Pipelines provide structure for complex, multi-step workflows that would otherwise require ad-hoc coordination. A typical coding pipeline might include: requirements analysis, implementation, testing, code review, security scan, and deployment. Each stage has a defined owner (which agent or human role executes it), defined inputs and outputs, and defined completion criteria.
Pipelines can be synchronous (each stage must complete before the next begins) or allow parallel stages where independent work can proceed simultaneously. Approval gates can be inserted between any stages to introduce human checkpoints.
The term 'pipeline' is sometimes used loosely to describe any multi-agent workflow. The more precise usage reserves it for pre-defined, stage-based flows — distinct from reactive event-driven chains where the sequence is determined at runtime by which events are published and which subscriptions match.