Core Concepts

Everything you need to manage work

From organisational structure to granular task permissions — all defined in YAML, all loaded at startup.

Organisational Hierarchy

Virtual KEYs group real directory groups into an org tree. A user in frontend-team resolves upward to KEY engineering, then expands down to see tasks assigned to frontend-team and backend-team.

org-structure.yaml

org:
  hierarchy:
    company: [engineering, hr, finance, management]
    engineering: [frontend-team, backend-team]
    finance: [finance-team, finance-managers]
    management: [directors]
  access:
    task_management: [engineering, finance, hr, management]
    case_management: [finance, hr, management]
    entity_admin: [company]

Task Management

BPM-driven tasks with a 4-tier permission model. Permissions resolve in strict priority — the first matching tier wins.

Tier 1 Assignee — all permissions granted

Tier 2a User Participant — role-based permissions

Tier 2b Group Participant — expanded via org hierarchy

Tier 3 Default — can claim only

12 permission flags per task • 3 case-specific permissions • Group participants inherit the highest-privilege matching role.

Case Management

Long-running cases group tasks, processes, and entities. Each case type defines its own numbering pattern, allowed processes, and associated form.

fraud-investigation.case.yaml

id: fraud-investigation
displayName: Fraud Investigation
icon: bx-search-alt
numberPrefix: FRD
numberMode: auto
formId: fraud-investigation
allowedProcesses:
  - contract-approval

Custom Entities

Schema-driven data objects with five pluggable data sources. All expose the same interface — controllers and services never know which backend is in use.

JDBC REST LDAP SQL YAML

Only JDBC supports create/update/delete. All others are read-only with configurable caching. Environment variables resolve at fetch time for credentials.

Process Forms

YAML-defined forms with 12 field types, column layouts, and outcomes. Rendered dynamically at runtime.

contract-approval.form.yaml

id: contract-approval
displayName: Contract Approval
fields:
  - name: contractTitle
    label: Contract Title
    type: TEXT
    required: true
    col: col-8
  - name: amount
    label: Amount
    type: NUMBER
    required: true
    col: col-4
  - name: supplier
    label: Supplier
    type: REFERENCE
    referencedEntityTypeId: supplier

Participant Roles

Five standard roles with ascending privilege. Each defined in its own YAML file. Custom roles are auto-discovered at startup.

Viewer view only

Collaborator + comment, attach

Reviewer + complete, delete attachments

Approver + edit, delegate, manage cases

Coordinator + claim (full access)

Studio Designer

Six visual editors. Zero code.

Each designer produces YAML or BPMN files that the runtime reads at startup. Cross-designer discovery keeps everything in sync. Or skip the GUI — use AI skills to generate artifacts from natural language.

Org Hierarchy Editor

Visual tree editor with drag-and-drop, inline rename, and cycle detection
Add root KEYs, child KEYs, child groups, or link existing KEYs for shared departments
Access permission matrix for task management, case management, and entity admin
Autocomplete dropdown shows KEYs with descendant group hints

Output: org-config/org-structure.yaml

BPMN Process Designer

Visual BPMN canvas with palette: events, gateways, user/service tasks, sub-processes
Candidate Groups tag picker populated from org hierarchy KEYs
Form Key dropdown auto-discovers *.form.yaml from project
Custom task types: Pleodox, Archive Documents, Send Email
Outcome variables, variable promotion, multi-instance, async continuations

Output: processes/*.bpmn

Entity Schema Designer

Define entity types with fields, types, and display label templates
11 field types including TEXT, SELECT, REFERENCE, EMAIL, DATE, and more
Data source config for REST, LDAP, SQL, and YAML backends
Drag-and-drop field reordering, real-time validation

Output: entity-schemas/*.entity.yaml

Form Designer

Build process start/detail forms with 12 field types including FILE_UPLOAD
Bootstrap grid layout with col-4, col-6, col-8 width options
REFERENCE fields link to entity types discovered from project schemas
Required, placeholder, default value, hide-if-blank, editable flags

Output: process-forms/*.form.yaml

Case Type Designer

Define case types with icon, number prefix, and numbering mode (auto/manual/optional)
Allowed processes populated from discovered BPMN files as checkboxes
Form dropdown populated from discovered *.form.yaml
Validated at startup — allowed processes checked against deployed definitions

Output: case-types/*.case.yaml

Roles Designer

Define participant roles with granular permissions across 5 categories
View, Content, Workflow, Management, and Case permission groups
Warning banner when case permissions are set without view permissions
Permission count badge, canonical output ordering

Output: roles/*.role.yaml

AI-Powered

Describe it. Generate it. Deploy it.

Pleodox Skills turn natural language into production-ready artifacts. Slash commands in Claude Code generate entities, forms, processes, and entire workflows from a single description.

Claude Code

$ /pleodox:create-workflow Contract approval with supplier lookup, finance sign-off, and email notification

+ entity-schemas/supplier.entity.yaml — 6 fields, JDBC data source

+ process-forms/contract-approval.form.yaml — 4 fields, REFERENCE to supplier

+ processes/contract-approval.bpmn — submit → gateway → approve/reject

+ case-types/contract-dispute.case.yaml — prefix CTR, linked form + process

+ roles/approver.role.yaml — 15 permissions

5 files generated. All cross-references validated.

$ /pleodox:modify-process Add a 48h timer on the approval task that escalates to management

Timer boundary event added to "Approve Contract" with escalation path.

Entity

Form

Process

Case Type

Skills automatically resolve cross-references. Forms link to entities, processes bind to forms, cases reference processes.

/pleodox:create-workflow

Generate a complete workflow from a plain-language description — entities, forms, process, case type, and roles in one command.

/pleodox:create-entity

Define data models with typed fields, display templates, and optional external data sources (REST, LDAP, SQL).

/pleodox:create-form

Build process forms with field types, grid layout, validation rules, and entity REFERENCE lookups.

/pleodox:create-process

Design BPMN workflows with user tasks, gateways, timers, email notifications, and custom service tasks.

/pleodox:modify-process

Add tasks, gateways, timers, or error handling to existing processes. Describe the change, get valid BPMN.

/pleodox:list-resources

Scan the workspace, report all resources with cross-references, and flag broken links or missing dependencies.

Architecture

From design to deploy in one property

Studio writes artifacts to a workspace folder. The runtime reads them via app.external-resources. One property, all loaders pick up all artifact types.

Studio Designer

Org Config Editor

Schema Designer

Roles Designer

Case Type Designer

Form Designer

Process Designer

Workspace Folder

org-config/org-structure.yaml

entity-schemas/*.entity.yaml

roles/*.role.yaml

case-types/*.case.yaml

process-forms/*.form.yaml

processes/*.bpmn

Runtime (Single JAR)

OrgStructureLoader

EntitySchemaLoader

ParticipantRoleLoader

CaseTypeLoader

ProcessFormLoader

Flowable BPMN Engine

Single JAR Deploy

Spring Boot application — everything included. Run as a JAR, native executable, or shell application. One -Dapp.external-resources property points to the workspace.

Six Artifact Types

Org hierarchy, entity schemas, participant roles, case types, process forms, and BPMN processes. Each has a dedicated loader with consistent pattern: scan classpath + external path, register in a typed registry.

Startup Validation

BPMN candidateGroups validated against org hierarchy KEYs. Case allowedProcesses validated against deployed definitions. Directory schema fields checked for required contract.

Integrations

Enterprise-ready out of the box

Directory Integration

LDAP / Active Directory for users and groups. The directory is backed by the entity system — swap data sources without changing Java code.

LDAP Active Directory YAML (dev) REST

Email Notifications

Dual-mode email handler: automatic assignment notifications on user tasks, and custom service task emails with {variable} token resolution in subject, body, and recipients.

SMTP Thymeleaf Templates Disable via Config

Pluggable Attachments

Metadata in Flowable, bytes in pluggable providers. Configure multiple providers in YAML — local filesystem, Alfresco by node ID, or Alfresco by path. Migration service copies between stores.

Local FS Alfresco Migration API

Design your business processes visually. Deploy as a single JAR.

Everything you need to manage work

Organisational Hierarchy

Task Management

Case Management

Custom Entities

Process Forms

Participant Roles

Six visual editors. Zero code.

Org Hierarchy Editor

BPMN Process Designer

Entity Schema Designer

Form Designer

Case Type Designer

Roles Designer

Describe it. Generate it. Deploy it.

From design to deploy in one property

Single JAR Deploy

Six Artifact Types

Startup Validation

Enterprise-ready out of the box

Directory Integration

Email Notifications

Pluggable Attachments

Ready to simplify your workflows?