Follow the [Getting Started](https://elsa-workflows.github.io/elsa-core/docs/installing-elsa-core) instructions on the [Elsa Workflows documentation site](https://elsa-workflows.github.io/elsa-core).
Workflows can be visually designed using the Elsa Designer, a reusable & extensible HTML5 web component built with [StencilJS](https://stenciljs.com/).
To manage workflow definitions and instances, Elsa comes with a reusable Razor Class Library that provides a dashboard application in the form of an MVC area that you can include in your own ASP.NET Core application.
Instead of writing C# code to define a workflow, Elsa also supports reading and writing declarative workflows from the database as well as from JSON formats.
The following is a small example that constructs a workflow using a generic set of workflow and activity models, describing the workflow.
This models is then serialized to JSON and deserialized back into the model
Elsa has native support for long-running workflows. As soon as a workflow is halted because of some blocking activity, the workflow is persisted.
When the appropriate event occurs, the workflow is loaded from the store and resumed.
## Why Elsa Workflows?
One of the main goals of Elsa is to **enable workflows in any .NET application** with **minimum effort** and **maximum extensibility**.
This means that it should be easy to integrate workflow capabilities into your own application.
### What about Azure Logic Apps?
As powerful and as complete Azure Logic Apps is, it's available only as a managed service in Azure. Elsa on the other hand allows you to host it not only on Azure, but on any cloud provider that supports .NET Core. And of course you can host it on-premise.
Although you can implement long-running workflows with Logic Apps, you would typically do so with splitting your workflow with multiple Logic Apps where one workflow invokes the other. This can make the logic flow a bit hard to follow.
with Elsa, you simply add triggers anywhere in the workflow, making it easier to have a complete view of your application logic. And if you want, you can still invoke other workflows form one workflow.
### What about Windows Workflow Foundation?
I've always liked Windows Workflow Foundation, but unfortunately [development appears to have halted](https://forums.dotnetfoundation.org/t/what-is-the-roadmap-of-workflow-foundation/3066).
Although there's an effort being made to [port WF to .NET Standard](https://github.com/dmetzgar/corewf), there are a few reasons I prefer Elsa:
- Elsa intrinsically supports triggering events that starts new workflows and resumes halted workflow instances in an easy to use manner. E.g. `workflowHost.TriggerWorkflowAsync("HttpRequestTrigger");"` will start and resume all workflows that either start with or are halted on the `HttpRequestTrigger`.
- Elsa has a web-based workflow designer. I once worked on a project for a customer that was building a huge SaaS platform. One of the requirements was to provide a workflow engine and a web-based editor. Although there are commercial workflow libraries and editors out there, the business model required open-source software. We used WF and the re-hosted Workflow Designer. It worked, but it wasn't great.
Both [Orchard](http://docs.orchardproject.net/en/latest/Documentation/Workflows/) and [Orchard Core](https://orchardcore.readthedocs.io/en/dev/docs/reference/modules/Workflows/) ship with a powerful workflows module, and both are awesome.
In fact, Elsa Workflows is taken & adapted from Orchard Core's Workflows module. Elsa uses a similar model, but there are some differences:
- Elsa Workflows is completely decoupled from web, whereas Orchard Core Workflows is coupled to not only the web, but also the Orchard Core Framework itself.
