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What Orchestration Is

When to Use

Use Orchestration when external platforms need to trigger Drupal behavior (ECA models, AI agents, Tool plugins). Use JSON:API when external platforms need to read or mutate Drupal content. Use ECA alone when the automation is entirely internal.

Decision

If you want to... Use... Why
Let an external platform query or mutate Drupal content Core JSON:API Standard REST CRUD; Orchestration does not replace this
Let an external platform trigger a Drupal ECA workflow Orchestration + orchestration_eca Exposes ECA Tool-event models as callable services
Let an external platform invoke a Drupal AI Agent Orchestration + orchestration_ai_agents Wraps drupal/ai_agents agents as Orchestration services
Let an external platform call a Tool API plugin Orchestration + orchestration_tool Wraps drupal/tool plugins as Orchestration services
Let Drupal entity events trigger external workflows Orchestration webhooks + ECA dispatch action ECA observes the entity event; webhook action fires outbound HTTP
Automate purely internal Drupal workflows ECA alone Orchestration is the external half; ECA is the internal half

Pattern

The mental model: JSON:API handles data; Orchestration handles behavior.

External platform sends request
  → Orchestration routes to matching provider
    → Drupal executes (ECA model, AI agent, Tool plugin)
      → Response returned to platform

Orchestration is a thin bridge — it provides no functionality by itself. Everything comes from enabled submodules (orchestration_eca, orchestration_ai_agents, orchestration_ai_function, orchestration_tool).

Common Mistakes

  • Wrong: Using Orchestration for content CRUD → Right: Use JSON:API (core) for data access
  • Wrong: Installing all four submodules → Right: Enable only the providers matching your use case
  • Wrong: Expecting Orchestration to work without a supported platform → Right: As of May 2026, only Activepieces has a built connector; other platforms require manual API implementation
  • Wrong: Conflating ECA with Orchestration → Right: ECA is internal automation; Orchestration is the external API bridge

See Also