From 78854ec2b982e463b2d899b2592745c67820036e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Karthik Kalyanaraman <karthik.kalyanaraman@vercel.com>
Date: Thu, 5 Feb 2026 22:43:38 -0800
Subject: [PATCH] Remove dirs option

---
 .changeset/fifty-keys-stare.md                |  5 +++
 .../workflow-next/with-workflow.mdx           | 40 +------------------
 docs/content/docs/getting-started/next.mdx    | 39 ------------------
 packages/next/src/index.ts                    | 16 +-------
 4 files changed, 8 insertions(+), 92 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 .changeset/fifty-keys-stare.md

diff --git a/.changeset/fifty-keys-stare.md b/.changeset/fifty-keys-stare.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a373cbdd33
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/fifty-keys-stare.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"workflow": patch
+---
+
+Remove `dirs` option from `workflows` config object in `withWorkflow()` and related documentation
diff --git a/docs/content/docs/api-reference/workflow-next/with-workflow.mdx b/docs/content/docs/api-reference/workflow-next/with-workflow.mdx
index d92da97264..892b076832 100644
--- a/docs/content/docs/api-reference/workflow-next/with-workflow.mdx
+++ b/docs/content/docs/api-reference/workflow-next/with-workflow.mdx
@@ -49,42 +49,4 @@ export default async function config(
   }
   return nextConfig;
 }
-```
-
-## Configuration
-
-The second argument to `withWorkflow` accepts the following options:
-
-### `workflows.dirs`
-
-Directories to scan for workflows and steps. If provided, this completely overrides the defaults.
-
-- **Type:** `string[]`
-- **Default:** `['pages', 'app', 'src/pages', 'src/app']`
-
-```typescript title="next.config.ts" lineNumbers
-import { withWorkflow } from "workflow/next";
-import type { NextConfig } from "next";
-
-const nextConfig: NextConfig = {};
-
-export default withWorkflow(nextConfig, {
-  workflows: {
-    dirs: ['workflows', 'src/workflows'], // [!code highlight]
-  },
-});
-```
-
-### `workflows.local.port`
-
-Port for the local workflow server during development.
-
-- **Type:** `number`
-- **Default:** Uses the `PORT` environment variable
-
-### `workflows.local.dataDir`
-
-Directory for storing local workflow data during development.
-
-- **Type:** `string`
-- **Default:** `'.next/workflow-data'`
+``` 
diff --git a/docs/content/docs/getting-started/next.mdx b/docs/content/docs/getting-started/next.mdx
index eea396681d..ccc83064cd 100644
--- a/docs/content/docs/getting-started/next.mdx
+++ b/docs/content/docs/getting-started/next.mdx
@@ -257,45 +257,6 @@ Check the [Deploying](/docs/deploying) section to learn how your workflows can b
 
 ## Troubleshooting
 
-### Out of Memory (OOM) during build
-
-When using `withWorkflow()` in a large Next.js application, the "Discovering workflow directives" phase may consume excessive memory, causing builds to fail with OOM errors on standard build machines (e.g., 16 GB RAM).
-
-**Solution:** Use the `workflows.dirs` option to limit the directories scanned for workflow directives. By default, `withWorkflow` scans `['pages', 'app', 'src/pages', 'src/app']`, which in large applications can include thousands of files.
-
-If your workflows are located in a specific directory, configure `dirs` to only scan that directory:
-
-```typescript title="next.config.ts" lineNumbers
-import { withWorkflow } from "workflow/next";
-import type { NextConfig } from "next";
-
-const nextConfig: NextConfig = {};
-
-export default withWorkflow(nextConfig, {
-  workflows: {
-    // Only scan the workflows directory instead of the entire app
-    dirs: ['workflows'], // [!code highlight]
-  },
-});
-```
-
-If you need workflows in both app routes and a dedicated directory:
-
-```typescript title="next.config.ts" lineNumbers
-import { withWorkflow } from "workflow/next";
-import type { NextConfig } from "next";
-
-const nextConfig: NextConfig = {};
-
-export default withWorkflow(nextConfig, {
-  workflows: {
-    dirs: ['app/api', 'workflows'], // [!code highlight]
-  },
-});
-```
-
-This significantly reduces memory usage and build times by avoiding scanning unrelated application code.
-
 ### Next.js 16.1+ compatibility
 
 If you see this error when upgrading to Next.js 16.1 or later:
diff --git a/packages/next/src/index.ts b/packages/next/src/index.ts
index 192ba921aa..1d96e05615 100644
--- a/packages/next/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/next/src/index.ts
@@ -4,12 +4,6 @@ import semver from 'semver';
 import { getNextBuilder } from './builder.js';
 import { maybeInvalidateCacheOnSwcChange } from './swc-cache.js';
 
-/**
- * Default directories to scan for workflows and steps.
- * These are the standard Next.js app directories.
- */
-const DEFAULT_WORKFLOW_DIRS = ['pages', 'app', 'src/pages', 'src/app'];
-
 export function withWorkflow(
   nextConfigOrFn:
     | NextConfig
@@ -25,13 +19,6 @@ export function withWorkflow(
         port?: number;
         dataDir?: string;
       };
-      /**
-       * Directories to scan for workflows and steps.
-       * If provided, this completely overrides the defaults.
-       *
-       * @default ['pages', 'app', 'src/pages', 'src/app']
-       */
-      dirs?: string[];
     };
   } = {}
 ) {
@@ -149,7 +136,8 @@ export function withWorkflow(
       const NextBuilder = await getNextBuilder();
       const workflowBuilder = new NextBuilder({
         watch: shouldWatch,
-        dirs: workflows?.dirs ?? DEFAULT_WORKFLOW_DIRS,
+        // discover workflows from pages/app entries
+        dirs: ['pages', 'app', 'src/pages', 'src/app'],
         workingDir: process.cwd(),
         buildTarget: 'next',
         workflowsBundlePath: '', // not used in base