---
title: WorkflowModule
description: NestJS module that builds workflow bundles and registers the workflow controller.
type: reference
summary: Import WorkflowModule.forRoot() in your AppModule to enable workflows in a NestJS app.
prerequisites:
  - /docs/getting-started/nestjs
---

# WorkflowModule



NestJS module that provides workflow functionality. It builds the workflow bundles on module initialization (`onModuleInit`) and registers the [`WorkflowController`](/docs/api-reference/workflow-nest/workflow-controller) that serves the workflow runtime routes.

## Usage

Add `WorkflowModule.forRoot()` to the `imports` array of your root module.

```typescript title="src/app.module.ts" lineNumbers
import { Module } from "@nestjs/common";
import { WorkflowModule } from "workflow/nest"; // [!code highlight]

@Module({
  imports: [WorkflowModule.forRoot()], // [!code highlight]
})
export class AppModule {}
```

If your NestJS project compiles to CommonJS via SWC, pass `moduleType` and `distDir` so the builder can rewrite imports in the generated bundles:

```typescript title="src/app.module.ts" lineNumbers
import { Module } from "@nestjs/common";
import { WorkflowModule } from "workflow/nest";

@Module({
  imports: [
    WorkflowModule.forRoot({
      moduleType: "commonjs", // [!code highlight]
      distDir: "dist", // [!code highlight]
    }),
  ],
})
export class AppModule {}
```

## API Signature

### Static Methods

#### `forRoot(options?)`

Configures the module and returns a NestJS `DynamicModule` registered as `global`. It calls [`configureWorkflowController`](/docs/api-reference/workflow-nest/configure-workflow-controller) with the resolved output directory, and (unless `skipBuild` is set) creates a [`NestLocalBuilder`](/docs/api-reference/workflow-nest/nest-local-builder) that builds the workflow bundles when the module initializes.

### Parameters

| Parameter | Type                    | Description                              |
| --------- | ----------------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| `options` | `WorkflowModuleOptions` | Optional. Configures the workflow build. |

#### WorkflowModuleOptions

Extends [`NestBuilderOptions`](/docs/api-reference/workflow-nest/nest-local-builder#nestbuilderoptions) — all builder options are accepted, plus `skipBuild`:

| Option       | Type                  | Default                                         | Description                                                                                                                                                                        |
| ------------ | --------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `skipBuild`  | `boolean`             | `false`                                         | Skip building workflow bundles on startup. Useful in production when the bundles are pre-built.                                                                                    |
| `workingDir` | `string`              | `process.cwd()`                                 | Working directory for the NestJS application.                                                                                                                                      |
| `dirs`       | `string[]`            | `['src']`                                       | Directories to scan for workflow files.                                                                                                                                            |
| `outDir`     | `string`              | `'.nestjs/workflow'` (relative to `workingDir`) | Output directory for generated workflow bundles.                                                                                                                                   |
| `watch`      | `boolean`             | `false`                                         | Enable watch mode for development.                                                                                                                                                 |
| `moduleType` | `'es6' \| 'commonjs'` | `'es6'`                                         | SWC module compilation type. Set to `'commonjs'` if your NestJS project compiles to CJS via SWC.                                                                                   |
| `distDir`    | `string`              | `'dist'`                                        | Directory where NestJS compiles `.ts` source files to `.js` (relative to `workingDir`). Used when `moduleType` is `'commonjs'`. Should match the `outDir` in your `tsconfig.json`. |

### Returns

`forRoot()` returns a `DynamicModule` to include in the `imports` array of your root module.


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