workflow/docs/api-reference/workflow-observability/parse-workflow-name.mdx

Workflow SDK - Build durable, resilient, and observable workflows

---
title: parseWorkflowName
description: Parse a machine-readable workflow name into display-friendly components.
type: reference
summary: Use parseWorkflowName to extract a display-friendly short name from a run's workflowName identifier.
related:
  - /docs/api-reference/workflow-observability/parse-step-name
  - /docs/api-reference/workflow-observability/parse-class-name
---

Workflow names are stored as machine-readable identifiers like `workflow//./src/workflows/order//processOrder`. This function parses them into components suitable for display in a user interface, for example when listing runs from the [World SDK](/docs/api-reference/workflow-runtime/world/storage), where `run.workflowName` holds the machine-readable form.

```typescript lineNumbers
import { parseWorkflowName } from "workflow/observability"; // [!code highlight]

const parsed = parseWorkflowName("workflow//./src/workflows/order//processOrder"); // [!code highlight]
// parsed?.shortName → "processOrder"
// parsed?.moduleSpecifier → "./src/workflows/order"
// parsed?.functionName → "processOrder"
```

## API signature

### Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Description |
|-----------|------|-------------|
| `name` | `string` | The machine-readable workflow name (e.g. from `run.workflowName`) |

### Returns

`{ shortName: string; moduleSpecifier: string; functionName: string } | null`

| Property | Description |
|----------|-------------|
| `shortName` | The display name. For default exports, falls back to the module's short name (e.g. `"order"` for `./src/workflows/order`). |
| `moduleSpecifier` | The module the workflow is defined in: a relative path (`./src/workflows/order`) or a package specifier (`@myorg/flows@1.0.0`). |
| `functionName` | The full exported function name. |

Returns `null` when the input is not a valid workflow name.

## Example: list runs with display names

```typescript lineNumbers
import { getWorld } from "workflow/runtime";
import { parseWorkflowName } from "workflow/observability"; // [!code highlight]

const world = await getWorld();
const runs = await world.runs.list({ resolveData: "none" });

for (const run of runs.data) {
  const parsed = parseWorkflowName(run.workflowName); // [!code highlight]
  console.log(`${parsed?.shortName ?? run.workflowName}: ${run.status}`);
}
```