# Workflow Guides: Overview
Source: https://docs.chain.link/cre/guides/workflow/overview
Last Updated: 2026-07-30

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt).

These guides cover the building blocks you'll combine to build a CRE workflow: how to start one with a trigger, how to read and write onchain data, how to call external APIs, and how to handle supporting concerns like secrets, time, and randomness. Guides are written for both Go and TypeScript; switch languages with the selector at the top of each page.

If you haven't built a workflow yet, start with [Getting Started](/cre/getting-started/overview) first.

## Building a confidential workflow?

The guides below all run your workflow's logic on Workflow DON nodes, the default for CRE—visible in principle to node operators. If any part of your workflow's decision logic needs to stay hidden from node operators, you want a **Confidential Workflow** instead: a distinct workflow type that runs inside a secure enclave.

> **NOTE: Confidential Workflows: a different workflow type**
>
> Read [Confidential Workflows in CRE](/cre/concepts/confidential-workflows) to see whether your use case needs one,
> then follow [Making a Workflow Confidential](/cre/guides/workflow/using-confidential-workflows) to build it.

## Triggers and API calls

| Guide                                                                                | What you'll learn                                                                                        |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [Triggers](/cre/guides/workflow/using-triggers/overview)                             | Choose and configure a Cron, EVM Log, or HTTP trigger to start your workflow.                            |
| [API Interactions](/cre/guides/workflow/using-http-client)                           | Make GET and POST requests to external APIs, submit reports over HTTP, and verify them offchain.         |
| [Confidential API Interactions](/cre/guides/workflow/using-confidential-http-client) | Make a single outbound API call with secrets injected and the request processed inside a secure enclave. |

## Onchain interactions

| Guide                                                                          | What you'll learn                                                                                   |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [EVM Chain Interactions](/cre/guides/workflow/using-evm-client/overview)       | Generate contract bindings, read onchain state, and write consensus-verified reports to EVM chains. |
| [Solana Chain Interactions](/cre/guides/workflow/using-solana-client/overview) | Generate Anchor bindings and write consensus-verified workflow results to Solana programs.          |

## Workflow mechanics

| Guide                                                                  | What you'll learn                                                                   |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [Secrets](/cre/guides/workflow/secrets)                                | Manage API keys and credentials safely, in simulation and in deployed workflows.    |
| [Using Time in Workflows](/cre/guides/workflow/time-in-workflows)      | Get a deterministic, consensus-safe timestamp with `runtime.now()`.                 |
| [Using Randomness in Workflows](/cre/guides/workflow/using-randomness) | Generate random numbers that stay consistent across nodes so consensus still holds. |