awsflow-stepfunc

Use the StepFuncTool language tool in VS Code to manage AWS Step Functions state machines, start and inspect executions, and update definitions.

When to Use

•User wants to list or describe state machines
•User wants to start a new execution or inspect existing executions
•User wants to view execution history (step-by-step events)
•User wants to update a state machine definition
•User wants to validate a state machine definition
•User wants to list or describe activities and map runs

Tool Reference

Tool name: StepFuncTool

Input Schema

json

{
  "command": "<CommandName>",
  "params": { ... }
}

Commands (16 total)

Command	Description
DescribeActivity	Describe an activity
DescribeExecution	Describe a specific execution
DescribeMapRun	Describe a Map Run
DescribeStateMachine	Describe a state machine
DescribeStateMachineAlias	Describe a state machine alias
DescribeStateMachineForExecution	Describe state machine associated with an execution
GetExecutionHistory	Get the step-by-step event history of an execution
ListActivities	List activities
ListExecutions	List executions for a state machine
ListMapRuns	List Map Runs for an execution
ListStateMachineAliases	List aliases for a state machine
ListStateMachines	List all state machines
ListStateMachineVersions	List versions of a state machine
StartExecution	Start a new execution of a state machine
UpdateStateMachine	Update a state machine definition, role, or configuration
ValidateStateMachineDefinition	Validate an Amazon States Language definition

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
stateMachineArn	string	State machine ARN (Required by: DescribeStateMachine, StartExecution, UpdateStateMachine; Used by: ListExecutions)
executionArn	string	Execution ARN (Required by: DescribeExecution, GetExecutionHistory)
maxResults	number	Maximum items to return (Used by: ListExecutions, ListStateMachines, GetExecutionHistory)
nextToken	string	Pagination token (Used by: ListExecutions, ListStateMachines, GetExecutionHistory)
reverseOrder	boolean	Return events in reverse chronological order (Used by: GetExecutionHistory)
statusFilter	string	Filter executions by status. Enum: `RUNNING`, `SUCCEEDED`, `FAILED`, `TIMED_OUT`, `ABORTED` (Used by: ListExecutions)
name	string	Execution name (Used by: StartExecution)
input	string	JSON string input for execution (Used by: StartExecution)
traceHeader	string	X-Ray trace header (Used by: StartExecution)
definition	string	State machine definition in Amazon States Language (Used by: UpdateStateMachine)
roleArn	string	IAM role ARN for the state machine (Used by: UpdateStateMachine)
loggingConfiguration	object	Logging configuration object (Used by: UpdateStateMachine)
tracingConfiguration	object	Tracing configuration object (Used by: UpdateStateMachine)
publish	boolean	Set true to publish a new version (Used by: UpdateStateMachine)
versionDescription	string	Description for the published version (Used by: UpdateStateMachine)

Usage Examples

List all state machines

json

{ "command": "ListStateMachines", "params": { "maxResults": 20 } }

Describe a state machine

json

{ "command": "DescribeStateMachine", "params": { "stateMachineArn": "arn:aws:states:us-east-1:123456789012:stateMachine:MyWorkflow" } }

List executions with status filter

json

{ "command": "ListExecutions", "params": { "stateMachineArn": "arn:aws:states:us-east-1:123456789012:stateMachine:MyWorkflow", "statusFilter": "FAILED", "maxResults": 10 } }

Start a new execution

json

{ "command": "StartExecution", "params": { "stateMachineArn": "arn:aws:states:us-east-1:123456789012:stateMachine:MyWorkflow", "input": "{\"orderId\": \"12345\", \"amount\": 99.99}" } }

Get execution history

json

{ "command": "GetExecutionHistory", "params": { "executionArn": "arn:aws:states:us-east-1:123456789012:execution:MyWorkflow:exec-id", "maxResults": 100, "reverseOrder": true } }

Describe an execution

json

{ "command": "DescribeExecution", "params": { "executionArn": "arn:aws:states:us-east-1:123456789012:execution:MyWorkflow:exec-id" } }

Update state machine definition

json

{ "command": "UpdateStateMachine", "params": { "stateMachineArn": "arn:aws:states:us-east-1:123456789012:stateMachine:MyWorkflow", "definition": "{\"StartAt\": \"Step1\", \"States\": { \"Step1\": { \"Type\": \"Pass\", \"End\": true }}}" } }

Validate a definition

json

{ "command": "ValidateStateMachineDefinition", "params": {} }

Related Services

Step Functions orchestrates workflows across many AWS services:

Relationship	Tool
Invokes Lambda functions	`LambdaTool`
Sends messages to SQS	`SQSTool`
Publishes to SNS topics	`SNSTool`
Reads/writes DynamoDB tables	`DynamoDBTool`
Starts Glue jobs	`GlueTool`
Starts EMR steps	`EMRTool`
Calls API Gateway endpoints	`APIGatewayTool`
Execution logs in CloudWatch	`CloudWatchLogTool`
IAM roles for execution	`IAMTool`
Deployed via CloudFormation	`CloudFormationTool`

CloudWatch Log Group Naming

Step Functions log groups typically follow:

code

/aws/vendedlogs/states/<state-machine-name>-Logs

Use CloudWatchLogTool → DescribeLogGroups with logGroupNamePrefix: "/aws/vendedlogs/states/" to find them.

Tips

•Use ListStateMachines → DescribeStateMachine to explore definition and configuration.
•Use ListExecutions with statusFilter: "FAILED" to find failed runs, then GetExecutionHistory to debug step-by-step.
•StartExecution requires stateMachineArn and accepts a JSON input string.
•The definition in UpdateStateMachine must be valid Amazon States Language JSON.
•Use reverseOrder: true in GetExecutionHistory to see the most recent events first.