Manage instances in Durable Functions in Azure

Orchestrations in Durable Functions are long-running stateful functions that can be started, queried, suspended, resumed, and terminated using built-in management APIs. Several other instance management APIs are also exposed by the Durable Functions orchestration client binding, such as sending external events to instances, purging instance history, etc. This article goes into the details of all supported instance management operations.

Start instances

The start-new (or schedule-new) method on the orchestration client binding starts a new orchestration instance. Internally, this method writes a message via the Durable Functions storage provider and then returns. This message asynchronously triggers the start of an orchestration function with the specified name.

The parameters for starting a new orchestration instance are as follows:

• Name: The name of the orchestrator function to schedule.
• Input: Any JSON-serializable data that should be passed as the input to the orchestrator function.
• InstanceId: (Optional) The unique ID of the instance. If you don't specify this parameter, the method uses a random ID.

Tip

Use a random identifier for the instance ID whenever possible. Random instance IDs help ensure an equal load distribution when you're scaling orchestrator functions across multiple VMs. The proper time to use non-random instance IDs is when the ID must come from an external source, or when you're implementing the singleton orchestrator pattern.

The following code is an example function that starts a new orchestration instance:

C#

[FunctionName("HelloWorldQueueTrigger")]
public static async Task Run(
    [QueueTrigger("start-queue")] string input,
    [DurableClient] IDurableOrchestrationClient starter,
    ILogger log)
{
    string instanceId = await starter.StartNewAsync("HelloWorld", input);
    log.LogInformation($"Started orchestration with ID = '{instanceId}'.");
}

Note

The previous C# code is for Durable Functions 2.x. For Durable Functions 1.x, you must use OrchestrationClient attribute instead of the DurableClient attribute, and you must use the DurableOrchestrationClient parameter type instead of IDurableOrchestrationClient. For more information about the differences between versions, see the Durable Functions versions article.

JavaScript

Unless otherwise specified, the examples on this page use the HTTP trigger with the following function.json.

function.json

{
  "bindings": [
    {
      "name": "req",
      "type": "httpTrigger",
      "direction": "in",
      "methods": ["post"]
    },
    {
      "name": "$return",
      "type": "http",
      "direction": "out"
    },
    {
      "name": "starter",
      "type": "durableClient",
      "direction": "in"
    }
  ],
  "disabled": false
}

Note

This example targets Durable Functions version 2.x. In version 1.x, use orchestrationClient instead of durableClient.

index.js

const df = require("durable-functions");

module.exports = async function(context, input) {
    const client = df.getClient(context);

    const instanceId = await client.startNew("HelloWorld", undefined, input);
    context.log(`Started orchestration with ID = ${instanceId}.`);
};

Python

Unless otherwise specified, the examples on this page use the HTTP trigger with the following function.json.

function.json

{
  "scriptFile": "__init__.py",
  "bindings": [    
    {
      "name": "req",
      "type": "httpTrigger",
      "direction": "in",
      "methods": ["post"]
    },
    {
      "name": "$return",
      "type": "http",
      "direction": "out"
    },
    {
      "name": "starter",
      "type": "durableClient",
      "direction": "in"
    }
  ],
  "disabled": false
}

Note

This example targets Durable Functions version 2.x. In version 1.x, use orchestrationClient instead of durableClient.

__init__.py

import logging
import azure.functions as func
import azure.durable_functions as df

async def main(req: func.HttpRequest, starter: str) -> func.HttpResponse:
    client = df.DurableOrchestrationClient(starter)
    
    instance_id = await client.start_new('HelloWorld', None, None)
    logging.log(f"Started orchestration with ID = ${instance_id}.")

PowerShell

Unless otherwise specified, the examples on this page use the HTTP trigger with the following function.json.

function.json

{
  "bindings": [    
    {
      "name": "Request",
      "type": "httpTrigger",
      "direction": "in",
      "methods": ["post"]
    },
    {
      "name": "Response",
      "type": "http",
      "direction": "out"
    },
    {
      "name": "starter",
      "type": "durableClient",
      "direction": "in"
    }
  ],
  "disabled": false
}

Note

This example targets Durable Functions version 2.x. In version 1.x, use orchestrationClient instead of durableClient.

run.ps1

param($Request, $TriggerMetadata)

$InstanceId = Start-DurableOrchestration -FunctionName 'HelloWorld'
Write-Host "Started orchestration with ID = '$InstanceId'"

Java

@FunctionName("HelloWorldQueueTrigger")
public void helloWorldQueueTrigger(
        @QueueTrigger(name = "input", queueName = "start-queue", connection = "Storage") String input,
        @DurableClientInput(name = "durableContext") DurableClientContext durableContext,
        final ExecutionContext context) {
    DurableTaskClient client = durableContext.getClient();        
    String instanceID = client.scheduleNewOrchestrationInstance("HelloWorld");
    context.getLogger().info("Scheduled orchestration with ID = " + instanceID);
}

If you want to wait for the orchestrator to start before returning from your function, you can also use the waitForInstanceStart() method.

// wait up to 30 seconds for the scheduled orchestration to enter the "Running" state
client.waitForInstanceStart(instanceID, Duration.ofSeconds(30));

Azure Functions Core Tools

You can also start an instance directly by using the func durable start-new command in Core Tools, which takes the following parameters:

• function-name (required): Name of the function to start.
• input (optional): Input to the function, either inline or through a JSON file. For files, add a prefix to the path to the file with @, such as @path/to/file.json.
• id (optional): ID of the orchestration instance. If you don't specify this parameter, the command uses a random GUID.
• connection-string-setting (optional): Name of the application setting containing the storage connection string to use. The default is AzureWebJobsStorage.
• task-hub-name (optional): Name of the Durable Functions task hub to use. The default is DurableFunctionsHub. You can also set this in host.json by using durableTask:HubName.

Note

Core Tools commands assume you are running them from the root directory of a function app. If you explicitly provide the connection-string-setting and task-hub-name parameters, you can run the commands from any directory. Although you can run these commands without a function app host running, you might find that you can't observe some effects unless the host is running. For example, the start-new command enqueues a start message into the target task hub, but the orchestration doesn't actually run unless there is a function app host process running that can process the message.

Note

The Core Tools commands are currently only supported when using the default Azure Storage provider for persisting runtime state.

The following command starts the function named HelloWorld, and passes the contents of the file counter-data.json to it:

func durable start-new --function-name HelloWorld --input @counter-data.json --task-hub-name TestTaskHub

Query instances

After starting new orchestration instances, you'll most likely need to query their runtime status to learn whether they are running, have completed, or have failed.

The get-status method on the orchestration client binding queries the status of an orchestration instance.

It takes an instanceId (required), showHistory (optional), showHistoryOutput (optional), and showInput (optional) as parameters.

• showHistory: If set to true, the response contains the execution history.
• showHistoryOutput: If set to true, the execution history contains activity outputs.
• showInput: If set to false, the response won't contain the input of the function. The default value is true.

The method returns an object with the following properties:

• Name: The name of the orchestrator function.
• InstanceId: The instance ID of the orchestration (should be the same as the instanceId input).
• CreatedTime: The time at which the orchestrator function started running.
• LastUpdatedTime: The time at which the orchestration last checkpointed.
• Input: The input of the function as a JSON value. This field isn't populated if showInput is false.
• CustomStatus: Custom orchestration status in JSON format.
• Output: The output of the function as a JSON value (if the function has completed). If the orchestrator function failed, this property includes the failure details. If the orchestrator function was suspended or terminated, this property includes the reason for the suspension or termination (if any).
• RuntimeStatus: One of the following values:
  • Pending: The instance has been scheduled but has not yet started running.
  • Running: The instance has started running.
  • Completed: The instance has completed normally.
  • ContinuedAsNew: The instance has restarted itself with a new history. This state is a transient state.
  • Failed: The instance failed with an error.
  • Terminated: The instance was stopped abruptly.
  • Suspended: The instance was suspended and may be resumed at a later point in time.
• History: The execution history of the orchestration. This field is only populated if showHistory is set to true.

Note

An orchestrator is not marked as Completed until all of its scheduled tasks have finished and the orchestrator has returned. In other words, it is not sufficient for an orchestrator to reach its return statement for it to be marked as Completed. This is particularly relevant for cases where WhenAny is used; those orchestrators often return before all the scheduled tasks have executed.

This method returns null (.NET and Java), undefined (JavaScript), or None (Python) if the instance doesn't exist.

C#

[FunctionName("GetStatus")]
public static async Task Run(
    [DurableClient] IDurableOrchestrationClient client,
    [QueueTrigger("check-status-queue")] string instanceId)
{
    DurableOrchestrationStatus status = await client.GetStatusAsync(instanceId);
    // do something based on the current status.
}

Note

The previous C# code is for Durable Functions 2.x. For Durable Functions 1.x, you must use OrchestrationClient attribute instead of the DurableClient attribute, and you must use the DurableOrchestrationClient parameter type instead of IDurableOrchestrationClient. For more information about the differences between versions, see the Durable Functions versions article.

JavaScript

const df = require("durable-functions");

module.exports = async function(context, instanceId) {
    const client = df.getClient(context);

    const status = await client.getStatus(instanceId);
    // do something based on the current status.
    // example: if status.runtimeStatus === df.OrchestrationRuntimeStatus.Running: ...
}

See Start instances for the function.json configuration.

Python

import azure.functions as func
import azure.durable_functions as df

async def main(req: func.HttpRequest, starter: str, instance_id: str) -> func.HttpResponse:
    client = df.DurableOrchestrationClient(starter)

    status = await client.get_status(instance_id)
    # do something based on the current status
    # example: if (existing_instance.runtime_status is df.OrchestrationRuntimeStatus.Running) { ...

PowerShell

param($Request, $TriggerMetadata)

# Get instanceid from body
$InstanceId = $Request.Body.InstanceId

$Status = Get-DurableStatus -InstanceId $InstanceId -ShowHistory -ShowHistoryOutput -ShowInput
Write-Host "Status: $($Status | ConvertTo-Json)"

# Do something based on status
# example: if ($Status.runtimeStatus -eq 'Running') { ... }

Java

@FunctionName("GetStatus")
public void getStatus(
        @QueueTrigger(name = "instanceID", queueName = "check-status-queue", connection = "Storage") String instanceID,
        @DurableClientInput(name = "durableContext") DurableClientContext durableContext,
        final ExecutionContext context) {
    DurableTaskClient client = durableContext.getClient();        
    OrchestrationMetadata metadata = client.getInstanceMetadata(instanceID, false);
    if (metadata != null) {
        OrchestrationRuntimeStatus status = metadata.getRuntimeStatus();
        switch (status) {
            // do something based on the current status
        }
    }
}

Azure Functions Core Tools

It's also possible to get the status of an orchestration instance directly by using the func durable get-runtime-status command in Core Tools.

Note

Core Tools commands are currently only supported when using the default Azure Storage provider for persisting runtime state.

The durable get-runtime-status command takes the following parameters:

• id (required): ID of the orchestration instance.
• show-input (optional): If set to true, the response contains the input of the function. The default value is false.
• show-output (optional): If set to true, the response contains the output of the function. The default value is false.
• connection-string-setting (optional): Name of the application setting containing the storage connection string to use. The default is AzureWebJobsStorage.
• task-hub-name (optional): Name of the Durable Functions task hub to use. The default is DurableFunctionsHub. It can also be set in host.json, by using durableTask:HubName.

The following command retrieves the status (including input and output) of an instance with an orchestration instance ID of 0ab8c55a66644d68a3a8b220b12d209c. It assumes that you are running the func command from the root directory of the function app:

func durable get-runtime-status --id 0ab8c55a66644d68a3a8b220b12d209c --show-input true --show-output true

You can use the durable get-history command to retrieve the history of an orchestration instance. It takes the following parameters:

• id (required): ID of the orchestration instance.
• connection-string-setting (optional): Name of the application setting containing the storage connection string to use. The default is AzureWebJobsStorage.
• task-hub-name (optional): Name of the Durable Functions task hub to use. The default is DurableFunctionsHub. It can also be set in host.json, by using durableTask:HubName.

func durable get-history --id 0ab8c55a66644d68a3a8b220b12d209c

Query all instances

You can use APIs in your language SDK to query the statuses of all orchestration instances in your task hub. This "list-instances" or "get-status" API returns a list of objects that represent the orchestration instances matching the query parameters.

C#

[FunctionName("GetAllStatus")]
public static async Task Run(
    [HttpTrigger(AuthorizationLevel.Anonymous, "get", "post")] HttpRequestMessage req,
    [DurableClient] IDurableOrchestrationClient client,
    ILogger log)
{
    var noFilter = new OrchestrationStatusQueryCondition();
    OrchestrationStatusQueryResult result = await client.ListInstancesAsync(
        noFilter,
        CancellationToken.None);
    foreach (DurableOrchestrationStatus instance in result.DurableOrchestrationState)
    {
        log.LogInformation(JsonConvert.SerializeObject(instance));
    }
    
    // Note: ListInstancesAsync only returns the first page of results.
    // To request additional pages provide the result.ContinuationToken
    // to the OrchestrationStatusQueryCondition's ContinuationToken property.
}

Note

The previous C# code is for Durable Functions 2.x. For Durable Functions 1.x, you must use OrchestrationClient attribute instead of the DurableClient attribute, and you must use the DurableOrchestrationClient parameter type instead of IDurableOrchestrationClient. For more information about the differences between versions, see the Durable Functions versions article.

JavaScript

const df = require("durable-functions");

module.exports = async function(context, req) {
    const client = df.getClient(context);

    const instances = await client.getStatusAll();
    instances.forEach((instance) => {
        context.log(JSON.stringify(instance));
    });
};

See Start instances for the function.json configuration.

Python

import logging
import json
import azure.functions as func
import azure.durable_functions as df


async def main(req: func.HttpRequest, starter: str) -> func.HttpResponse:
    client = df.DurableOrchestrationClient(starter)

    instances = await client.get_status_all()

    for instance in instances:
        logging.log(json.dumps(instance))

See Start instances for the function.json configuration.

PowerShell

Note

This feature is currently not supported in PowerShell, but can be achieved using the Durable Functions HTTP API.

Java

@FunctionName("GetAllStatus")
public String getAllStatus(
        @HttpTrigger(name = "req", methods = {HttpMethod.GET}) HttpRequestMessage<?> req,
        @DurableClientInput(name = "durableContext") DurableClientContext durableContext) {
    DurableTaskClient client = durableContext.getClient();
    OrchestrationStatusQuery noFilter = new OrchestrationStatusQuery();
    OrchestrationStatusQueryResult result = client.queryInstances(noFilter);
    return "Found " + result.getOrchestrationState().size() + " orchestrations.";
}

Azure Functions Core Tools

It's also possible to query instances directly, by using the func durable get-instances command in Core Tools.

Note

The Core Tools commands are currently only supported when using the default Azure Storage provider for persisting runtime state.

The durable get-instances command takes the following parameters:

• top (optional): This command supports paging. This parameter corresponds to the number of instances retrieved per request. The default is 10.
• continuation-token (optional): A token to indicate which page or section of instances to retrieve. Each get-instances execution returns a token to the next set of instances.
• connection-string-setting (optional): Name of the application setting containing the storage connection string to use. The default is AzureWebJobsStorage.
• task-hub-name (optional): Name of the Durable Functions task hub to use. The default is DurableFunctionsHub. It can also be set in host.json, by using durableTask:HubName.

func durable get-instances

Query instances with filters

What if you don't really need all the information that a standard instance query can provide? For example, what if you're just looking for the orchestration creation time, or the orchestration runtime status? You can narrow your query by applying filters.

C#

[FunctionName("QueryStatus")]
public static async Task Run(
    [HttpTrigger(AuthorizationLevel.Anonymous, "get", "post")] HttpRequestMessage req,
    [DurableClient] IDurableOrchestrationClient client,
    ILogger log)
{
    // Get the first 100 running or pending instances that were created between 7 and 1 day(s) ago
    var queryFilter = new OrchestrationStatusQueryCondition
    {
        RuntimeStatus = new[]
        {
            OrchestrationRuntimeStatus.Pending,
            OrchestrationRuntimeStatus.Running,
        },
        CreatedTimeFrom = DateTime.UtcNow.Subtract(TimeSpan.FromDays(7)),
        CreatedTimeTo = DateTime.UtcNow.Subtract(TimeSpan.FromDays(1)),
        PageSize = 100,
    };
    
    OrchestrationStatusQueryResult result = await client.ListInstancesAsync(
        queryFilter,
        CancellationToken.None);
    foreach (DurableOrchestrationStatus instance in result.DurableOrchestrationState)
    {
        log.LogInformation(JsonConvert.SerializeObject(instance));
    }
}

Note

The previous C# code is for Durable Functions 2.x. For Durable Functions 1.x, you must use OrchestrationClient attribute instead of the DurableClient attribute, and you must use the DurableOrchestrationClient parameter type instead of IDurableOrchestrationClient. For more information about the differences between versions, see the Durable Functions versions article.

JavaScript

const df = require("durable-functions");

module.exports = async function(context, req) {
    const client = df.getClient(context);

    const runtimeStatus = [
        df.OrchestrationRuntimeStatus.Completed,
        df.OrchestrationRuntimeStatus.Running,
    ];
    const instances = await client.getStatusBy(
        new Date(2021, 3, 10, 10, 1, 0),
        new Date(2021, 3, 10, 10, 23, 59),
        runtimeStatus
    );
    instances.forEach((instance) => {
        context.log(JSON.stringify(instance));
    });
};

See Start instances for the function.json configuration.

Python

import logging
from datetime import datetime
import json
import azure.functions as func
import azure.durable_functions as df
from azure.durable_functions.models.OrchestrationRuntimeStatus import OrchestrationRuntimeStatus

async def main(req: func.HttpRequest, starter: str) -> func.HttpResponse:
    client = df.DurableOrchestrationClient(starter)

    runtime_status = [OrchestrationRuntimeStatus.Completed, OrchestrationRuntimeStatus.Running]

    instances = await client.get_status_by(
        datetime(2021, 3, 10, 10, 1, 0),
        datetime(2021, 3, 10, 10, 23, 59),
        runtime_status
    )

    for instance in instances:
        logging.log(json.dumps(instance))

PowerShell

Note

This feature is currently not supported in PowerShell, but can be achieved using the Durable Functions HTTP API.

Java

@FunctionName("GetRunningInstances")
public String getRunningInstances(
        @HttpTrigger(name = "req", methods = {HttpMethod.GET}) HttpRequestMessage<?> req,
        @DurableClientInput(name = "durableContext") DurableClientContext durableContext) {
    DurableTaskClient client = durableContext.getClient();
    OrchestrationStatusQuery filter = new OrchestrationStatusQuery()
        .setRuntimeStatusList(List.of(OrchestrationRuntimeStatus.PENDING, OrchestrationRuntimeStatus.RUNNING))
        .setCreatedTimeFrom(Instant.now().minus(Duration.ofDays(7)))
        .setCreatedTimeTo(Instant.now().minus(Duration.ofDays(1)));
    OrchestrationStatusQueryResult result = client.queryInstances(filter);
    return "Found " + result.getOrchestrationState().size() + " orchestrations.";
}

Azure Functions Core Tools

In the Azure Functions Core Tools, you can also use the durable get-instances command with filters. In addition to the aforementioned top, continuation-token, connection-string-setting, and task-hub-name parameters, you can use three filter parameters (created-after, created-before, and runtime-status).

Note

The Core Tools commands are currently only supported when using the default Azure Storage provider for persisting runtime state.

The following are the parameters for the durable get-instances command.

• created-after (optional): Retrieve the instances created after this date/time (UTC). ISO 8601 formatted datetimes accepted.
• created-before (optional): Retrieve the instances created before this date/time (UTC). ISO 8601 formatted datetimes accepted.
• runtime-status (optional): Retrieve the instances with a particular status (for example, running or completed). Can provide multiple (space separated) statuses.
• top (optional): Number of instances retrieved per request. The default is 10.
• continuation-token (optional): A token to indicate which page or section of instances to retrieve. Each get-instances execution returns a token to the next set of instances.
• connection-string-setting (optional): Name of the application setting containing the storage connection string to use. The default is AzureWebJobsStorage.
• task-hub-name (optional): Name of the Durable Functions task hub to use. The default is DurableFunctionsHub. It can also be set in host.json, by using durableTask:HubName.

If you don't provide any filters (created-after, created-before, or runtime-status), the command simply retrieves top instances, with no regard to runtime status or creation time.

func durable get-instances --created-after 2021-03-10T13:57:31Z --created-before  2021-03-10T23:59Z --top 15

Terminate instances

If you have an orchestration instance that is taking too long to run, or you just need to stop it before it completes for any reason, you can terminate it.

The two parameters for the terminate API are an instance ID and a reason string, which are written to logs and to the instance status.

C#

[FunctionName("TerminateInstance")]
public static Task Run(
    [DurableClient] IDurableOrchestrationClient client,
    [QueueTrigger("terminate-queue")] string instanceId)
{
    string reason = "Found a bug";
    return client.TerminateAsync(instanceId, reason);
}

Note

The previous C# code is for Durable Functions 2.x. For Durable Functions 1.x, you must use OrchestrationClient attribute instead of the DurableClient attribute, and you must use the DurableOrchestrationClient parameter type instead of IDurableOrchestrationClient. For more information about the differences between versions, see the Durable Functions versions article.

JavaScript

const df = require("durable-functions");

module.exports = async function(context, instanceId) {
    const client = df.getClient(context);

    const reason = "Found a bug";
    return client.terminate(instanceId, reason);
};

See Start instances for the function.json configuration.

Python

import azure.functions as func
import azure.durable_functions as df

async def main(req: func.HttpRequest, starter: str, instance_id: str) -> func.HttpResponse:
    client = df.DurableOrchestrationClient(starter)

    reason = "Found a bug"
    return await client.terminate(instance_id, reason)

PowerShell

param($Request, $TriggerMetadata)

# Get instance id from body
$InstanceId = $Request.Body.InstanceId
$Reason = 'Found a bug'

Stop-DurableOrchestration -InstanceId $InstanceId -Reason $Reason

Java

@FunctionName("TerminateInstance")
public void terminateInstance(
        @HttpTrigger(name = "req", methods = {HttpMethod.POST}) HttpRequestMessage<String> req,
        @DurableClientInput(name = "durableContext") DurableClientContext durableContext) {
    String instanceID = req.getBody();
    String reason = "Found a bug";
    durableContext.getClient().terminate(instanceID, reason);
}

A terminated instance will eventually transition into the Terminated state. However, this transition will not happen immediately. Rather, the terminate operation will be queued in the task hub along with other operations for that instance. You can use the instance query APIs to know when a terminated instance has actually reached the Terminated state.

Note

Instance termination doesn't currently propagate. Activity functions and sub-orchestrations run to completion, regardless of whether you've terminated the orchestration instance that called them.

Suspend and Resume instances

Suspending an orchestration allows you to stop a running orchestration. Unlike with termination, you have the option to resume a suspended orchestrator at a later point in time.

The two parameters for the suspend API are an instance ID and a reason string, which are written to logs and to the instance status.

C#

[FunctionName("SuspendResumeInstance")]
public static async Task Run(
    [DurableClient] IDurableOrchestrationClient client,
    [QueueTrigger("suspend-resume-queue")] string instanceId)
{
    // To suspend an orchestration
    string suspendReason = "Need to pause workflow";
    await client.SuspendAsync(instanceId, suspendReason);
    
    // To resume an orchestration
    string resumeReason = "Continue workflow";
    await client.ResumeAsync(instanceId, resumeReason);
}

JavaScript

const df = require("durable-functions");

module.exports = async function(context, instanceId) {
    const client = df.getClient(context);

    // To suspend an orchestration
    const suspendReason = "Need to pause workflow";
    await client.suspend(instanceId, suspendReason);

    // To resume an orchestration
    const resumeReason = "Continue workflow";
    await client.resume(instanceId, resumeReason);
};

Python

import azure.functions as func
import azure.durable_functions as df
from datetime import timedelta

async def main(req: func.HttpRequest, starter: str, instance_id: str):
    client = df.DurableOrchestrationClient(starter)

    # To suspend an orchestration
    suspend_reason = "Need to pause workflow"
    await client.suspend(instance_id, suspend_reason)

    # To resume an orchestration
    resume_reason = "Continue workflow"
    await client.resume(instance_id, resume_reason)

PowerShell

param($Request, $TriggerMetadata)

$InstanceId = $Request.Body.InstanceId

# To suspend an orchestration
$SuspendReason = 'Need to pause workflow'
Suspend-DurableOrchestration -InstanceId $InstanceId -Reason $SuspendReason

# To resume an orchestration
$ResumeReason = 'Continue workflow'
Resume-DurableOrchestration -InstanceId $InstanceId -Reason $ResumeReason

Note

This change applies only to the standalone Durable Functions PowerShell SDK, which is currently in preview.

Java

@FunctionName("SuspendResumeInstance")
public void suspendResumeInstance(
        @HttpTrigger(name = "req", methods = {HttpMethod.POST}) HttpRequestMessage<String> req,
        @DurableClientInput(name = "durableContext") DurableClientContext durableContext) {
    String instanceID = req.getBody();
    DurableTaskClient client = durableContext.getClient();  

    // To suspend an orchestration
    String suspendReason = "Need to pause workflow";
    client.suspendInstance(instanceID, suspendReason);

    // To resume an orchestration
    String resumeReason = "Continue workflow";
    client.resumeInstance(instanceID, resumeReason);
}

A suspended instance will eventually transition to the Suspended state. However, this transition will not happen immediately. Rather, the suspend operation will be queued in the task hub along with other operations for that instance. You can use the instance query APIs to know when a running instance has actually reached the Suspended state.

When a suspended orchestrator is resumed, its status will change back to Running.

Azure Functions Core Tools

You can also terminate an orchestration instance directly, by using the func durable terminate command in Core Tools.

Note

The Core Tools commands are currently only supported when using the default Azure Storage provider for persisting runtime state.

The durable terminate command takes the following parameters:

• id (required): ID of the orchestration instance to terminate.
• reason (optional): Reason for termination.
• connection-string-setting (optional): Name of the application setting containing the storage connection string to use. The default is AzureWebJobsStorage.
• task-hub-name (optional): Name of the Durable Functions task hub to use. The default is DurableFunctionsHub. It can also be set in host.json, by using durableTask:HubName.

The following command terminates an orchestration instance with an ID of 0ab8c55a66644d68a3a8b220b12d209c:

func durable terminate --id 0ab8c55a66644d68a3a8b220b12d209c --reason "Found a bug"

Send events to instances

In some scenarios, orchestrator functions need to wait and listen for external events. Examples scenarios where this is useful include the monitoring and human interaction scenarios.

You can send event notifications to running instances by using the raise event API of the orchestration client. Orchestrations can listen and respond to these events using the wait for external event orchestrator API.

The parameters for raise event are as follows:

• Instance ID: The unique ID of the instance.
• Event name: The name of the event to send.
• Event data: A JSON-serializable payload to send to the instance.

C#

[FunctionName("RaiseEvent")]
public static Task Run(
    [DurableClient] IDurableOrchestrationClient client,
    [QueueTrigger("event-queue")] string instanceId)
{
    int[] eventData = new int[] { 1, 2, 3 };
    return client.RaiseEventAsync(instanceId, "MyEvent", eventData);
}

Note

The previous C# code is for Durable Functions 2.x. For Durable Functions 1.x, you must use OrchestrationClient attribute instead of the DurableClient attribute, and you must use the DurableOrchestrationClient parameter type instead of IDurableOrchestrationClient. For more information about the differences between versions, see the Durable Functions versions article.

JavaScript

const df = require("durable-functions");

module.exports = async function(context, instanceId) {
    const client = df.getClient(context);

    const eventData = [ 1, 2, 3 ];
    return client.raiseEvent(instanceId, "MyEvent", eventData);
};

See Start instances for the function.json configuration.

Python

import azure.functions as func
import azure.durable_functions as df

async def main(req: func.HttpRequest, starter: str, instance_id: str) -> func.HttpResponse:
    client = df.DurableOrchestrationClient(starter)

    event_data = [1, 2 ,3]
    return await client.raise_event(instance_id, 'MyEvent', event_data)

PowerShell

param($Request, $TriggerMetadata)

# Get instance id from body
$InstanceId = $Request.Body.InstanceId
$EventName = 'MyEvent'
$EventData = @(1,2,3)

Send-DurableExternalEvent -InstanceId $InstanceId -EventName $EventName -EventData $EventData

Java

@FunctionName("RaiseEvent")
public void raiseEvent(
        @HttpTrigger(name = "req", methods = {HttpMethod.POST}) HttpRequestMessage<String> req,
        @DurableClientInput(name = "durableContext") DurableClientContext durableContext) {
    String instanceID = req.getBody();
    String eventName = "MyEvent";
    int[] eventData = { 1, 2, 3 };
    durableContext.getClient().raiseEvent(instanceID, eventName, eventData);
}

Note

If there is no orchestration instance with the specified instance ID, the event message is discarded. If an instance exists but it is not yet waiting for the event, the event will be stored in the instance state until it is ready to be received and processed.

Azure Functions Core Tools

You can also raise an event to an orchestration instance directly, by using the func durable raise-event command in Core Tools.

Note

The Core Tools commands are currently only supported when using the default Azure Storage provider for persisting runtime state.

The durable raise-event command takes the following parameters:

• id (required): ID of the orchestration instance.
• event-name: Name of the event to raise.
• event-data (optional): Data to send to the orchestration instance. This can be the path to a JSON file, or you can provide the data directly on the command line.
• connection-string-setting (optional): Name of the application setting containing the storage connection string to use. The default is AzureWebJobsStorage.
• task-hub-name (optional): Name of the Durable Functions task hub to use. The default is DurableFunctionsHub. It can also be set in host.json, by using durableTask:HubName.

func durable raise-event --id 0ab8c55a66644d68a3a8b220b12d209c --event-name MyEvent --event-data @eventdata.json

func durable raise-event --id 1234567 --event-name MyOtherEvent --event-data 3

Wait for orchestration completion

In long-running orchestrations, you may want to wait and get the results of an orchestration. In these cases, it's also useful to be able to define a timeout period on the orchestration. If the timeout is exceeded, the state of the orchestration should be returned instead of the results.

The "wait for completion or create check status response" API can be used to get the actual output from an orchestration instance synchronously. By default, this method has a default timeout of 10 seconds and a polling interval of 1 second.

Here is an example HTTP-trigger function that demonstrates how to use this API:

C#

// Copyright (c) .NET Foundation. All rights reserved.
// Licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE in the project root for license information.

using System;
using System.Net.Http;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using Microsoft.Azure.WebJobs;
using Microsoft.Azure.WebJobs.Extensions.DurableTask;
using Microsoft.Azure.WebJobs.Extensions.Http;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;

namespace VSSample
{
    public static class HttpSyncStart
    {
        private const string Timeout = "timeout";
        private const string RetryInterval = "retryInterval";

        [FunctionName("HttpSyncStart")]
        public static async Task<HttpResponseMessage> Run(
            [HttpTrigger(AuthorizationLevel.Function, methods: "post", Route = "orchestrators/{functionName}/wait")]
            HttpRequestMessage req,
            [DurableClient] IDurableOrchestrationClient starter,
            string functionName,
            ILogger log)
        {
            // Function input comes from the request content.
            object eventData = await req.Content.ReadAsAsync<object>();
            string instanceId = await starter.StartNewAsync(functionName, eventData);

            log.LogInformation($"Started orchestration with ID = '{instanceId}'.");

            TimeSpan timeout = GetTimeSpan(req, Timeout) ?? TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30);
            TimeSpan retryInterval = GetTimeSpan(req, RetryInterval) ?? TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1);
            
            return await starter.WaitForCompletionOrCreateCheckStatusResponseAsync(
                req,
                instanceId,
                timeout,
                retryInterval);
        }

        private static TimeSpan? GetTimeSpan(HttpRequestMessage request, string queryParameterName)
        {
            string queryParameterStringValue = request.RequestUri.ParseQueryString()[queryParameterName];
            if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(queryParameterStringValue))
            {
                return null;
            }

            return TimeSpan.FromSeconds(double.Parse(queryParameterStringValue));
        }
    }
}

JavaScript

const df = require("durable-functions");

const timeout = "timeout";
const retryInterval = "retryInterval";

module.exports = async function (context, req) {
    const client = df.getClient(context);
    const instanceId = await client.startNew(req.params.functionName, undefined, req.body);

    context.log(`Started orchestration with ID = '${instanceId}'.`);

    const timeoutInMilliseconds = getTimeInSeconds(req, timeout) || 30000;
    const retryIntervalInMilliseconds = getTimeInSeconds(req, retryInterval) || 1000;

    const response = client.waitForCompletionOrCreateCheckStatusResponse(
        context.bindingData.req,
        instanceId,
        timeoutInMilliseconds,
        retryIntervalInMilliseconds
    );
    return response;
};

function getTimeInSeconds(req, queryParameterName) {
    const queryValue = req.query[queryParameterName];
    return queryValue
        ? queryValue * 1000 // expected to be in seconds
        : undefined;
}

See Start instances for the function.json configuration.

Python

import logging
import azure.functions as func
import azure.durable_functions as df

timeout = "timeout"
retry_interval = "retryInterval"

async def main(req: func.HttpRequest, starter: str) -> func.HttpResponse:
    client = df.DurableOrchestrationClient(starter)

    instance_id = await client.start_new(req.route_params['functionName'], None, req.get_body())
    logging.log(f"Started orchestration with ID = '${instance_id}'.")

    timeout_in_milliseconds = get_time_in_seconds(req, timeout)
    timeout_in_milliseconds = timeout_in_milliseconds if timeout_in_milliseconds != None else 30000
    retry_interval_in_milliseconds = get_time_in_seconds(req, retry_interval)
    retry_interval_in_milliseconds = retry_interval_in_milliseconds if retry_interval_in_milliseconds != None else 1000

    return await client.wait_for_completion_or_create_check_status_response(
        req,
        instance_id,
        timeout_in_milliseconds,
        retry_interval_in_milliseconds
    )

def get_time_in_seconds(req: func.HttpRequest, query_parameter_name: str):
    query_value = req.params.get(query_parameter_name)
    return query_value if query_value != None else 1000

PowerShell

Note

PowerShell doesn't currently have a built-in command for this scenario.

Java

Java doesn't currently have a single method for this scenario. However, it can be implemented using a few extra lines of code.

@FunctionName("HttpStartAndWait")
public HttpResponseMessage httpStartAndWait(
        @HttpTrigger(name = "req", route = "orchestrators/{functionName}/wait", methods = {HttpMethod.POST}) HttpRequestMessage<?> req,
        @DurableClientInput(name = "durableContext") DurableClientContext durableContext,
        @BindingName("functionName") String functionName,
        final ExecutionContext context) {

    DurableTaskClient client = durableContext.getClient();
    String instanceId = client.scheduleNewOrchestrationInstance(functionName);
    context.getLogger().info("Created new Java orchestration with instance ID = " + instanceId);
    try {
        String timeoutString = req.getQueryParameters().get("timeout");
        Integer timeoutInSeconds = Integer.parseInt(timeoutString);
        OrchestrationMetadata orchestration = client.waitForInstanceCompletion(
                instanceId,
                Duration.ofSeconds(timeoutInSeconds),
                true /* getInputsAndOutputs */);
        return req.createResponseBuilder(HttpStatus.OK)
                .body(orchestration.getSerializedOutput())
                .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
                .build();
    } catch (TimeoutException timeoutEx) {
        // timeout expired - return a 202 response
        return durableContext.createCheckStatusResponse(req, instanceId);
    }
}

Call the function with the following line. Use 2 seconds for the timeout and 0.5 second for the retry interval:

curl -X POST "http://localhost:7071/orchestrators/E1_HelloSequence/wait?timeout=2&retryInterval=0.5"

Note

The above cURL command assumes you have an orchestrator function named E1_HelloSequence in your project. Because of how the HTTP trigger function is written, you can replace it with the name of any orchestrator function in your project.

Depending on the time required to get the response from the orchestration instance, there are two cases:

• The orchestration instances complete within the defined timeout (in this case 2 seconds), and the response is the actual orchestration instance output, delivered synchronously:

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8
Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2021 06:14:29 GMT
Transfer-Encoding: chunked

[
    "Hello Tokyo!",
    "Hello Seattle!",
    "Hello London!"
]

• The orchestration instances can't complete within the defined timeout, and the response is the default one described in HTTP API URL discovery:

HTTP/1.1 202 Accepted
Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8
Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2021 06:13:51 GMT
Location: http://localhost:7071/runtime/webhooks/durabletask/instances/d3b72dddefce4e758d92f4d411567177?taskHub={taskHub}&connection={connection}&code={systemKey}
Retry-After: 10
Transfer-Encoding: chunked

{
    "id": "d3b72dddefce4e758d92f4d411567177",
    "sendEventPostUri": "http://localhost:7071/runtime/webhooks/durabletask/instances/d3b72dddefce4e758d92f4d411567177/raiseEvent/{eventName}?taskHub={taskHub}&connection={connection}&code={systemKey}",
    "statusQueryGetUri": "http://localhost:7071/runtime/webhooks/durabletask/instances/d3b72dddefce4e758d92f4d411567177?taskHub={taskHub}&connection={connection}&code={systemKey}",
    "terminatePostUri": "http://localhost:7071/runtime/webhooks/durabletask/instances/d3b72dddefce4e758d92f4d411567177/terminate?reason={text}&taskHub={taskHub}&connection={connection}&code={systemKey}",
    "suspendPostUri": "http://localhost:7071/runtime/webhooks/durabletask/instances/d3b72dddefce4e758d92f4d411567177/suspend?reason={text}&taskHub={taskHub}&connection={connection}&code={systemKey}",
    "resumePostUri": "http://localhost:7071/runtime/webhooks/durabletask/instances/d3b72dddefce4e758d92f4d411567177/resume?reason={text}&taskHub={taskHub}&connection={connection}&code={systemKey}"
}

Note

The format of the webhook URLs might differ, depending on which version of the Azure Functions host you are running. The preceding example is for the Azure Functions 3.0 host.

Retrieve HTTP management webhook URLs

You can use an external system to monitor or to raise events to an orchestration. External systems can communicate with Durable Functions through the webhook URLs that are part of the default response described in HTTP API URL discovery. The webhook URLs can alternatively be accessed programmatically using the orchestration client binding. Specifically, the create HTTP management payload API can be used to get a serializable object that contains these webhook URLs.

The create HTTP management payload API has one parameter:

• Instance ID: The unique ID of the instance.

The methods return an object with the following string properties:

• Id: The instance ID of the orchestration (should be the same as the InstanceId input).
• StatusQueryGetUri: The status URL of the orchestration instance.
• SendEventPostUri: The "raise event" URL of the orchestration instance.
• TerminatePostUri: The "terminate" URL of the orchestration instance.
• PurgeHistoryDeleteUri: The "purge history" URL of the orchestration instance.
• suspendPostUri: The "suspend" URL of the orchestration instance.
• resumePostUri: The "resume" URL of the orchestration instance.

Functions can send instances of these objects to external systems to monitor or raise events on the corresponding orchestrations, as shown in the following examples:

C#

[FunctionName("SendInstanceInfo")]
public static void SendInstanceInfo(
    [ActivityTrigger] IDurableActivityContext ctx,
    [DurableClient] IDurableOrchestrationClient client,
    [CosmosDB(
        databaseName: "MonitorDB",
        containerName: "HttpManagementPayloads",
        Connection = "CosmosDBConnectionSetting")]out dynamic document)
{
    HttpManagementPayload payload = client.CreateHttpManagementPayload(ctx.InstanceId);

    // send the payload to Azure Cosmos DB
    document = new { Payload = payload, id = ctx.InstanceId };
}

Note

The previous C# code is for Durable Functions 2.x. For Durable Functions 1.x, you must use DurableActivityContext instead of IDurableActivityContext, you must use the OrchestrationClient attribute instead of the DurableClient attribute, and you must use the DurableOrchestrationClient parameter type instead of IDurableOrchestrationClient. For more information about the differences between versions, see the Durable Functions versions article.

JavaScript

const df = require("durable-functions");

modules.exports = async function(context, ctx) {
    const client = df.getClient(context);

    const payload = client.createHttpManagementPayload(ctx.instanceId);

    // send the payload to Azure Cosmos DB
    context.bindings.document = JSON.stringify({
        id: ctx.instanceId,
        payload,
    });
};

See Start instances for the function.json configuration.

Python

import azure.functions as func
import azure.durable_functions as df

async def main(req: func.HttpRequest, starter: str, instance_id: str) -> func.cosmosdb.cdb.Document:
    client = df.DurableOrchestrationClient(starter)

    payload = client.create_check_status_response(req, instance_id).get_body().decode()

    return func.cosmosdb.CosmosDBConverter.encode({
        id: instance_id,
        payload: payload
    })

PowerShell

using namespace System.Net

param($Request, $TriggerMetadata)

$InstanceId = $Request.Body.InstanceId
$Response = New-DurableOrchestrationCheckStatusResponse -Request $Request -InstanceId $InstanceId
Push-OutputBinding -Name Response -Value $Response

Java

Note

This feature is currently not supported in Java.

Rewind instances (preview)

If you have an orchestration failure for an unexpected reason, you can rewind the instance to a previously healthy state by using an API built for that purpose.

Note

This API is not intended to be a replacement for proper error handling and retry policies. Rather, it is intended to be used only in cases where orchestration instances fail for unexpected reasons. Orchestrations in states other than Failed (e.g., Running, Pending, Terminated, Completed) cannot be "rewound". For more information on error handling and retry policies, see the Error handling article.

Use the RewindAsync (.NET) or rewind (JavaScript) method of the orchestration client binding to put the orchestration back into the Running state. This method will also rerun the activity or sub-orchestration execution failures that caused the orchestration failure.

For example, let's say you have a workflow involving a series of human approvals. Suppose there are a series of activity functions that notify someone that their approval is needed, and wait out the real-time response. After all of the approval activities have received responses or timed out, suppose that another activity fails due to an application misconfiguration, such as an invalid database connection string. The result is an orchestration failure deep into the workflow. With the RewindAsync (.NET) or rewind (JavaScript) API, an application administrator can fix the configuration error, and rewind the failed orchestration back to the state immediately before the failure. None of the human-interaction steps need to be re-approved, and the orchestration can now complete successfully.

Note

The rewind feature doesn't support rewinding orchestration instances that use durable timers.

C#

[FunctionName("RewindInstance")]
public static Task Run(
    [DurableClient] IDurableOrchestrationClient client,
    [QueueTrigger("rewind-queue")] string instanceId)
{
    string reason = "Orchestrator failed and needs to be revived.";
    return client.RewindAsync(instanceId, reason);
}

Note

The previous C# code is for Durable Functions 2.x. For Durable Functions 1.x, you must use OrchestrationClient attribute instead of the DurableClient attribute, and you must use the DurableOrchestrationClient parameter type instead of IDurableOrchestrationClient. For more information about the differences between versions, see the Durable Functions versions article.

JavaScript

const df = require("durable-functions");

module.exports = async function(context, instanceId) {
    const client = df.getClient(context);

    const reason = "Orchestrator failed and needs to be revived.";
    return client.rewind(instanceId, reason);
};

See Start instances for the function.json configuration.

Python

Note

This feature is currently not supported in Python.

PowerShell

Note

This feature is currently not supported in PowerShell.

Java

Note

This feature is currently not supported in Java.

Azure Functions Core Tools

You can also rewind an orchestration instance directly by using the func durable rewind command in Core Tools.

Note

The Core Tools commands are currently only supported when using the default Azure Storage provider for persisting runtime state.

The durable rewind command takes the following parameters:

• id (required): ID of the orchestration instance.
• reason (optional): Reason for rewinding the orchestration instance.
• connection-string-setting (optional): Name of the application setting containing the storage connection string to use. The default is AzureWebJobsStorage.
• task-hub-name (optional): Name of the Durable Functions task hub to use. By default, the task hub name in the host.json file is used.

func durable rewind --id 0ab8c55a66644d68a3a8b220b12d209c --reason "Orchestrator failed and needs to be revived."

Purge instance history

To remove all the data associated with an orchestration, you can purge the instance history. For example, you might want to delete any storage resources associated with a completed instance. To do so, use the purge instance API defined by the orchestration client.

This first example shows how to purge a single orchestration instance.

C#

[FunctionName("PurgeInstanceHistory")]
public static Task Run(
    [DurableClient] IDurableOrchestrationClient client,
    [QueueTrigger("purge-queue")] string instanceId)
{
    return client.PurgeInstanceHistoryAsync(instanceId);
}

JavaScript

const df = require("durable-functions");

module.exports = async function(context, instanceId) {
    const client = df.getClient(context);
    return client.purgeInstanceHistory(instanceId);
};

See Start instances for the function.json configuration.

Python

import azure.functions as func
import azure.durable_functions as df

async def main(req: func.HttpRequest, starter: str, instance_id: str) -> func.HttpResponse:
    client = df.DurableOrchestrationClient(starter)

    return await client.purge_instance_history(instance_id)

PowerShell

Note

This feature is currently not supported in PowerShell, but can be achieved using the Durable Functions HTTP API.

Java

@FunctionName("PurgeInstance")
public HttpResponseMessage purgeInstance(
        @HttpTrigger(name = "req", methods = {HttpMethod.POST}, route = "purge/{instanceID}") HttpRequestMessage<?> req,
        @DurableClientInput(name = "durableContext") DurableClientContext durableContext,
        @BindingName("instanceID") String instanceID) {
    PurgeResult result = durableContext.getClient().purgeInstance(instanceID);
    if (result.getDeletedInstanceCount() == 0) {
        return req.createResponseBuilder(HttpStatus.NOT_FOUND)
                .body("No completed instance with ID '" + instanceID + "' was found!")
                .build();
    } else {
        return req.createResponseBuilder(HttpStatus.OK)
                .body("Successfully purged data for " + instanceID)
                .build();
    }
}

The next example shows a timer-triggered function that purges the history for all orchestration instances that completed after the specified time interval. In this case, it removes data for all instances completed 30 or more days ago. This example function is scheduled to run once per day, at 12:00 PM UTC:

C#

[FunctionName("PurgeInstanceHistory")]
public static Task Run(
    [DurableClient] IDurableOrchestrationClient client,
    [TimerTrigger("0 0 12 * * *")] TimerInfo myTimer)
{
    return client.PurgeInstanceHistoryAsync(
        DateTime.MinValue,
        DateTime.UtcNow.AddDays(-30),  
        new List<OrchestrationStatus>
        {
            OrchestrationStatus.Completed
        });
}

Note

The previous C# code is for Durable Functions 2.x. For Durable Functions 1.x, you must use OrchestrationClient attribute instead of the DurableClient attribute, and you must use the DurableOrchestrationClient parameter type instead of IDurableOrchestrationClient. For more information about the differences between versions, see the Durable Functions versions article.

JavaScript

The purgeInstanceHistoryBy method can be used to conditionally purge instance history for multiple instances.

function.json

{
  "bindings": [
    {
      "schedule": "0 0 12 * * *",
      "name": "myTimer",
      "type": "timerTrigger",
      "direction": "in"
    },
    {
      "name": "starter",
      "type": "durableClient",
      "direction": "in"
    }
  ],
  "disabled": false
}

Note

This example targets Durable Functions version 2.x. In version 1.x, use orchestrationClient instead of durableClient.

index.js

const df = require("durable-functions");

module.exports = async function (context, myTimer) {
    const client = df.getClient(context);
    const createdTimeFrom = new Date(0);
    const createdTimeTo = new Date().setDate(today.getDate() - 30);
    const runtimeStatuses = [ df.OrchestrationRuntimeStatus.Completed ];
    return client.purgeInstanceHistoryBy(createdTimeFrom, createdTimeTo, runtimeStatuses);
};

PowerShell

Note

This feature is currently not supported in PowerShell, but can be achieved using the Durable Functions HTTP API.

Python

import azure.functions as func
import azure.durable_functions as df
from azure.durable_functions.models.DurableOrchestrationStatus import OrchestrationRuntimeStatus
from datetime import datetime, timedelta

async def main(req: func.HttpRequest, starter: str, instance_id: str) -> func.HttpResponse:
    client = df.DurableOrchestrationClient(starter)
    created_time_from = datetime.min
    created_time_to = datetime.today() + timedelta(days = -30)
    runtime_statuses = [OrchestrationRuntimeStatus.Completed]

    return await client.purge_instance_history_by(created_time_from, created_time_to, runtime_statuses)

Java

@FunctionName("PurgeInstances")
public void purgeInstances(
        @TimerTrigger(name = "purgeTimer", schedule = "0 0 12 * * *") String timerInfo,
        @DurableClientInput(name = "durableContext") DurableClientContext durableContext,
        ExecutionContext context) throws TimeoutException {
    PurgeInstanceCriteria criteria = new PurgeInstanceCriteria()
            .setCreatedTimeFrom(Instant.now().minus(Duration.ofDays(60)))
            .setCreatedTimeTo(Instant.now().minus(Duration.ofDays(30)))
            .setRuntimeStatusList(List.of(OrchestrationRuntimeStatus.COMPLETED));
    PurgeResult result = durableContext.getClient().purgeInstances(criteria);
    context.getLogger().info(String.format("Purged %d instance(s)", result.getDeletedInstanceCount()));
}

Note

For the purge history operation to succeed, the runtime status of the target instance must be Completed, Terminated, or Failed.

Azure Functions Core Tools

You can purge an orchestration instance's history by using the func durable purge-history command in Core Tools. Similar to the second C# example in the preceding section, it purges the history for all orchestration instances created during a specified time interval. You can further filter purged instances by runtime status.

Note

The Core Tools commands are currently only supported when using the default Azure Storage provider for persisting runtime state.

The durable purge-history command has several parameters:

• created-after (optional): Purge the history of instances created after this date/time (UTC). ISO 8601 formatted datetimes accepted.
• created-before (optional): Purge the history of instances created before this date/time (UTC). ISO 8601 formatted datetimes accepted.
• runtime-status (optional): Purge the history of instances with a particular status (for example, running or completed). Can provide multiple (space separated) statuses.
• connection-string-setting (optional): Name of the application setting containing the storage connection string to use. The default is AzureWebJobsStorage.
• task-hub-name (optional): Name of the Durable Functions task hub to use. By default, the task hub name in the host.json file is used.

The following command deletes the history of all failed instances created before November 14, 2021 at 7:35 PM (UTC).

func durable purge-history --created-before 2021-11-14T19:35:00.0000000Z --runtime-status failed

Delete a task hub

Using the func durable delete-task-hub command in Core Tools, you can delete all storage artifacts associated with a particular task hub, including Azure storage tables, queues, and blobs.

Note

The Core Tools commands are currently only supported when using the default Azure Storage provider for persisting runtime state.

The durable delete-task-hub command has two parameters:

• connection-string-setting (optional): Name of the application setting containing the storage connection string to use. The default is AzureWebJobsStorage.
• task-hub-name (optional): Name of the Durable Functions task hub to use. By default, the task hub name in the host.json file is used.

The following command deletes all Azure storage data associated with the UserTest task hub.

func durable delete-task-hub --task-hub-name UserTest

Next steps

Learn how to handle versioning

Built-in HTTP API reference for instance management