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Scope determinism to the Workflow Definition in 21 "Workflow code" sentences - #5586
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…ntences Replace 'Workflow code is/must be deterministic' and 'deterministic Workflow code' with Workflow Definition wording in the versioning, event history, Workflow basics, retry policy, and Workflow Definition pages. Reword the Java and TypeScript versioning descriptions, which no longer say Temporal ensures deterministic code.
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🟢 Approval recommended
The narrowly scoped wording changes consistently apply the agreed terminology without changing executable code, links, or page structure.
No open issues 🎉
What changed in this PR
Clarifies that determinism applies to the Workflow Definition, continuing the terminology work tracked in #5284. Changes are limited to documentation prose and frontmatter.
Changes:
- Updates 21 determinism statements across 19 pages, keeping SDK and Event History explanations consistent.
- Rewrites Java and TypeScript versioning descriptions to remove claims that Temporal ensures determinism.
- Preserves incidental “Workflow code” references and leaves explicitly deferred wording for follow-up work.
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| docs/evaluate/understanding-temporal.mdx | Clarifies the determinism requirement. |
| docs/encyclopedia/workflow/workflow-definition.mdx | Aligns the determinism tip with the canonical term. |
| docs/encyclopedia/retry-policies.mdx | Clarifies determinism in the retry explanation. |
| docs/encyclopedia/event-history/typescript.mdx | Updates the replay explanation. |
| docs/encyclopedia/event-history/python.mdx | Updates the replay explanation. |
| docs/encyclopedia/event-history/java.mdx | Updates the replay explanation. |
| docs/encyclopedia/event-history/go.mdx | Updates the replay explanation. |
| docs/encyclopedia/event-history/dotnet.mdx | Updates the replay explanation. |
| docs/develop/typescript/workflows/versioning.mdx | Updates determinism wording and page description. |
| docs/develop/rust/workflows/basics.mdx | Clarifies Workflow Definition constraints. |
| docs/develop/ruby/workflows/versioning.mdx | Clarifies the versioning determinism requirement. |
| docs/develop/python/workflows/versioning.mdx | Clarifies the versioning determinism requirement. |
| docs/develop/python/workflows/basics.mdx | Clarifies Workflow Definition constraints. |
| docs/develop/python/integrations/langgraph.mdx | Scopes the determinism warning to Workflow Definitions. |
| docs/develop/php/workflows/versioning.mdx | Clarifies the versioning determinism requirement. |
| docs/develop/java/workflows/versioning.mdx | Updates determinism wording and page description. |
| docs/develop/java/workflows/basics.mdx | Clarifies Workflow Definition constraints. |
| docs/develop/go/workflows/versioning.mdx | Clarifies the versioning determinism requirement. |
| docs/develop/dotnet/workflows/versioning.mdx | Clarifies the versioning determinism requirement. |
Review effort: Balanced
Fix the phrasings the widened Temporal.DeterminismScope rule catches: 'keeping Workflow code deterministic', 'must remain deterministic', and 'deterministic constraints of the Workflow code', across the design patterns, Selectors, safe deployments, SDK architecture, and Workflow Definition pages.
jsundai
reviewed
Oct 29, 2026
| slug: /develop/java/workflows/versioning | ||
| toc_max_heading_level: 2 | ||
| description: The Temporal Platform ensures deterministic Workflow code, offering versioning features in the Java SDK with Workflow Patching APIs and Worker Build Ids for efficient updates. | ||
| description: Update running Workflows without breaking determinism using the Java SDK's Workflow Patching APIs and Worker Build IDs. |
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I feel like there could be a more neutral description for this one.
jsundai
approved these changes
Oct 29, 2026
Duncanma
enabled auto-merge (squash)
October 29, 2026 16:10
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Follows the determinism terminology sweep (#5279, #5281). Fixes the 29 sentences that the widened
Temporal.DeterminismScoperule in #5585 flags ondocs/, plus twodescription:strings in indented code that Vale skips. Refs #5284."Workflow code" is ambiguous with Activity code, so each sentence that asserts the determinism constraint now names the Workflow Definition.
21 "is/must be deterministic" sentences
8 wider phrasings (plus 2 descriptions Vale doesn't scan)
activity-dependency-injection.mdx(description and intro),worker-configuration-patterns.mdx(intro and the description in the card list), anddesign-patterns/index.mdx.activity-dependency-injection.mdx.selectors.mdx: "which keeps Workflow code execution deterministic" becomes a separate sentence, "Selectors keep the Workflow Definition deterministic."safe-deployments.mdx: "Your Workflow code--as opposed to your Activity code--must be deterministic" becomes "Your Workflow Definition--as opposed to ...".temporal-sdks.mdx: "the deterministic constraints of the Workflow code comes into play" becomes "... of the Workflow Definition come into play" (also fixes the verb agreement).workflow-definition.mdx: "requires that Workflow code (Workflow Definitions) be deterministic in nature" becomes "requires that Workflow Definitions be deterministic".With the #5585 rule applied, Vale reports 0
Temporal.DeterminismScopehits ondocs/.vale --config .vale-ci.iniis clean on the touched files. Text and frontmatter changes only; I didn't runyarn build.Left alone: a hidden JSX comment in
typescript/platform/observability.mdxand incidental uses of "Workflow code" that don't assert determinism.