Explain Workflow History
note
Replace the placeholder prompt below with the version your team has validated. Add example output, tips, and any org-specific context.
Prompt
Explain how Temporal's workflow history and replay mechanism works.
My background: [e.g., "I'm an engineer who understands databases but hasn't worked with
event sourcing before"]
Please cover:
1. What is the workflow event history — what gets recorded and why?
2. How does replay work — walk me through what happens when a worker restarts mid-workflow
3. What is determinism in this context, and what kinds of code violate it?
4. Why does this model make workflows durable without a database of my own?
5. What are the practical limits of the history (size, retention)?
Use a concrete example workflow (e.g., an order processing workflow) to illustrate each point.
Example output
Add an example of what good output looks like for your team's use cases.
Tips
- Ask for a "what would go wrong" example for each determinism violation — it makes the constraint much more intuitive.
- Follow up with the Replay from History prompt to see how to test for non-determinism in practice.