django-viewflow

What it is and what it does

Viewflow is a Django framework for building business applications with minimal code by providing pre-built workflow, form, and reporting components. It implements BPMN 2.0 process definitions, allowing developers to define multi-step business processes (like order fulfillment or approval chains) declaratively rather than writing custom state machines. The library includes database-backed timers, boundary events for error handling and escalation, compensation (undo) handlers, and intermediate events like message and signal catches—all persisted so they survive broker restarts.

The package ships as a single installation with everything included: a responsive web interface, a CRUD system for complex forms, a reporting dashboard, and a small API surface designed to be easy to learn. It works alongside Django's ORM and admin, letting you customize everything while keeping full control. The open-source Core version provides base classes; a commercial PRO version adds ready-to-use features and third-party integrations.

Use it for:

• Build multi-step order or approval workflows where tasks route between users based on conditions, with automatic escalation after deadlines.
• Create data entry applications with complex forms that guide users through a defined process, storing intermediate state in the database.
• Implement business process automation that exports to standard BPMN 2.0 files for documentation or import into other tools like Camunda.
• Add user-facing task management to Django admin, showing each user their assigned workflow tasks with forms and status tracking.
• Handle long-running background jobs with timers and error recovery—tasks can be interrupted, compensated, or retried without losing state.

Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying

Viewflow is a low-code library for building business applications with Django, providing ready-made components for workflows, user management, forms, and reporting built on BPMN 2.0 process definitions.

Yes, if you are building a Django business application that needs workflow or multi-step process management. The low install friction, active maintenance, AGPL license with commercial-use carve-outs, and zero known vulnerabilities make it safe to adopt. The BPMN 2.0 foundation and recent 2.4.0 release with timer and boundary-event support signal a mature, feature-complete library. Start with the open-source Core; migrate to PRO only if you need pre-built integrations.

Install

django-viewflow on PyPI

pip install django-viewflow

uv add django-viewflow

poetry add django-viewflow

Installing django-viewflow

Before you install

Installation is straightforward with low friction—a pure Python wheel with only Django and django-filter as runtime dependencies. The package is actively maintained, with a release 15 days old and marked Production/Stable.

License in practice

Licensed under AGPL v3 with Additional Permissions that explicitly allow commercial use and distribution. The license terms are similar to GPL runtime library exceptions, making it compatible with commercial development. A commercial-friendly license is available for Viewflow PRO.

Quickstart

pip install django-viewflow

# In settings.py, add to INSTALLED_APPS:
# 'viewflow', 'viewflow.workflow'

from viewflow.workflow.models import Process
from viewflow.workflow import flow
from viewflow.workflow.flow.views import CreateProcessView

class MyProcess(Process):
    pass

class MyFlow(flow.Flow):
    process_class = MyProcess
    start = flow.Start(CreateProcessView.as_view(fields=[]))

Requires Python 3.10+ and Django 4.2+. BPMN features and timers require the workflow module to be added to INSTALLED_APPS.

Verify before relying

• Whether the open-source Core version includes all BPMN 2.0 features described or if some are PRO-only.
• Performance characteristics and scalability limits for large process volumes or complex workflows.
• Compatibility with async Django views and asynchronous task execution beyond celery.

Package facts

Evidence: django_viewflow-2.4.0-py3-none-any.whl

Keywords: django, admin, workflow, fsm, bpm, bpmn

Tags

More Python Modules packages