OGC API - Processes¶

OGC API - Processes is an Open Geospatial Consortium standard for discovering, describing, and executing computational processes through a web API. It separates a process's public interface from the engine and infrastructure that run it.

Processes and jobs¶

A process description specifies inputs, outputs, and supported execution options. A job represents one execution with particular inputs and its own identifier and status. Clients discover the interface before submitting values; they do not need to know the processing application's internal code.

Results can include values or references to data. Logs, progress reporting, and visualizations depend on the implementation, rather than being universal guarantees for every process service.

Execution and conformance¶

The standard describes synchronous and asynchronous execution. Synchronous clients wait for completion; asynchronous clients receive a job reference and retrieve status and results later. Actual supported modes depend on the process and service.

Capabilities such as listing jobs or dismissing an execution depend on the service's conformance classes. Dismissal is a lifecycle operation, not an execution mode or a retention policy. Supporting a standard does not imply that every optional operation or input format is implemented.

How AntFlow uses the model¶

AntFlow maps CWL workflows to process descriptions and tracks submitted work as jobs. GitLab discovery, project access, launcher selection, and result publication are AntFlow-specific behavior; the OGC standard does not prescribe these rules.

The current server executes GitLab workflows through project-specific endpoints. Its generic /processes/{process_id}/execution handler is not implemented. Project requests, standard OGC requests, and UI input files therefore must not be treated as interchangeable formats.

Use AntFlow's API reference and the deployed server's interactive API documentation for supported operations and request bodies. The standard is useful for understanding the model, not as a substitute for the implementation's API contract.

For a practical execution, follow Run a workflow. For definition and packaging responsibilities, see CWL and Application packages.