Embabel Workflow Visualizer

A Spring Boot starter that adds a live workflow visualization UI and REST API for Embabel agents — zero code required.

---

Project structure

This is a multi-module Maven project:

Module	Purpose
embabel-workflow-visualizer-starter	Spring Boot auto-configuration, REST API, actuator endpoint, and visualization UI
embabel-sample-application	Runnable sample Embabel application that uses the starter

Build and test

# Build and test everything from the repository root
mvn test

# Test only the starter module
mvn -pl embabel-workflow-visualizer-starter test

Usage

Compatibility note: this project is built against Spring Boot 4.1 and validated against Embabel 1.5.0 (the latest release, available on Maven Central). Embabel 1.5.0 requires Spring Boot 4.x / Spring AI 2.x, so this line of the starter is Spring Boot 4 only.

Visualizer	Spring Boot	Embabel	Java
1.0.x	4.1.x	1.5.x	21+
0.3.x	3.5.x	1.0.x	21+

A single artifact cannot support both Spring Boot 3 and 4 (Spring Framework 7 baseline), so consumers still on Spring Boot 3.5 should stay on the 0.3.x line.

It supports every Embabel annotation feature: @Agent (GOAP / UTILITY / HYBRID / SUPERVISOR planners, opaque, provider, beanName, scan, agent-level actionRetryPolicy / actionRetryPolicyExpression), @EmbabelComponent (scan), @Action (pre/post, cost/value, costMethod/valueMethod, canRerun, readOnly, clearBlackboard, outputBinding, event trigger, actionRetryPolicy and actionRetryPolicyExpression), @Condition (name, cost), @Cost, @AchievesGoal (value, tags, examples, and @Export with remote, local, name, startingInputTypes), @State, @LlmTool (description, name, returnDirect, category, metadata), and the @Provided / @RequireNameMatch parameter annotations.

1. Add the dependency

The library is published to Maven Central.

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.patbaumgartner.embabel</groupId>
    <artifactId>embabel-workflow-visualizer-starter</artifactId>
    <version>1.0.0</version>
</dependency>

Embabel 1.5.0 and the visualizer starter are both published to Maven Central, so no extra repository configuration is needed. Only if your project uses Embabel snapshot dependencies, add the Embabel snapshot repository:

<repositories>
  <!-- Required for com.embabel.agent.* snapshot dependencies -->
  <repository>
    <id>embabel-snapshots</id>
    <name>Embabel Snapshot Repository</name>
    <url>https://repo.embabel.com/artifactory/libs-snapshot</url>
    <releases><enabled>false</enabled></releases>
    <snapshots><enabled>true</enabled></snapshots>
  </repository>
</repositories>

2. Configure your application.properties

# Expose the actuator endpoint over HTTP
management.endpoints.web.exposure.include=health,info,embabel

# Enable the REST API (GET /embabel-workflows/api) and the visualization UI
embabel.workflow.visualizer.enabled=true

Endpoints

Endpoint	Requires	Description
GET /actuator/embabel	management.endpoints.web.exposure.include=embabel	Returns the workflow catalog as JSON
GET /embabel-workflows/api	embabel.workflow.visualizer.enabled=true	REST API — returns the workflow catalog as JSON
GET /embabel-workflows	embabel.workflow.visualizer.enabled=true	Interactive pan/zoom workflow visualization UI

Auto-configuration

The starter activates automatically when:

• The application runs in a servlet web environment (@ConditionalOnWebApplication(SERVLET))
• Spring Boot Actuator is on the classpath

Bean	Always registered	Condition
EmbabelWorkflowCatalogService	✅	Discovers @Agent beans via the ApplicationContext
EmbabelWorkflowActuatorEndpoint	When exposed	Requires management.endpoints.web.exposure.include=embabel
EmbabelWorkflowApiController	Off by default	Requires embabel.workflow.visualizer.enabled=true
WorkflowVisualizerPageController	Off by default	Requires embabel.workflow.visualizer.enabled=true

All beans use @ConditionalOnMissingBean — declare your own bean to replace any of them.

Visualization UI

The UI (GET /embabel-workflows) renders each discovered @Agent as an interactive flow diagram:

• Drag individual nodes to rearrange the layout · Drag the background to pan · Scroll to zoom · Double-click background to auto-fit
• Hover over any node to spotlight its connected edges and neighbours
• Per-agent controls: Fit, Zoom In, Zoom Out, Reset Layout
• Node types color-coded with the 42talents brand palette (cyan, yellow, green, pink, orange)
• Animated flowing arrows on pre-condition edges; AchievesGoal nodes glow green
• Node badges surface canRerun, readOnly, clearBlackboard, @LlmTool, event-triggered actions (@Action(trigger=)), returnDirect tools, MCP-exported goals (@Export(remote = true)), and goals withheld from local callers (@Export(local = false))
• Cost / value rows show static cost= / value= declarations, dynamic costMethod= / valueMethod= references, @AchievesGoal(value=), and @Condition(cost=); retry / retry policy rows show the per-action SpEL QoS key and ActionRetryPolicy constant, and category, tool name and metadata rows describe the @LlmTool
• Goal rows show starts from for @Export(startingInputTypes=); step rows show provided (@Provided) and name match (@RequireNameMatch) parameters
• Agent headers show the planner badge (GOAP / UTILITY / HYBRID / SUPERVISOR / COMPONENT), opaque, a scan off badge for scan = false, and the beanName plus agent-level retry policy
• Light / dark mode toggle, respects prefers-color-scheme

Sample agents

The embabel-sample-application module ships eleven demo agents covering common enterprise use cases. Each agent intentionally demonstrates a different workflow pattern so you can see how the Embabel planner handles linear flows, fan-in, branching, converging branches, dynamic cost methods, static cost declarations, Utility AI planning, Hybrid planning, @State routing, LLM-supervised planning, and revision loops.

Agent	Workflow pattern	Description	Endpoint
KycVerificationAgent	Branching + 2× @AchievesGoal	Screens a customer against risk indicators; routes to enhanced due diligence or a direct risk assessment.	POST /api/kyc/verify
FraudDetectionAgent	Linear pipeline, readOnly enrichment	Pure three-step pipeline: data enrichment (no LLM), pattern screening, final decision. Single @AchievesGoal.	POST /api/fraud/detect
SentimentAnalysisAgent	@Cost method + costMethod=	Dynamic cost calculations drive planner decisions; static cost= on the cheap first step. Single @AchievesGoal.	POST /api/sentiment/analyze
ResumeScreeningAgent	Fan-in (no conditions)	Two independent analyses (analyzeResume, assessCultureFit) both start from the same input and converge into a single @AchievesGoal.	POST /api/recruitment/screen
ContentModerationAgent	Converging branches → single @AchievesGoal	Two condition-gated branches both produce TaggedContent; the terminal action operates on that type regardless of which branch ran.	POST /api/moderation/evaluate
LoanApplicationAgent	Branching + static cost= on every action	Two @Conditions split the flow; every @Action declares a static cost= so the planner can weigh paths. Two @AchievesGoal actions.	POST /api/loan/apply
DocumentProcessingAgent	Default-producer for optional input + full @AchievesGoal	provideDefaultMetadataHints supplies MetadataHints only when the caller did not; Ai injection, static value=, canRerun, and @Export(remote = true) MCP goal publishing.	POST /api/documents/process
TicketRoutingAgent	UTILITY planner + @State routing	Utility AI planner ranks actions by dynamic valueMethod=; routeToCategory returns one of three @State records, each containing its own @AchievesGoal handler.	POST /api/tickets/route
ProductResearchAgent	SUPERVISOR planner + SpEL precondition + @EmbabelComponent	LLM-supervised planning; pre = {"spel:marketData.confidenceScore > 0.6"} gates the competitor analysis; ResearchUtils contributes gatherMarketData (with outputBinding) as a shared @EmbabelComponent.	POST /api/research/analyze
StoryWriterAgent	Revision loop (canRerun) + @LlmTool + persona	Draft → review → revise loop until editorial approval; PersonaSpec prompt contributor, per-action LlmOptions temperatures, ActionException.Transient/Permanent, and an @LlmTool method.	POST /api/story/write
ComplianceReviewAgent	HYBRID planner + retry policies + restricted export	Pure-Java branching review; agent-level beanName and actionRetryPolicyExpression (a QoS key under embabel.agent.platform.action-qos.*), @Action(actionRetryPolicy = FIRE_ONCE), @Condition(cost=), @Export(startingInputTypes=), and an @LlmTool with name and metadata.	POST /api/compliance/review

Ready-to-run HTTP request examples for all eleven agents are in embabel-sample-application/requests/.