From 40ed800e76213734670be9d9ee6a888f27f34bc7 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Miguel Prieto <miguel.prieto@orkes.io>
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 2026 19:06:07 -0300
Subject: [PATCH] feat: enable the workflow message queue on the local server

A CLI-started server has the workflow message queue off, so workflow messaging
needs manual setup before it can be used. Pass the property on the command line,
next to the AI integration args, so it works out of the box.

Rename aiIntegrationArgs to localServerArgs: the list is no longer only about
AI.
---
 cmd/server.go      | 20 +++++++++++---------
 cmd/server_test.go | 23 +++++++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 34 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)

diff --git a/cmd/server.go b/cmd/server.go
index fc5c214..41ea2fc 100644
--- a/cmd/server.go
+++ b/cmd/server.go
@@ -633,7 +633,7 @@ func startServer(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 	// Enable AI integration + embedded AgentSpan by default for the local dev server.
 	// Passed as command-line args (Spring Boot's highest-precedence source) so this holds
 	// regardless of the downloaded jar's baked default; agentspan.embedded resolves from it.
-	javaArgs = append(javaArgs, aiIntegrationArgs()...)
+	javaArgs = append(javaArgs, localServerArgs()...)
 
 	serverTypeDisplay := "OSS"
 	if serverType == serverTypeOrkes {
@@ -894,16 +894,18 @@ func updateServer(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-// aiIntegrationArgs returns the Spring Boot command-line args that turn on the AI
-// integration and the embedded AgentSpan runtime for the local server. These are enabled
-// by default so agentic workflows work out of the box with `conductor server start`.
-// Command-line args are Spring Boot's highest-precedence property source, so this holds
-// even if the downloaded jar was built with the feature off; agentspan.embedded resolves
-// from conductor.integrations.ai.enabled.
-func aiIntegrationArgs() []string {
+// localServerArgs returns the Spring Boot command-line args that every local server start
+// passes. They turn on the AI integration with the embedded AgentSpan runtime, and the
+// workflow message queue, so agentic workflows and workflow messaging work out of the box
+// with `conductor server start`.
+//
+// Command-line args are Spring Boot's highest-precedence property source, so these hold
+// regardless of the downloaded jar's baked defaults.
+func localServerArgs() []string {
 	return []string{
 		"--conductor.integrations.ai.enabled=true",
 		"--agentspan.embedded=true",
+		"--conductor.workflow-message-queue.enabled=true",
 	}
 }
 
@@ -978,7 +980,7 @@ func startLocalServer(port int) error {
 	}
 
 	// Enable AI integration + embedded AgentSpan by default (see startServer for rationale).
-	javaArgs = append(javaArgs, aiIntegrationArgs()...)
+	javaArgs = append(javaArgs, localServerArgs()...)
 
 	fmt.Printf("Starting OSS Conductor server (version: %s) on port %d...\n", version, port)
 
diff --git a/cmd/server_test.go b/cmd/server_test.go
index f676c07..df95ed6 100644
--- a/cmd/server_test.go
+++ b/cmd/server_test.go
@@ -468,3 +468,26 @@ func TestWritePidCreatesFile(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("got pid %d, want 42", pid)
 	}
 }
+
+func TestLocalServerArgs(t *testing.T) {
+	args := localServerArgs()
+
+	want := []string{
+		"--conductor.integrations.ai.enabled=true",
+		"--agentspan.embedded=true",
+		"--conductor.workflow-message-queue.enabled=true",
+	}
+
+	for _, w := range want {
+		found := false
+		for _, got := range args {
+			if got == w {
+				found = true
+				break
+			}
+		}
+		if !found {
+			t.Errorf("missing arg %q in %v", w, args)
+		}
+	}
+}