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Maestro Automate or API workflow
When to build a Maestro Automate workflow, when an API workflow is the better fit, and how to use the two together.
Both a Maestro Automate workflow and an API workflow connect systems, but they're built for different jobs. An API workflow calls APIs one after another and passes data between them. A Maestro Automate workflow adds what an API workflow doesn't have: an AI agent that decides, humans who approve, and steps such as robots and documents, all on one canvas.
Which one fits
| Your situation | Use |
|---|---|
| You call a few APIs in a row and pass data between them, with no AI decision and no waiting | An API workflow |
| You reuse the same sequence of API calls in several places | An API workflow, called from each workflow that needs it |
| An AI agent needs to read the data and decide what happens next | A Maestro Automate workflow |
| A human needs to approve something or fill in a form | A Maestro Automate workflow |
| The work combines different kinds of steps, such as APIs, robots, documents, and humans | A Maestro Automate workflow |
API workflows are built for connecting systems, and they run faster. Choose one when speed matters and there's nothing to decide along the way.
Use both together
You don't have to choose only one. A workflow can call an API workflow as one of its steps, with the API Workflow node. The API workflow does the fast chain of calls, and the workflow around it handles the decisions and the people.
When you combine them:
- Deploy the API workflow first. A workflow can only call an API workflow that is already deployed where the workflow runs. Otherwise, the run fails with "The job's associated process could not be found".
- Pass every required input. The workflow doesn't warn you when a required input of the API workflow is missing, so check the API workflow's inputs and map each one.
- Agree on what goes in and what comes back. Write down the inputs, the outputs, and what should happen when the API workflow fails, so either side can change later without breaking the other.
Next steps
- API Workflow: the node that calls an API workflow from a workflow.
- HTTP Request: call one API directly from a workflow.
- Example workflows: the kinds of workflows Maestro Automate is built for.
- Community: ask questions and share workflows with other builders on the UiPath Forum.