Await Boundaries

Await boundaries model external reality inside a typed pipeline without turning the external actor into a pipeline step. Use kind: await when the business flow must pause, wait for a correlated completion, and then resume the same execution with an explicit output type.

Typical awaits include:

• human approvals,
• webhook callbacks,
• provider decisions,
• brokered request/reply over Kafka or SQS,
• long-running jobs that return a business result later.

The important design choice is ownership. The pipeline still owns the business flow and the continuation. The external actor owns the real-world decision or effect.

When To Use Await

Use await when the request leaves the current execution turn and the final business result arrives later.

External shape	Model as
Inline HTTP/gRPC call returning now	Operator or remote execution
Provider accepts now and decides later	Await boundary
Broker request with later correlated response	Await boundary
Webhook callback later	Await boundary
UI or human approval	Await boundary

If a remote system returns accepted now and the final decision comes back later, do not model that as a remote operator. Model the later result as an await completion.

Shape The Contract

Await is still a typed step. The request and completion should be ordinary business types, not loose transport envelopes.

steps:
  - name: "Fraud Check"
    kind: "await"
    cardinality: "ONE_TO_ONE"
    input: "com.example.FraudCheckRequest"
    output: "com.example.FraudCheckDecision"
    timeout: "PT10M"
    idempotencyKeyFields: ["orderId"]

The input type is what the pipeline sends to external reality. The output type is what the pipeline expects before it can continue. TPF handles the interaction identity, correlation, persistence, replay, and transport adapter around that contract.

Cardinality Shapes

Cardinality defines what the pipeline is waiting for and what must be replayable after completion.

Cardinality	Design meaning	Use when
ONE_TO_ONE	one request produces one completion	a single approval, callback, or provider decision
ONE_TO_ONE over a stream	each item gets its own external decision	each input row, payment, or document needs an independent completion
ONE_TO_MANY	one request produces a bounded set of output items	an external job expands one request into several typed results
MANY_TO_ONE	a bounded batch produces one completion	the external system decides on the whole batch
MANY_TO_MANY	a bounded batch produces a bounded result set	the external system transforms a batch into another batch

Keep aggregate await payloads bounded. If the design needs unbounded streaming, split the flow into smaller await boundaries or hand off to another pipeline with its own lifecycle.

Flow Across Await

Await separates a pipeline into live reactive segments and durable recovery state.

Inside a live segment, normal reactive demand and backpressure can apply between adjacent steps. A streaming input step can slow down when the downstream step cannot accept more items, and terminal Object Publish can accept each output chunk before the runtime advances.

For brokered ONE_TO_ONE await over a stream, QUEUE_ASYNC can keep a live await session open while the parent transition is still running. The session is keyed by the durable await unit. Each input item creates a durable interaction and is dispatched through the await transport; each completion is recorded durably before it is offered to the live resumed segment. Source parsing then advances by demand and the configured in-flight window, not by a forced sleep or demand pacer.

The durable await model still matters. If the process restarts, the worker lease is lost, or a completion arrives after the live session is gone, TPF falls back to durable coordination:

1. record dispatched interactions and dispatch completion for the await unit,
2. park the parent execution as WAITING_EXTERNAL when the transition suspends,
3. admit completions by correlation/idempotency,
4. resume item continuations from durable state when no live session accepted the completion,
5. release the parent execution when the itemized unit is complete,
6. publish terminal output before the execution is marked successful.

That is why ONE_TO_ONE await over a stream is not a hidden batch mode. It is a stream of item interactions owned by one durable await unit. The external provider is not a pipeline step; it is external reality behind a framework-owned I/O shell.

The await unit is the durable identity for the boundary. For itemized ONE_TO_ONE over a stream, it groups item interactions for ordering, dedupe, recovery, and fallback release; it does not turn the provider call into a batch request. For aggregate cardinalities, the unit is the durable batch shape: input and/or output is materialized as one replayable unit.

Await Versus Checkpoint Handoff

Await and checkpoint handoff both cross a process boundary, but they assign ownership differently.

Concern	Await	Checkpoint handoff
Execution ownership	same execution parks and resumes	another pipeline admits independent work
Boundary	mid-pipeline external wait	terminal or named publication boundary
Completion	correlated interaction completion	downstream checkpoint admission
Retry and DLQ	owning execution remains responsible	downstream orchestrator owns retry and DLQ after admission
Use when	the external result belongs to the same business flow	another flow should own the next lifecycle

Use await for human approvals, webhook callbacks, and provider decisions that must resume the same business flow. Use checkpoint handoff when the next workflow has separate ownership, scaling, or operational responsibility.

Design Responsibilities

Design each await boundary with:

1. a stable business idempotency key,
2. explicit request and completion types,
3. a timeout that matches the business expectation,
4. duplicate-safe external effects,
5. a clear owner for late or rejected completions.

The transport can be interaction-api, webhook, Kafka, or SQS, but that is not the core modeling decision. The core decision is that the pipeline pauses at an explicit business boundary and resumes only when a typed completion is admitted.

Where To Go Next

• Await runtime setup covers adapters, runtime mode, and configuration.
• Concurrency and backpressure sizing explains how backpressure changes at durable boundaries.
• Await operations covers pending interactions, duplicate completions, replay events, and operational checks.
• Await Unit Runtime covers the internal durable model.
• Operators covers immediate external calls that do not suspend and resume later.