Openato

The Problem

Small teams glue their tools together with brittle scripts. When a script fails at 3am, nobody knows until a customer complains.

Architecture

Trigger Layer ──▶ Queue ──▶ Worker Pool ──▶ Action Connectors
                    │
                    ▼
              Postgres (durable runs, audit log)

Key decisions:

• Queue-backed execution — every workflow run is durable and replayable.
• Connector contracts — each integration implements a single typed interface.
• Audit-first design — every step execution is logged with inputs/outputs.

Lessons Learned

• Retry policies belong in configuration, not code.
• Visual workflow editors are 20% UI and 80% schema validation.
• Observability is the actual product; automation is the feature.

Placeholder writeup — replace with the real project deep-dive before launch.