How the DAG is Wired

SynaFlow reads your function signatures and builds a dependency graph automatically. There is no manual wiring. This page explains exactly how the mapping works.

A Minimal Pipeline

SyncAsync

from collections.abc import Generator, Iterator
from typing import NamedTuple
from synaflow import pipeline, step, run

class Params(NamedTuple):
    count: int = 3

def numbers(count: int) -> Generator[int, None, None]:
    yield from range(count)

def doubler(numbers: Iterator[int]) -> Generator[int, None, None]:
    for x in numbers:
        yield x * 2

def printer(doubler: int) -> None:
    print(doubler)

p = pipeline(
    name="basic_example",
    params=Params,
    steps=[
        step("numbers", fn=numbers),
        step("doubler", fn=doubler),
        step("printer", fn=printer),
    ],
)

from collections.abc import AsyncGenerator, AsyncIterator
from typing import NamedTuple
from synaflow import pipeline, step, async_run

class Params(NamedTuple):
    count: int = 3

async def numbers(count: int) -> AsyncGenerator[int, None]:
    for i in range(count):
        yield i

async def doubler(numbers: AsyncIterator[int]) -> AsyncGenerator[int, None]:
    async for x in numbers:
        yield x * 2

async def printer(doubler: int) -> None:
    print(doubler)

p = pipeline(
    name="basic_example",
    params=Params,
    steps=[
        step("numbers", fn=numbers),
        step("doubler", fn=doubler),
        step("printer", fn=printer),
    ],
)

This pipeline generates the following DAG:

flowchart TD
    numbers["numbers<br/><i>Stream[int]</i>"]
    doubler["doubler<br/><i>Stream[int]</i>"]
    printer["printer<br/><i>None</i>"]
    count --> numbers
    numbers --> doubler
    doubler --> printer

Let's break down how SynaFlow built this graph.

---

Rule 1: The Step Name = The Dataset

Every step() declaration creates a node in the DAG and a dataset that holds the step's output. The dataset name is the step's name.

step("numbers", fn=numbers)   # creates dataset "numbers"
step("doubler", fn=doubler)   # creates dataset "doubler"
step("printer", fn=printer)   # creates dataset "printer"

Any downstream step can reference these datasets.

---

Rule 2: The Parameter Name = The Dependency

When SynaFlow inspects a function's signature, each parameter name is matched against all existing datasets (prior steps and pipeline params). If a dataset with the same name exists, a dependency edge is created.

def doubler(numbers: Iterator[int]) -> ...:
#           ^^^^^^^
#           Matches dataset "numbers" → dependency created

If no dataset matches, the pipeline fails at build time:

def doubler(wrong_name: Iterator[int]) -> ...:
#           ^^^^^^^^^^
#           ❌ ValueError: no prior step or param produces 'wrong_name'

Smart Binding

Parameter names don't need to match exactly — they only need the same Base Dataset Name (absolute plural form). The step named items can be referenced as item (singular) or items_list (suffixed).

def transform(item: int) -> ...:
#           ^^^^
#           get_base_dataset_name("item") == "items" → matches step "items"

This is covered in detail in Semantic Naming.

---

Rule 3: The Type Hint = The Contract

The parameter's type annotation tells SynaFlow how the data should be delivered. This determines the execution mode:

Parameter type	Producer type	Mode	Behavior
T (scalar)	Iterator[T]	EACH	Called once per item
Iterator[T]	Iterator[T]	ALL	Receives the lazy stream
list[T]	Iterator[T]	ALL	Stream materialized to a list

In our example:

def numbers(count: int) -> Generator[int, None, None]:
#           ^^^                                              ← from Params (input)
#                        ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^           ← produces Iterator[int]

def doubler(numbers: Iterator[int]) -> Generator[int, None, None]:
#           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   ← parameter type = Iterator[int]
#                                     ← producer type = Iterator[int]
#                                     ← both are streams → ALL mode, lazy pass-through

def printer(doubler: int) -> None:
#           ^^^^^^^                ← parameter type = int (scalar)
#                                   ← producer type = Iterator[int] (from doubler)
#                                   ← scalar consumer + stream producer → EACH mode

printer runs in EACH mode because it asks for a scalar int but receives from a Generator[int]. SynaFlow unrolls the stream and calls printer once for every item the doubler yields.

---

Rule 4: Pipeline Params = Global Inputs

Every field in the NamedTuple passed as params becomes a global input node accessible to any step by name:

class Params(NamedTuple):
    count: int = 3        # ← creates input node "count" with type int

def numbers(count: int) -> ...:
#           ^^^^^           ← matches "count" from Params

---

Rule 5: The Execution Order = Topological Sort

SynaFlow computes the execution levels from the dependency graph. Steps at the same level have no dependencies on each other and could run in parallel.

Level 0: [numbers]          ← depends only on params
Level 1: [doubler]          ← depends on numbers
Level 2: [printer]          ← depends on doubler

For a diamond topology:

flowchart TD
    start["start<br/><i>int</i>"]
    branch_a["branch_a<br/><i>int</i>"]
    branch_b["branch_b<br/><i>int</i>"]
    merge["merge<br/><i>int</i>"]
    base_val --> start
    start --> branch_a
    start --> branch_b
    branch_a --> merge
    branch_b --> merge

Level 0: [start]                     ← depends on param
Level 1: [branch_a, branch_b]        ← both depend only on start → can be parallel
Level 2: [merge]                     ← depends on branch_a AND branch_b

---

Summary

   step("name", fn=func)           def func(param: Type) -> OutputType
        │                                    │              │
        ▼                                    ▼              ▼
   Dataset "name"                   Dependency on       Determines EACH/ALL
   holds output                    dataset "param"      and output type

With these three pieces — step name, parameter name, and type hint — SynaFlow builds the entire DAG without a single line of manual wiring.

Next

Now that you understand the wiring, see how Lockstep Data Flow uses this structure to achieve extreme memory efficiency, and how Max In Flight adds a bounded ahead window for I/O-bound streaming patterns.