FLOW MASON
Frequently Asked Questions

Everything You Need to Know

Get answers to common questions about FlowMason, from architecture and deployment to integrations and pricing.

What you get with FlowMason - complete product overview

General

What is FlowMason?

FlowMason is an AI pipeline orchestration framework - think of it like "Terraform for AI pipelines." It's software you install and run, not a cloud service you subscribe to.

Key points:

  • Self-hosted - runs on your infrastructure (laptop, cloud, data center)
  • Developer-first - CLI, SDKs, VSCode extension
  • Provider agnostic - works with any LLM (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, local models)
What problems does FlowMason solve?

FlowMason addresses common pain points in AI/LLM development:

  • Debugging is hard - FlowMason provides time-travel debugging to inspect any step
  • Can't visualize pipelines - Visual builder shows the full flow
  • Cost visibility lacking - Track token usage and costs per run
  • Reliability issues - Built-in retry, fallback, and error handling
  • Team collaboration difficult - Share pipelines, templates, and configurations
What is FlowMason NOT?
  • ✗
    Not a hosted SaaS - You self-host FlowMason. We don't run your pipelines on our servers.
  • ✗
    Not just for ChatGPT - Works with any LLM provider, including local models.
  • ✗
    Not a no-code tool - Designed for developers who want code-first control with optional visual tools.

Architecture

FlowMason architecture - four layers working together
What's the FlowMason architecture?

FlowMason has four main layers:

  1. 1. Core Engine (Python) - The execution engine that runs your pipelines. Install via pip install flowmason
  2. 2. FlowMason Studio - Web-based visual pipeline builder and debugger (React + Python backend)
  3. 3. VSCode Extension - Syntax highlighting, intellisense, local debugging
  4. 4. FlowMason Apps - Turn pipelines into white-labeled web applications
Does FlowMason provide backend and frontend?
FlowMason backend vs frontend components

Yes, FlowMason provides both:

Backend

  • Python execution engine
  • REST API endpoints
  • WebSocket event streaming
  • Provider integrations

Frontend

  • Studio visual builder
  • VSCode extension
  • FlowMason Apps
  • React SDK for embedding

You can use just the backend (headless API) or the full stack with any frontend option.

What are the system requirements?
  • Python 3.11+ - For the core engine
  • Node.js 18+ - For Studio frontend (optional)
  • 2GB RAM minimum - More for large pipelines
  • OS - Linux, macOS, or Windows

FlowMason runs anywhere Python runs - from a Raspberry Pi to enterprise Kubernetes clusters.

Deployment

FlowMason deployment options - local, cloud, and enterprise
Does FlowMason run on AWS / GCP / Azure?

Yes! FlowMason is cloud-agnostic and runs on any cloud provider:

  • Amazon Web Services (AWS)
  • Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
  • Microsoft Azure
  • DigitalOcean, Linode, Hetzner
  • Any VPS or bare metal server

Deploy with Docker, Kubernetes, or directly on a VM. You own and control the infrastructure - no vendor lock-in.

Can I run FlowMason on my laptop?

Absolutely! Local development is the primary use case:

  1. pip install flowmason - Install the CLI
  2. fm init my-project - Create a project
  3. fm run pipeline.yaml - Run pipelines
  4. fm studio - Launch the visual builder

The VSCode extension provides syntax highlighting and debugging right in your editor.

Can I deploy on-premise / air-gapped?

Yes. Enterprise deployments support:

  • On-premise installation in your data center
  • Air-gapped environments (no internet required)
  • Private container registries
  • Kubernetes with custom security policies

Contact us for enterprise deployment assistance.

Integration

FlowMason integration options - CLI, SDKs, API, and more
How do I integrate FlowMason into my application?

Multiple integration options:

CLI

fm run pipeline.yaml

Python SDK

from flowmason import run

TypeScript SDK

import { FlowMason }

REST API

POST /api/v1/run

React SDK

<PipelineRunner />

Salesforce

AppExchange native
Do I need to build a frontend to use FlowMason?
FlowMason Apps - turn pipelines into web applications

No! FlowMason offers multiple ready-made frontend options:

  1. FlowMason Studio - Full-featured visual builder & execution UI
  2. FlowMason Apps - Turn any pipeline into a hosted web app with forms, white-labeling, and SSO
  3. VSCode Extension - Development and debugging UI
  4. Headless/API - Build your own frontend using our SDKs

FlowMason Apps lets you go from pipeline to user-facing app in hours, not weeks. Just configure forms, branding, and auth - no frontend code required.

Which LLM providers are supported?

FlowMason supports all major providers:

OpenAI Anthropic Google Azure OpenAI AWS Bedrock Together AI Ollama LM Studio vLLM

Any OpenAI-compatible API works out of the box.

Pricing

Is FlowMason free?

Local development is free forever.

  • Free Tier - CLI, VSCode extension, local execution, unlimited pipelines
  • Pro - Team features, Studio hosting, advanced analytics
  • Enterprise - SSO, audit logs, on-premise deployment, SLA

You only pay for LLM API costs from your chosen providers.

What's the difference between tiers?
Feature Free Pro Enterprise
CLI & VSCode Yes Yes Yes
Local execution Yes Yes Yes
Team collaboration - Yes Yes
FlowMason Apps - Yes Yes
SSO / SAML - - Yes
On-premise - - Yes

Still have questions?

We're here to help you succeed with FlowMason.

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