> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.samplehc.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Workflow Context

> Understanding the workflow context and how to access data between steps

## Understanding Workflow Context

Every step in a Sample Workflow has access to a **context object** (`ctx`) that provides essential information and utilities for the current workflow run. This context allows steps to communicate with each other, access user information, and interact with the backend system.

## The WorkflowRunContext Class

The workflow context is implemented through the `WorkflowRunContext` class, which provides the following key capabilities:

### Properties

* **`backend_token`**: Authentication token for making API calls to the SampleHC backend
* **`current_user`**: Information about the user who initiated the workflow (dict with `id`, `email`, and `name` fields). This is `None` when the run was not started by a user — for example, runs started by a [cron schedule](/workflows/start-workflow#cron-scheduling) or an [event](/workflows/events) — so guard access with a check like `ctx.current_user["name"] if ctx.current_user else "Automated"`.
* **`resume_data`**: Data used when resuming a suspended workflow
* **`scope`**: Additional scoped data for the step that you're on. For example, loops will have `i` and `item` in scope.
* **`workflow_run_id`**: The ID of the current workflow run. This is useful
  when you need to look up other tasks from the same run, for example inside a
  `next_task` routing override.

### Key Methods

#### `get_step_result(step_id: str)`

Retrieves the output from a previous step in the workflow by its step ID.

```python theme={null}
# Example: Get the result from a previous step
previous_result = ctx.get_step_result("document-upload")
documents = previous_result["documents"]
```

This method is essential for passing data between workflow steps, allowing later steps to build upon the results of earlier ones.

#### `get_start_data()`

Retrieves the initial data that was provided when the workflow was started.

```python theme={null}
# Example: Access the initial workflow data
start_data = ctx.get_start_data()
initial_params = start_data.get("params", {})
```

## Using Context in Workflow Steps

### In Automated Steps

```python theme={null}
def process_documents(ctx):
    # Access previous step results
    uploaded_docs = ctx.get_step_result("upload-step")

    # Access user information
    user_name = ctx.current_user["name"]
    user_email = ctx.current_user["email"]

    # Process the documents
    processed_docs = []
    for doc in uploaded_docs["documents"]:
        # Your processing logic here
        processed_docs.append(process_single_doc(doc))

    return {"processed_documents": processed_docs}

workflow.then(
    Step("process-docs", process_documents)
)
```

## Best Practices

1. **Step ID Consistency**: Use clear, descriptive step IDs that make it easy to reference them in later steps.

2. **Data Validation**: Ensure the output is what you expect from previous steps before using it.

3. **Context Security**: The context includes authentication tokens, so be careful when logging or exposing context data.