Diagrid Catalyst
Diagrid Catalyst is a centralized platform for running and operating the Dapr runtime to power durable workflows, agents, and other development APIs as-a-service. Catalyst exposes the full power of the Dapr APIs for building distributed applications using a unified and open programming model, while platform teams retain centralized visibility, governance, and operational control. With Catalyst, teams can:
- Orchestrate and understand complex business processes with end-to-end visibility
- Build autonomous AI agents without sacrificing reliability, security, or auditability
- Connect and secure apps and agents across any platform, cloud, region, or compute
- Accelerate development and time-to-production with a unified programming model on Dapr
- Enforce governance and enable collaboration with organization and project constructs
- Integrate and swap cloud services and LLMs without rewrites using Dapr components
Build with Dapr
Author long-running, stateful processes as straightforward code with automatic progress persistence, retries, and recovery. Coordinate external events, durable timers, fan-out/fan-in, and human approvals while maintaining determinism for observability and auditing. These capabilities power both traditional business workflows and agentic patterns, with Dapr as the durable runtime and Catalyst as the host.
Start with the durable workflow SDK guides to author workflows in .NET, Go, Java, JavaScript, or Python, or scaffold an entire Dapr Workflow project from a diagram with Workflow Composer. To build AI agents, pick a framework guide under Develop Agents — for example Dapr Agents, CrewAI, LangGraph, or Strands — and layer in Dapr API SDKs for state, pub/sub, and service invocation when agents or workflows need to talk to the rest of your system. For remote tool calls, see the MCP server integration.
You can manage Dapr on Kubernetes yourself or take advantage of one of the following Catalyst hosting options.
Host Dapr with Catalyst
Catalyst handles running and managing the Dapr sidecars and the Dapr control plane, so you can focus on building with Dapr Workflows and Dapr Agents on the hosting platform of your choice. See the Catalyst hosting model overview for a breakdown of the control-plane and data-plane options, and the connect apps to Catalyst guide for wiring existing Dapr apps to the service with minimal code changes. You get the Dapr programming model and SDKs as the build tool, with Catalyst providing:
- Operational automation (scaling, upgrades, reliability)
- Security and zero-trust connectivity with built-in identity
- Governance, multi-project structure, and access controls
- Production visualization and operations for workflows and agents (traces, metrics, replay, inspection)
- Enterprise support and guidance from the creators and maintainers of Dapr
Deployment options
Catalyst offers multiple deployment options with varying levels of isolation, control, and operational responsibility — from a fully managed cloud service to completely air-gapped environments.
| Plan | Hosting Option | Control Plane | Data Plane | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catalyst Cloud | Multi-tenant | Diagrid | Diagrid | Shared infrastructure across all Catalyst Cloud customers. Fastest way to get started with zero setup. |
| Catalyst Enterprise | Dedicated | Diagrid | Diagrid | Diagrid-managed, but the data plane runs on a separate Kubernetes cluster provisioned exclusively for the customer. |
| Self-Hosted | Diagrid | Customer | Control plane managed by Diagrid with the data plane running on customer infrastructure for full data residency control. | |
| Air-Gapped | Customer | Customer | Fully offline, network-isolated deployment with no external connectivity. Used for regulated and defense environments. |
Start with the free trial to evaluate developer experience and operational workflows before choosing the deployment model that fits your environment. Build your first app by following a quickstart — the durable workflow quickstart, the AI agent quickstart, or a Dapr API quickstart. To sign up, visit catalyst.diagrid.io.
Resources
Understand how to best use Diagrid Catalyst and get support when you need it.