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Quick Start

This Quick Start gets you from zero to a first successful run of the IdLE lifecycle:

  1. Define a workflow (data-only .psd1)
  2. Create a request (business intent)
  3. Build a plan (validation + template resolution)
  4. Invoke the plan (execution + events)
info

IdLE does not ship a “live system host”. Your host (script, CI job, service) must supply provider instances and (if needed) authentication.

Prerequisites​

  • PowerShell 7.x or later (pwsh)
  • The IdLE modules installed (for further details see Installation)

1) Install and import modules​

# IdLE meta module (incl. IdLE.Core + IdLE.Steps.Common)
Import-Module -Name IdLE

# Mock provider (safe, no real systems touched)
Import-Module -Name IdLE.Provider.Mock
tip

If you are running in CI, consider -Scope AllUsers or a dedicated PowerShellGet cache, depending on your environment.

2) Create a minimal workflow file​

Workflows are data-only definitions of what to do, represented as PowerShell hashtables stored in .psd1 files.

Create a temporary workflow file with two steps:

  • IdLE.Step.EmitEvent (no external side effects)
  • IdLE.Step.EnsureAttributes (runs against the mock provider)
$workflowPath = Join-Path $env:TEMP 'idle-quickstart-joiner.psd1'

$workflowContent = @'
@{
  Name           = 'QuickStart - Joiner (Mock)'
  LifecycleEvent = 'Joiner'

  Steps          = @(
    @{
      Name = 'Emit start'
      Type = 'IdLE.Step.EmitEvent'
      With = @{
        Message = 'Starting Joiner workflow (QuickStart)'
      }
    }

    @{
      Name = 'Ensure demo attributes'
      Type = 'IdLE.Step.EnsureAttributes'
      With = @{
        Provider    = 'Identity'
        IdentityKey = '{{Request.IdentityKeys.EmployeeId}}'
        Attributes  = @{
          GivenName = '{{Request.Intent.GivenName}}'
          Surname   = '{{Request.Intent.Surname}}'
        }
      }
    }
  )
}
'@

Set-Content -Path $workflowPath -Value $workflowContent -Encoding UTF8 -Force

$workflowPath
warning

Workflow definitions are data-only. Do not embed executable code (ScriptBlocks). This is a core security boundary in IdLE.

3) Create a request​

A request represents business intent (here a joiner) plus input data.

$request = New-IdleRequest -LifecycleEvent 'Joiner' -IdentityKeys @{
  EmployeeId = '12345'
} -Intent @{
  GivenName = 'Max'
  Surname   = 'Power'
}

4) Provide providers (host responsibility)​

Providers are supplied by your host. For this Quick Start we use the in-memory mock provider.

$providers = @{
  Identity = New-IdleMockIdentityProvider
}

5) Build the plan (validation + template resolution)​

Plan building is a fail-fast step. IdLE validates the workflow against provider capabilities and resolves templates like {{Request.Intent.GivenName}}.

$plan = New-IdlePlan -WorkflowPath $workflowPath -Request $request -Providers $providers

6) Invoke the plan​

The plan is executed by the IdLE invocation engine.

$result = Invoke-IdlePlan -Plan $plan

7) Inspect the result and events​

$result.Status

# Step results (name, status, timings, messages)
$result.Steps | Select-Object Name, Status, Type

# Buffered events
$result.Events | Select-Object StepName, Message, Type, TimestampUtc

What to do next​

Explore repository examples (optional)​

The IdLE repository contains an example runner and additional workflow samples. This is useful to browse patterns and larger examples, but it is not required for normal IdLE usage.

git clone https://github.com/blindzero/IdentityLifecycleEngine
cd IdentityLifecycleEngine

# List demo workflows (mock category by default)
.\examples\Invoke-IdleDemo.ps1 -List

# Run one demo workflow (interactive selection)
.\examples\Invoke-IdleDemo.ps1
warning

Some example categories may connect to real systems and can cause changes. Only run examples you fully understand and only in safe environments.

# List all demos - also run templates
.\examples\Invoke-IdleDemo.ps1 -List -Category All