AGWF / AGSR — Workflow & State Reducer Diagnostics

The AGWF (workflow) and AGSR (state reducer) diagnostics are emitted by the Strategos workflow source generator at compile time. They catch workflow definition errors before runtime — empty names, missing entry points, fork/join mismatches, and invalid reducer attribute targets. The AONT-prefixed diagnostics on the sibling pages cover the ontology layer; this page covers the workflow analyzer.

Diagnostic Namespaces

Prefix	Category	Description
AGWF	Workflow	Workflow definition validation
AGSR	State Reducer	State reducer attribute validation

Quick Reference

Code	Severity	Description
AGWF001	Error	Workflow name cannot be empty
AGWF002	Warning	No steps found in workflow
AGWF003	Error	Duplicate step name
AGWF004	Error	Invalid namespace (global namespace not supported)
AGWF009	Error	Workflow must begin with StartWith<T>()
AGWF010	Warning	Workflow should end with Finally<T>()
AGWF012	Error	Fork must be followed by Join<T>()
AGWF014	Error	Loop body cannot be empty
AGSR001	Error	[Append] can only be applied to collection types
AGSR002	Error	[Merge] can only be applied to dictionary types

---

Workflow Diagnostics (AGWF)

AGWF001: Empty Workflow Name

Property	Value
Severity	Error
Category	DSL Completeness

The [Workflow] attribute requires a non-empty workflow name.

Invalid:

[Workflow("")]  // Error: Empty name
[Workflow("   ")]  // Error: Whitespace only

Valid:

[Workflow("process-order")]

---

AGWF002: No Steps Found

Property	Value
Severity	Warning
Category	DSL Completeness

The workflow definition doesn’t contain any recognizable step methods.

Trigger:

[Workflow("empty-workflow")]
public static partial class EmptyWorkflow
{
    public static WorkflowDefinition<State> Definition =>
        Workflow<State>.Create("empty-workflow");  // Warning: No steps
}

Resolution:

Workflow<State>.Create("my-workflow")
    .StartWith<FirstStep>()
    .Then<SecondStep>()
    .Finally<LastStep>();

---

AGWF003: Duplicate Step Name

Property	Value
Severity	Error
Category	Structural Validation

The same step type appears multiple times where each step must be unique (linear flow, fork paths).

Invalid:

.StartWith<ValidateStep>()
.Then<ProcessStep>()
.Then<ValidateStep>()  // Error: Duplicate

Resolution: Use instance names to disambiguate:

.StartWith<ValidateStep>()
.Then<ProcessStep>()
.Then<ValidateStep>("FinalValidation")  // OK: Different instance

::: info Duplicates in mutually exclusive branch paths are allowed since only one path executes. :::

---

AGWF004: Invalid Namespace

Property	Value
Severity	Error
Category	DSL Completeness

Workflows must be declared in a namespace. Global namespace is not supported.

Invalid:

// No namespace declaration
[Workflow("orphan-workflow")]
public static partial class OrphanWorkflow { }  // Error

Valid:

namespace MyApp.Workflows;

[Workflow("my-workflow")]
public static partial class MyWorkflow { }

---

AGWF009: Missing StartWith

Property	Value
Severity	Error
Category	DSL Completeness

Every workflow must begin with StartWith<T>() to define the entry point.

Invalid:

Workflow<State>.Create("bad-workflow")
    .Then<FirstStep>()  // Error: Should be StartWith
    .Finally<LastStep>();

Valid:

Workflow<State>.Create("good-workflow")
    .StartWith<FirstStep>()
    .Finally<LastStep>();

---

AGWF010: Missing Finally

Property	Value
Severity	Warning
Category	DSL Completeness

Workflows should end with Finally<T>() to mark completion.

Trigger:

Workflow<State>.Create("incomplete-workflow")
    .StartWith<FirstStep>()
    .Then<SecondStep>();  // Warning: No Finally

Resolution:

Workflow<State>.Create("complete-workflow")
    .StartWith<FirstStep>()
    .Then<SecondStep>()
    .Finally<CompletionStep>();

::: info Why Warning (not Error) Some patterns intentionally short-circuit via Complete() in branches. The DSL allows this, so we warn rather than block. :::

---

AGWF012: Fork without Join

Property	Value
Severity	Error
Category	Structural Validation

Every Fork() construct must be followed by Join<T>() to merge parallel paths.

Invalid:

.StartWith<PrepareStep>()
.Fork(
    path => path.Then<PathA>(),
    path => path.Then<PathB>())
.Then<NextStep>()  // Error: Fork not followed by Join
.Finally<EndStep>();

Valid:

.StartWith<PrepareStep>()
.Fork(
    path => path.Then<PathA>(),
    path => path.Then<PathB>())
.Join<MergeResultsStep>()  // Correct: Join after Fork
.Finally<EndStep>();

---

AGWF014: Loop without Body

Property	Value
Severity	Error
Category	Structural Validation

RepeatUntil loops must contain at least one step in their body.

Invalid:

.StartWith<InitStep>()
.RepeatUntil(s => s.Done, "process", loop => { })  // Error: Empty body
.Finally<EndStep>();

Valid:

.StartWith<InitStep>()
.RepeatUntil(s => s.Done, "process", loop => loop
    .Then<ProcessItemStep>()
    .Then<CheckProgressStep>())
.Finally<EndStep>();

---

State Reducer Diagnostics (AGSR)

AGSR001: Invalid Append Target

Property	Value
Severity	Error
Category	State Reducer

The [Append] attribute can only be applied to collection types (e.g., List<T>, IList<T>).

Invalid:

[WorkflowState]
public record State
{
    [Append]
    public string Name { get; init; }  // Error: Not a collection
}

Valid:

[WorkflowState]
public record State
{
    [Append]
    public List<string> Items { get; init; }
}

---

AGSR002: Invalid Merge Target

Property	Value
Severity	Error
Category	State Reducer

The [Merge] attribute can only be applied to dictionary types (e.g., Dictionary<TKey, TValue>).

Invalid:

[WorkflowState]
public record State
{
    [Merge]
    public List<string> Items { get; init; }  // Error: Not a dictionary
}

Valid:

[WorkflowState]
public record State
{
    [Merge]
    public Dictionary<string, int> Scores { get; init; }
}

---

Diagnostic Categories

DSL Completeness

Ensures the workflow definition has all required components:

• Valid name (AGWF001)
• Proper namespace (AGWF004)
• Entry point via StartWith (AGWF009)
• Exit point via Finally (AGWF010)
• At least one step (AGWF002)

Structural Validation

Validates the logical structure of the workflow:

• No ambiguous step references (AGWF003)
• Proper construct pairing like Fork/Join (AGWF012)
• Non-empty constructs like loop bodies (AGWF014)

State Reducer

Validates state attribute usage:

• [Append] on collections (AGSR001)
• [Merge] on dictionaries (AGSR002)

---

Error vs Warning

Severity	Meaning	Code Generation
Error	Workflow cannot execute correctly	Blocked
Warning	Pattern may be intentional but warrants review	Allowed