CausalIQ Workflow User Guide

Overview

CausalIQ Workflow provides a declarative YAML-based system for defining and executing causal discovery and analysis pipelines. It is part of the CausalIQ ecosystem for intelligent causal discovery.

Key Features

Feature	Description
Declarative YAML syntax	Define workflows in familiar GitHub Actions-style YAML
Matrix expansion	Run steps across multiple parameter combinations
Template variables	Reference workflow and matrix values in step parameters
Workflow caching	SQLite-based result storage with conservative execution
Action patterns	Create, update, and aggregate patterns for different use cases
CLI and programmatic access	Execute workflows from command line or Python code

Documentation Structure

This user guide covers how to use CausalIQ Workflow effectively:

Section	Content
Core Concepts	Workflows, steps, actions, and matrix expansion
Action Patterns	Create, update, and aggregate step patterns
Workflow Caching	Result storage and conservative execution
Common Parameters	Parameters shared across all actions
CLI Usage	Command-line interface and execution modes

For Python API details, see the API Reference.

For implementation design notes, see the Architecture Documentation.

Quick Start

A minimal workflow that runs a single action:

# my_workflow.yml
steps:
  - name: "Run Analysis"
    uses: "causaliq-analysis"
    with:
      action: "merge_graphs"
      input: "results/graphs.db"
      output: "results/merged.db"

Execute with:

cqflow run my_workflow.yml --mode=run

Where to Find Action Documentation

Each CausalIQ package provides its own action documentation:

Package	Example Actions	Documentation
causaliq-analysis	migrate_trace, merge_graphs, evaluate_graph, summarise	Analysis User Guide
causaliq-discovery	learn_structure (planned)	—
causaliq-knowledge	generate_graph	—

This workflow documentation covers common concepts that apply across all actions. Individual action parameters and behaviour are documented in their respective packages.