Local vs Temporal

Ops run in one of two modes. They execute the same *.op.ts definitions and the same activities — they differ only in what they offer on top of phase sequencing.

chant run <name> runs local by default. Pass --temporal to run against a Temporal cluster. There is no config to inspect and no implicit switch — one flag selects the runtime.

Temporal-native when you want durability, zero-dependency when you don’t. The local executor is the on-ramp; the synthesis primitives need no executor at all. Reach for Temporal only when an Op must survive a crash, hold a multi-hour approval, or roll back a partial failure — never as a baseline requirement.

Capability comparison

	Local mode	Temporal mode
Phase sequencing + retry	✓	✓
onFailure compensation	✓	✓
Activity profiles (timeout / retry)	✓	✓
Structured stdout, exit code, --json	✓	✓
Gates (human approval)	✗ (errors)	✓
Schedules	✗ (errors)	✓
Durable resume after a crash	✗	✓
chant run history / status / log	✗	✓
Search-attribute persistence	✗ (outcomes go to stdout)	✓

The graduation story

• Dev loops, CI, drift / observation Ops → local. No server, no Docker, no cloud. chant run hello works in under a minute on a laptop with nothing running. Retries and onFailure rollback still apply.
• Long-running deploys, gated rollouts, scheduled jobs → Temporal. When you need a workflow to survive a process crash, pause for human approval, or run on a schedule, configure a Temporal profile and pass --temporal.

Start local. Move an Op to Temporal the day it needs durability — the Op definition does not change.

Local mode still installs the lexicon

A local Op imports Op / phase / shell from @intentius/chant-lexicon-temporal, so the package is still a dependency. What local mode avoids is the running server — no Temporal cluster, worker process, or temporal server start-dev.

What local mode does on a gate or schedule

If an Op contains a gate() (or a schedule) and you do not pass --temporal, chant run fails fast — before any phase executes — naming the offending step and pointing you at --temporal:

error: gate "approve-prod" is not supported in local mode — gates and
schedules need a durable runtime. Re-run with --temporal.

This is intentional: gates and schedules require cross-process persistence that an in-process executor cannot provide. See Ops for the full Op model and chant run for the flags.