[Feature Request] Let me specify the encoding for my inputs. Bonus for doing this with outputs too...
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@ks-temporal is already working on this.
Since Jun 11, 2026.
enhancement
good first issue
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Description
Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
We are too assumptive about JSON usage everywhere...We need to support arbitrary encodings for at least inputs (if not outputs also...) , for example encoding=json/protobuf.
We support this on some commands while others we do not.
Describe the solution you'd like
Support protobufs for real from the CLI since we include it as default data converter in most SDKs OOTB.
We really should allow specifying the OUTPUT encoding too since protobufs are a result too, not just an input.
Basically, these commands need to be consistency and real-world.
Additional context
I did the hard part for you in identifying which commands lack proper support for input encoding:
| Category | Command | Payload Flag | Meta/Encoding Switch? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workflow | start / execute |
--input |
Yes (--input-meta) |
| Workflow | update start |
--input |
Yes (--input-meta) |
| Workflow | signal |
--input |
No |
| Workflow | query |
--input |
No |
| Activity | complete |
--result |
No |
| Activity | fail |
--detail |
No |
| Activity | heartbeat |
--details |
No |
| Batch | signal |
--input |
No |
| Schedule | create / update |
--input |
Yes (--input-meta) |
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