Quick Start

Introduction

Blok (Blok) is a backend framework, designed to be fast, flexible, and composable into your Node.js applications.

Blok has different parts:

Blok Core

Handles most of the logic, including workflow execution, node management, context handling, and runtime observability.

Blok CLI

A powerful command line tool to create projects, manage nodes and workflows, build and deploy your applications.

Triggers

Multiple ways to invoke your workflows - HTTP, gRPC, and more to come (Cron, events, queues).

Blok SDK

SDKs to invoke your workflows from any system—even legacy applications.

Terminology

Node: A self-contained unit of logic—reusable and testable.

Workflow: Defines how multiple nodes execute together with branching logic and context passing.

Context (CTX): A shared execution object that flows through your workflow carrying parameters, inputs/outputs, secrets, and metadata.

Trigger: How workflows are invoked—HTTP, gRPC, or custom triggers.

Some basic knowledge of Node.js and TypeScript would be useful for further customizations.

Automatic Installation

A minimum version of Node.js 22 required.

npx nanoctl@latest create project

It will ask you for:

• Project name: Your project name
• Template: Choose from available templates

A new Blok app should be initialized. Now you can start hacking!

Enjoy!

Create your first node in the src/nodes directory.

// src/nodes/hello.node.ts
import { Node } from '@blokdigital/core';

export const helloNode = new Node({
  name: 'hello',
  async execute(ctx) {
    return {
      message: `Hello, ${ctx.input.name || 'World'}!`
    };
  }
});

Run the app in development mode and see http://localhost:3000.

npm run dev

Learn More

New to Blok? Don't worry, we are here to help!

If you find anything confusing, please give your feedback on GitHub Discussions!

Writing Content

For authoring workflows and nodes, make sure to read:

Get Started