Getting Started with Cascade Platform

Welcome! This guide will get you from zero to your first workflow in 30 minutes.

What You’ll Build

By the end of this guide, you’ll have:

• ✅ Platform running locally (Docker Compose)
• ✅ First CDL application deployed
• ✅ Workflow instance executing
• ✅ Understanding of core concepts

No prior workflow experience needed—we’ll learn together.

Your Learning Path

Total time: ~30 minutes across 5 pages:

1. Installation (5 minutes)

Set up the platform infrastructure locally with one command. → Installation Guide

2. 5-Minute Quickstart (5 minutes)

Deploy and execute your first application in 4 easy steps. → 5-Minute Quickstart

3. Your First Workflow (10 minutes)

Build a real-world Leave Request workflow with multiple states. → First Workflow

4. Core Concepts (10 minutes)

Understand CDL, workflows, states, activities, and policies. → Core Concepts

5. Troubleshooting (optional)

Common issues and how to debug them. → Troubleshooting

What Cascade Platform Does

Cascade Platform eliminates boilerplate for building enterprise applications by letting you define applications declaratively using CDL (Cascade Definition Language).

You Can Build

• Process Automation: Long-running workflows with state persistence
• Human Workflows: Forms, approvals, and human-in-the-loop tasks
• Business Rules: Policy evaluation with multiple decision engines (OPA, DMN)
• AI Applications: LLM integration with memory and reasoning
• Data-Driven UIs: Dynamic forms, tables, charts from JSON Schema
• Event-Driven Systems: Reactive workflows triggered by external events

The Cascade Difference

• Declarative: Define workflows in YAML, not code
• Durable: Workflows persist state to the database
• Observable: Full OpenTelemetry instrumentation end-to-end
• Extensible: 20+ adapters for different technologies
• Enterprise-Ready: Multi-tenancy, RBAC, audit logging built-in

Quick Start (3 commands)

Get the platform running in 3-5 minutes:

# 1. Clone and navigate
git clone https://github.com/cascade-platform/cascade.git
cd cascade
 
# 2. Start infrastructure (PostgreSQL, Redis, Temporal, NATS, etc.)
make setup
 
# 3. Verify all services are healthy
make health

Expected output: All services with ✓ (green checkmarks)

The Big Picture (30-second architecture)

Your Application (CDL YAML)
         ↓
Cascade Platform
  (CSL Interpreter)
         ↓
Temporal
(Durable Workflow Engine)
         ↓
Your Activities
(Go Functions)

What happens:

1. You define an application in CDL (YAML)
2. Cascade validates and compiles it to CSL (executable form)
3. Temporal orchestrates the workflow execution
4. Activities (your code) execute the business logic
5. State persists to PostgreSQL, results cached in Redis
6. Everything is observable via Grafana Stack (logs, traces, metrics)

Next Steps

Ready to start? Begin with the Installation Guide.

Want to explore more? Check out the Architecture Guide to understand the design.

Looking for examples? See Real-World Examples for complete working applications.

Need Help?

• 📖 Concepts Guide - Learn the core abstractions
• 🔍 Troubleshooting - Common issues and solutions
• 🏗️ Architecture Guide - Understand the system design
• 💡 Examples - Learn from working applications

Let’s build something amazing! 🚀