Write effectful Elm logic as composable steps - no Msg type, no update function.
Event handlers and subscriptions produce Flow values directly:
-- a button click
Html.button
[ Html.Events.onClick (Flow.modify (\m -> { m | count = m.count + 1 })) ]
[ Html.text "+" ]
-- an HTTP response
Flow.lift (Http.get { url = "/api/data", expect = Http.expectJson handleResult decoder })Lift a plain value into Flow without performing any effects.
Flow.pure 42
|> Flow.map (\n -> n + 1)
-- produces 43, state unchangedTransform the value produced by a Flow without changing state.
Flow.pure 3
|> Flow.map (\n -> n * 2)
-- produces 6Chain two Flow computations. The second receives the value produced by the first.
Flow.get
|> Flow.andThen (\m -> Flow.pure m.count)Flatten a nested Flow s (Flow s a) into Flow s a.
Flow.pure (Flow.pure 42)
|> Flow.join
-- same as Flow.pure 42Apply a function wrapped in Flow to a value wrapped in Flow.
Flow.pure (\n -> n + 1)
|> Flow.ap (Flow.pure 41)
-- produces 42Flipped ap. Apply a value to a function, both wrapped in Flow.
Flow.pure 41
|> Flow.flap (Flow.pure (\n -> n + 1))
-- produces 42Compose two Kleisli arrows (functions returning Flow).
handleResponse : Response -> Flow Model ()
handleResponse =
Flow.compose persistToDisk fetchDataRun the piped Flow for its effects, discard its result, then run the argument Flow and return its result.
saveRecord
|> Flow.seq (Flow.pure "saved!")
-- runs saveRecord, then produces "saved!"Shorthand for `Flow.seq (Flow.pure a).
saveRecord
|> Flow.return "saved"Map over a list with a function that returns Flow, collecting the results in order.
Flow.traverse fetchUser userIds
|> Flow.andThen renderAllSequence a list of Flow computations, collecting all results.
Equivalent to traverse identity.
Flow.mapM [ step1, step2, step3 ]
|> Flow.andThen finalizeBranch on a Bool: run onTrue when the condition holds, onFalse otherwise.
Exactly one branch runs.
Flow.if_ model.isLoggedIn
loadDashboard
redirectToLoginRun a Flow only when the condition is True, otherwise produce ().
Flow.when model.isLoggedIn savePreferencesRun a Flow only when the condition is False, otherwise produce ().
Flow.unless model.isCached fetchFromServerAcquire a resource, run a computation, then release the resource.
WARNING: If the computation forks into multiple fibers, the release step will run once per fiber. This also means that if the computation is terminating (which is equivalent to forking into 0 fibers), then the release step will NOT run.
Flow.bracket_
(Flow.modify (\m -> { m | loading = True }))
(Flow.modify (\m -> { m | loading = False }))
fetchDataThe empty computation. Terminates the current branch without producing a value or changing state.
WARNING: none is a 0-fiber program - it has no active fiber to carry
a continuation forward. Chaining it with andThen, seq, etc. produces
another 0-fiber program, so those continuations will never run.
Flow.get
|> Flow.andThen
(\m ->
if m.ready then
doWork
else
Flow.none
)Continue only if the value is Just, terminate with none otherwise.
fetchUser userId
|> Flow.assertJust
|> Flow.andThen renderUserContinue only if the result is Ok, silently terminate on Err.
decodeResponse body
|> Flow.assertOk
|> Flow.andThen handleDataContinue only if the predicate holds for the produced value, terminate
with none otherwise.
Flow.get
|> Flow.assertCondition (\m -> m.count > 0)
|> Flow.andThen doSomethingWithPositiveCountUnwrap a Maybe and feed the inner value into a continuation, or
terminate with none if the Maybe is Nothing.
Flow.fromMaybe model.selectedId
(\id -> fetchItem id |> Flow.andThen renderItem)Apply a function to transform the model.
Flow.modify (\m -> { m | count = m.count + 1 })Read a value through an optic. Produces Just a if the optic matches,
Nothing if it does not (e.g. a Prism pointing at the wrong variant).
Flow.try MyLenses.selectedItem
(\maybeItem ->
case maybeItem of
Just item ->
renderItem item
Nothing ->
showPlaceholder
)Fork into n concurrent fibers for each matching value through an optic.
-- Only runs if a user is logged in
Flow.forAll MyLenses.currentUser
(\user -> showWelcomeBanner user.name)Read all values targeted by an optic (useful for traversals).
Flow.getAll MyLenses.allItems
(\items -> Flow.pure (List.length items))Modify the value(s) targeted by an optic.
Flow.over MyLenses.count (\n -> n + 1)Set the value(s) targeted by an optic.
Flow.setAll MyLenses.status LoadingBranch on whether an optic matches: run onPresent with the matched value
when the optic succeeds, onAbsent otherwise. Exactly one branch runs.
Flow.ifHas
(currentProject << success)
openStream
closeStreamRun a Flow only when an optic matches. No match produces Flow.pure ().
Flow.whenHas (currentProject << success) openStreamRun a Flow only when an optic does NOT match. A match produces Flow.pure ().
Flow.unlessHas (currentProject << success) handleMissingProjectSet a Bool field to True for the duration of a computation, then
restore it to False. Useful for loading/busy flags.
Flow.setting MyLenses.isLoading fetchDataRun a computation only if a Bool lens is currently False, and hold
it at True for the duration. Subsequent calls while the lock is held are
silently dropped.
Flow.locking MyLenses.isSaving saveRecordEmbed a Flow inner a into a larger model outer through a lens. All state
reads and writes inside the sub-flow are transparently routed through the lens.
This is the primary tool for reusable components: write a self-contained Flow
against a sub-model type, then embed it anywhere that sub-model appears by
passing in the appropriate lens.
-- SelectState is a reusable component with its own Flow logic
handleArrowDown : Flow SelectState ()
handleArrowDown =
Flow.get
|> Flow.map (get activeIndex)
|> Flow.andThen (\i -> Flow.modify (set activeIndex (i + 1)))
-- Embed it into the parent model through a lens
Flow.viaLens MyLenses.selectState handleArrowDownEmbed a Flow inner a into a larger model outer through a prism.
When the prism matches, the sub-flow runs with its state routed through the
prism and its result is returned as Just. When the prism does not match, the
sub-flow is skipped and the result is Nothing. If the prism stops matching
while the sub-flow is suspended (for example across await), the sub-flow
stops there and produces Nothing.
-- Run a component only while the model holds its active variant
Flow.viaPrism MyLenses.activePage handlePageEventRe-interpret a Flow a x inside a larger context Flow b x by providing
a getter (Flow b a) and a setter (a -> Flow b ()).
This is the primitive that viaLens is built on. Use viaLens in normal code;
reach for replace only when you need a custom traversal that optics cannot
express.
Lift an Elm Cmd into Flow. The command is executed and its result
becomes the value produced by this Flow step.
Flow.lift (Http.get { url = "/ping", expect = Http.expectString identity })
|> Flow.andThen handleResponseLift a classic TEA update-style function into Flow. Reads the current
model, applies the function, writes the new model, and emits any commands.
Flow.liftUpdate (MyOldModule.update msg)Run an infallible Task and produce its result.
Flow.performTask (Task.succeed 42)
|> Flow.andThen (\n -> Flow.modify (\m -> { m | count = n }))Fire a Task for its side-effects and ignore the result (both Ok and
Err are discarded). Useful for fire-and-forget operations such as writing
to localStorage via a port task.
Flow.attemptTask (Ports.saveToLocalStorage key value)Run a Task and feed its Result into a continuation.
Flow.attemptTaskWith
(\result ->
case result of
Ok data ->
Flow.modify (\m -> { m | data = data })
Err err ->
Flow.modify (\m -> { m | error = Just err })
)
(Http.task { ... })Run several independent Flow branches concurrently, one per list element. Each branch shares the same initial state snapshot; state writes from earlier branches are visible to later ones (left-to-right evaluation order).
Flow.batch [ 1, 2, 3 ]
|> Flow.map (\n -> n * 2)
-- forks into three branches producing 2, 4, 6Run a list of Flow computations as concurrent branches. Each branch runs
independently; the continuation (via andThen) is invoked once per branch
with that branch's individual result.
WARNING: batchM multiplies the number of fibers by the number of continuations.
If you wish to extend a multi-fiber Flow on a single branch, consider async.
Use mapM instead if you want the results collected into a List.
-- fire three notifications in parallel
Flow.batchM [ notifyAlice, notifyBob, notifyCarol ]
-- continuation runs once per branch, not once with a List
Flow.batchM [ fetchUserA, fetchUserB ]
|> Flow.andThen (\user -> renderUser user)Fire a Flow as a background branch and immediately continue with ().
The background branch runs concurrently; its state writes are interleaved
with the rest of the batch.
Flow.async (longRunningSync model)
|> Flow.seq nextStepJoin the branches of a batched Flow: wait until every branch has finished, then continue once with all of their results.
Results come in branch order (the order of the batch / batchM lists),
not in completion order. Branches that terminate with none contribute
nothing.
Results are stored outside the Flow while the other branches are still
running, so they travel as JSON: provide a Codec for the result
type. If its decoder rejects an encoded result, the joined Flow terminates.
WARNING: the join waits for every branch forked inside it, including
background branches started with async or subscribe.
A branch that never finishes keeps the join waiting forever.
-- fetch all users concurrently, then store them in input order
Flow.batch userIds
|> Flow.andThen fetchUser
|> Flow.gather (Flow.Codec encodeUser userDecoder)
|> Flow.andThen (\users -> Flow.modify (\m -> { m | users = users }))Like gather, but discards the results: wait until every
branch has finished, then continue once with (). Needs no Codec.
WARNING: like gather, it waits for every branch forked inside it,
including background branches.
-- save every draft concurrently, then report once
Flow.batch drafts
|> Flow.andThen saveDraft
|> Flow.gather_
|> Flow.seq (Flow.modify (\m -> { m | status = AllSaved }))How to turn a value into JSON and back: an encoder and a decoder that accepts whatever the encoder produces.
userCodec : Flow.Codec User
userCodec =
Flow.Codec encodeUser userDecoderYield a value back to the Elm runtime, allowing the browser to repaint,
then continue with the value. Equivalent to Process.sleep 0.
-- ensure the UI reflects intermediate state before a heavy computation
Flow.set loadingModel
|> Flow.seq (Flow.yield ())
|> Flow.seq heavyComputationWrap a Flow so that every state write inside it is followed by a render cycle, giving the browser a chance to repaint between steps.
Useful when you need the UI to visually reflect intermediate states during a multi-step computation rather than only showing the final result.
-- the UI repaints after each step, not just at the end
Flow.forceRendering <|
Flow.mapM [ setStepOne, setStepTwo, setStepThree ]Describe an event source with a ChannelSpec: use connect when you have both
a subscription source and a command to kick it off, or listen when
subscriptions alone are enough. Then consume events with await, subscribe,
or subscribeWhile, each of which opens a live Channel from the spec.
A description of how to connect an external event source to a Flow
pipeline. A spec does nothing by itself and can be opened any number of times,
including concurrently; each opening is a separate Channel.
One live opening of a ChannelSpec. Receive further values from it with
nextOnChannel.
Key identifying a Channel.
Opening a spec creates a fresh key and passes it to the spec's command. The
channel keeps that key for its whole lifetime, so the external source can tag
its values with it and filterChannel can match them.
Build a spec from a subscription port and a command that opens or
attaches it. The command fires each time the spec is opened, receiving the key
of the new channel; nextOnChannel does not fire it again.
-- Port declarations:
-- port onMessage : (String -> msg) -> Sub msg
-- port subscribe : String -> Cmd msg
myChannel : ChannelSpec String
myChannel =
Flow.connect Ports.onMessage (\_ -> Ports.subscribe "myTopic")To drop or transform values before they reach the channel, wrap the port:
-- port onJson : (Json.Decode.Value -> msg) -> Sub msg
userChannel : ChannelSpec User
userChannel =
Flow.listen
(\toMsg -> Ports.onJson (Json.Decode.decodeValue userDecoder >> Result.toMaybe >> Maybe.andThen toMsg))Build a spec from a subscription port when no startup command is needed.
-- Port declaration:
-- port onKeyDown : (String -> msg) -> Sub msg
keyChannel : ChannelSpec String
keyChannel =
Flow.listen Ports.onKeyDownFilter events for a spec. Only events for which the predicate returns
True are forwarded; others are silently dropped.
The predicate receives the ChannelKey of the channel and the event payload.
Match on the key when the source tags values with it; otherwise you only need
the payload:
Flow.filterChannel (\_ msg -> msg /= "") myChannelSuspend this Flow pipeline, open a channel from the spec, and resume when a value arrives.
type alias Model =
{ latestMessage : String }
listenOnce : Flow Model ()
listenOnce =
Flow.await myChannel
|> Flow.andThen (\msg -> Flow.modify (\m -> { m | latestMessage = msg }))Open a channel and run the given handler for every value it produces, indefinitely.
listenForever : Flow Model ()
listenForever =
Flow.subscribe
(\msg -> Flow.modify (\m -> { m | latestMessage = msg }))
myChannelLike subscribe, but stops when the predicate returns False.
The predicate receives both the current model and the incoming value, so
cancellation can be based on model state, the value itself, or both.
Cancellation is lazy: the check runs on each incoming message, not
immediately when the model changes.
-- stop based on model state alone
Flow.subscribeWhile (\model _ -> model.listening) handleMessage myChannel
-- stop on a specific sentinel value
Flow.subscribeWhile (\_ msg -> msg /= "disconnect") handleMessage myChannelOpen a channel from a spec, firing the spec's command, and suspend until the
first value arrives. The callback receives the opened Channel and each value:
Just flow resumes with flow, Nothing ignores the value and keeps waiting.
This is the low-level primitive that await and subscribe are built on.
Prefer those unless you need custom continuation logic.
Wait for the next value on an already opened channel, without firing the spec's command again.
Instead of creating a new port for every JavaScript interaction, you can use Flow.ffi
to call many JS functions by name using a single pair of ports.
You provide the JS function name, an encoder for the outgoing data, and a decoder for
the return value. Under the hood, this helper uses a unique string key to automatically
match JavaScript responses back to the correct Flow request.
-- 1. Define one pair of ports
port ffiOut : { key : String, fn : String, value : Json.Encode.Value } -> Cmd msg
port ffiIn : ({ key : String, value : Json.Decode.Value } -> msg) -> Sub msg
-- 2. Wire them into a helper
callJs : String -> (a -> Json.Encode.Value) -> Json.Decode.Decoder b -> a -> Flow s b
callJs =
Flow.ffi Ports.ffiOut Ports.ffiIn
-- 3. Call any JS function by name
fetchData : String -> Flow Model ()
fetchData id =
callJs "fetchData" Json.Encode.string decodeData id
|> Flow.andThen handleData
-- On the JavaScript side:
-- app.ports.ffiOut.subscribe(async (req) => {
-- if (req.fn === "fetchData") {
-- const data = await fetch("/api/data/" + req.value).then(r => r.json());
-- app.ports.ffiIn.send({ key: req.key, value: data });
-- }
-- });The concrete Elm Platform.Program type produced by Flow.element,
Flow.document, and Flow.application.
Build a standard Browser.element program whose messages are Flow
computations.
Like element but the view function returns a full Document, allowing
you to control the page <title>.
main =
Flow.document
{ init = \_ -> ( initialModel, loadData )
, view = view -- returns { title = "…", body = […] }
, subscriptions = \_ -> Sub.none
}Like document but also handles URL changes, for single-page applications.
main =
Flow.application
{ init = \_ url key -> ( initialModel key, loadPage url )
, view = view
, subscriptions = \_ -> Sub.none
, onUrlRequest = handleUrlRequest
, onUrlChange = handleUrlChange
}
A description of a computation that can read and write state
sand eventually produces a value of typea.