
          required: false
          schema:
            type: string
        - name: next_page_token
          in: query
          required: false
          schema:
            type: string
            format: byte
      responses:
        '200':
          description: The workflow event history.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/GetWorkflowExecutionHistoryResponse'
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
        '404':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/NotFound'
  /namespaces/{namespace}/workflows/{execution.workflow_id}/history-reverse:
    parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/Namespace'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/ExecutionWorkflowId'
    get:
      operationId: getWorkflowExecutionHistoryReverse
      tags:
        - Workflows
      summary: Get workflow execution history (reverse)
      description: >-
        Returns the event history of a workflow execution in reverse order. Maps
        to the gRPC GetWorkflowExecutionHistoryReverse RPC.
      parameters:
        - name: execution.run_id
          in: query
          required: false
          schema:
            type: string
        - name: next_page_token
          in: query
          required: false
          schema:
            type: string
            format: byte
      responses:
        '200':
          description: The workflow event history in reverse order.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/GetWorkflowExecutionHistoryResponse'
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
  /namespaces/{namespace}/workflows/{workflow_execution.workflow_id}/signal/{signal_name}:
    parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/Namespace'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/WorkflowExecutionWorkflowId'
      - name: signal_name
        in: path
        required: true
        description: The name of the signal to send.
        schema:
          type: string
    post:
      operationId: signalWorkflowExecution
      tags:
        - Workflow Messaging
      summary: Signal a workflow execution
      description: >-
        Sends a signal (named message with optional payload) to a running
        workflow execution. Maps to the gRPC SignalWorkflowExecution RPC.
      requestBody:
        required: false
        content:
          application/json:
            schema:
              $ref: '#/components/schemas/SignalWorkflowExecutionRequest'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: The signal was accepted.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: object
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
        '404':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/NotFound'
        '429':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/ResourceExhausted'
  /namespaces/{namespace}/workflows/{execution.workflow_id}/query/{query.query_type}:
    parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/Namespace'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/ExecutionWorkflowId'
      - name: query.query_type
        in: path
        required: true
        description: The name of the query to execute.
        schema:
          type: string
    post:
      operationId: queryWorkflow
      tags:
        - Workflow Messaging
      summary: Query a workflow execution
      description: >-
        Executes a synchronous query against a running (or closed) workflow
        execution and returns the query result. Maps to the gRPC QueryWorkflow
        RPC.
      requestBody:
        required: false
        content:
          application/json:
            schema:
              $ref: '#/components/schemas/QueryWorkflowRequest'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: The query result.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/QueryWorkflowResponse'
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
        '404':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/NotFound'
  /namespaces/{namespace}/workflows/{workflow_execution.workflow_id}/update/{name}:
    parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/Namespace'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/WorkflowExecutionWorkflowId'
      - name: name
        in: path
        required: true
        description: The name of the update handler to invoke.
        schema:
          type: string
    post:
      operationId: updateWorkflowExecution
      tags:
        - Workflow Messaging
      summary: Update a workflow execution
      description: >-
        Invokes an update handler on a running workflow execution, optionally
        waiting for a specified lifecycle stage, and returns the update result.
        Maps to the gRPC UpdateWorkflowExecution RPC.
      requestBody:
        required: false
        content:
          application/json:
            schema:
              type: object
              additionalProperties: true
      responses:
        '200':
          description: The update outcome.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: object
                additionalProperties: true
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
        '404':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/NotFound'
  /namespaces/{namespace}/workflows/{workflow_execution.workflow_id}/cancel:
    parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/Namespace'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/WorkflowExecutionWorkflowId'
    post:
      operationId: requestCancelWorkflowExecution
      tags:
        - Workflow Lifecycle
      summary: Request cancellation of a workflow execution
      description: >-
        Requests graceful cancellation of a workflow execution. Maps to the gRPC
        RequestCancelWorkflowExecution RPC.
      requestBody:
        required: false
        content:
          application/json:
            schema:
              type: object
              additionalProperties: true
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Cancellation was requested.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: object
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
        '404':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/NotFound'
  /namespaces/{namespace}/workflows/{workflow_execution.workflow_id}/terminate:
    parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/Namespace'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/WorkflowExecutionWorkflowId'
    post:
      operationId: terminateWorkflowExecution
      tags:
        - Workflow Lifecycle
      summary: Terminate a workflow execution
      description: >-
        Forcefully terminates a workflow execution. Maps to the gRPC
        TerminateWorkflowExecution RPC.
      requestBody:
        required: false
        content:
          application/json:
            schema:
              $ref: '#/components/schemas/TerminateWorkflowExecutionRequest'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: The workflow execution was terminated.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: object
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
        '404':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/NotFound'
  /namespaces/{namespace}/workflows/{workflow_execution.workflow_id}/reset:
    parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/Namespace'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/WorkflowExecutionWorkflowId'
    post:
      operationId: resetWorkflowExecution
      tags:
        - Workflow Lifecycle
      summary: Reset a workflow execution
      description: >-
        Resets a workflow execution to a prior point in its history, creating a
        new run. Maps to the gRPC ResetWorkflowExecution RPC.
      requestBody:
        required: false
        content:
          application/json:
            schema:
              type: object
              additionalProperties: true
      responses:
        '200':
          description: The reset run ID.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: object
                properties:
                  run_id:
                    type: string
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
        '404':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/NotFound'
  /namespaces/{namespace}:
    parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/Namespace'
    get:
      operationId: describeNamespace
      tags:
        - Namespaces
      summary: Describe a namespace
      description: >-
        Returns configuration and metadata for a namespace. Maps to the gRPC
        DescribeNamespace RPC. Namespace creation and updates on Temporal Cloud
        are performed through the Cloud Operations API, not this data-plane HTTP
        API.
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Namespace configuration and metadata.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: object
                additionalProperties: true
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
        '404':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/NotFound'
  /namespaces:
    get:
      operationId: listNamespaces
      tags:
        - Namespaces
      summary: List namespaces
      description: >-
        Lists namespaces visible to the caller. Maps to the gRPC ListNamespaces
        RPC.
      parameters:
        - name: page_size
          in: query
          required: false
          schema:
            type: integer
        - name: next_page_token
          in: query
          required: false
          schema:
            type: string
            format: byte
      responses:
        '200':
          description: A page of namespaces.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: object
                additionalProperties: true
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
  /cluster-info:
    get:
      operationId: getClusterInfo
      tags:
        - Cluster
      summary: Get cluster info
      description: >-
        Returns information about the Temporal cluster (versions, capabilities).
        Maps to the gRPC GetClusterInfo RPC.
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Cluster information.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: object
                additionalProperties: true
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
  /system-info:
    get:
      operationId: getSystemInfo
      tags:
        - Cluster
      summary: Get system info
      description: >-
        Returns server capabilities and system information. Maps to the gRPC
        GetSystemInfo RPC.
      responses:
        '200':
          description: System information and capabilities.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: object
                additionalProperties: true
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
components:
  securitySchemes:
    bearerAuth:
      type: http
      scheme: bearer
      description: >-
        Bearer API key. On Temporal Cloud, pass an API key as
        `Authorization: Bearer <api-key>`. Self-hosted deployments may use mTLS
        instead. Requests are scoped to the namespace in the path.
  parameters:
    Namespace:
      name: namespace
      in: path
      required: true
      description: The Temporal namespace.
      schema:
        type: string
    ExecutionWorkflowId:
      name: execution.workflow_id
      in: path
      required: true
      description: The workflow ID of the target execution.
      schema:
        type: string
    WorkflowExecutionWorkflowId:
      name: workflow_execution.workflow_id
      in: path
      required: true
      description: The workflow ID of the target execution.
      schema:
        type: string
  responses:
    Unauthorized:
      description: Missing or invalid API key.
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/Status'
    NotFound:
      description: The requested workflow execution or namespace was not found.
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/Status'
    ResourceExhausted:
      description: >-
        The namespace rate limit (APS/RPS/OPS) was exceeded. gRPC returns a
        ResourceExhausted status; over HTTP this surfaces as 429. Clients should
        back off and retry.
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/Status'
  schemas:
    Status:
      type: object
      description: A google.rpc.Status-style error payload.
      properties:
        code:
          type: integer
        message:
          type: string
        details:
          type: array
          items:
            type: object
            additionalProperties: true
    Payloads:
      type: object
      description: >-
        Temporal payloads envelope. Each payload carries base64-encoded metadata
        and data.
      properties:
        payloads:
          type: array
          items:
            type: object
            properties:
              metadata:
                type: object
                additionalProperties:
                  type: string
                  format: byte
              data:
                type: string
                format: byte
    WorkflowType:
      type: object
      properties:
        name:
          type: string
    TaskQueue:
      type: object
      properties:
        name:
          type: string
        kind:
          type: string
    StartWorkflowExecutionRequest:
      type: object
      properties:
        namespace:
          type: string
        workflowId:
          type: string
        workflowType:
          $ref: '#/components/schemas/WorkflowType'
        taskQueue:
          $ref: '#/components/schemas/TaskQueue'
        input:
          $ref: '#/components/schemas/Payloads'
        requestId:
          type: string
        workflowIdReusePolicy:
          type: string
        workflowExecutionTimeout:
          type: string
        workflowRunTimeout:
          type: string
        workflowTaskTimeout:
          type: string
    StartWorkflowExecutionResponse:
      type: object
      properties:
        runId:
          type: string
    SignalWorkflowExecutionRequest:
      type: object
      properties:
        workflowExecution:
          type: object
          properties:
            workflowId:
              type: string
            runId:
              type: string
        signalName:
          type: string
        input:
          $ref: '#/components/schemas/Payloads'
        identity:
          type: string
    QueryWorkflowRequest:
      type: object
      properties:
        execution:
          type: object
          properties:
            workflowId:
              type: string
            runId:
              type: string
        query:
          type: object
          properties:
            queryType:
              type: string
            queryArgs:
              $ref: '#/components/schemas/Payloads'
    QueryWorkflowResponse:
      type: object
      properties:
        queryResult:
          $ref: '#/components/schemas/Payloads'
        queryRejected:
          type: object
          additionalProperties: true
    TerminateWorkflowExecutionRequest:
      type: object
      properties:
        workflowExecution:
          type: object
          properties:
            workflowId:
              type: string
            runId:
              type: string
        reason:
          type: string
        details:
          $ref: '#/components/schemas/Payloads'
        identity:
          type: string
    DescribeWorkflowExecutionResponse:
      type: object
      additionalProperties: true
      properties:
        workflowExecutionInfo:
          type: object
          additionalProperties: true
        pendingActivities:
          type: array
          items:
            type: object
            additionalProperties: true
    ListWorkflowExecutionsResponse:
      type: object
      properties:
        executions:
          type: array
          items:
            type: object
            additionalProperties: true
        nextPageToken:
          type: string
          format: byte
    GetWorkflowExecutionHistoryResponse:
      type: object
      properties:
        history:
          type: object
          properties:
            events:
              type: array
              items:
                type: object
                additionalProperties: true
        nextPageToken:
          type: string
          format: byte
        archived:
          type: boolean