Running and reviewing flows
Once a flow has been created, you can run it to automate a process. As a flow runs, you can monitor its progress, view the actions being executed, and review the outputs it produces.
Permissions for running flows
Flows are stored with a hub, and to run them you will need the Author role or higher. More about Workforce permissions.
Running flowsLink copied!
To run a flow, launch it from your Flows library.
Each flow is shown as a card with its name and description. The card also shows:
- Whether the Flow can be run - this is controlled by Admin users, who enable Flows
- How it runs (manually or automatically) - enabled Flows display a Run button on the card, that users can click to start the Flow. Learn more about Triggers
Hover over a card to:
- Copy flow details: Copies the flow label and ID to the clipboard (useful for developers using theGraphQL Management API)
- View runs: Opens the Runs list filtered to that flow
- Duplicate flow: Creates a copy of the flow in the current hub
- Edit flow: Opens the flow in the editor
- Delete flow: Prompts for confirmation, then deletes the flow and any associated runs and reviews
As a flow runs, each action is shown in an action card so you can track progress.
Note
Running a flow is an asynchronous process that takes an indeterminate amount of time.
Runs listLink copied!
All runs, whether in progress or completed, are shown in the Runs list. You can view more information about a run by clicking on it to show its Run detail.
Note: Run data is maintained for 90 days.
Run detailLink copied!
The run detail shows which actions the flow has run and the order in which they were performed. For each action, you can see its name, status (in progress or complete), description and output.
In the example below, the output of the Trim Image action is shown in a card.
Run statusesLink copied!
While running, a flow can have the following statuses:
- Queued The run has been triggered, but is in a queue waiting to start
- In Progress The run has started
- Paused The run is waiting for a review task to be completed
- Complete The run has finished.
- Aborted - The run has been cancelled
- Expired - The run timed out (reached the maximum duration of 90 days)
- Failed - The run cannot continue due to an unrecoverable error, or too many repeated errors (too many retries)
Viewing and managing reviewsLink copied!
Flows let you include review checks wherever they're needed - so you can validate and approve, or reject results. A single flow can include multiple review stages, allowing you to check progress through the process.
Reviews can be carried out during a flow run or accessed later from the Reviews list, allowing you to approve, reject, or update content before the flow continues or completes.
Including reviews in your flows
For ideas about how and when to include reviews in flows, visit our Example flows.
Reviews listLink copied!
The Reviews list shows the review tasks for your hub - both pending reviews awaiting your attention and completed reviews you can refer back to.
From the Reviews list you can:
- Filter by flow, assignee, status, or custom filters to narrow down the list
- Search review tasks, for example by product id, to find specific reviews quickly
- Click any review to open it in the review drawer, where you can approve, edit or reject the output
Review statusesLink copied!
Content flow reviews have the following statuses:
- Pending - review has not yet been completed
- Approved - the review is approved
- Rejected - the review is rejected
- Expired - the deadline for the review has passed
Filtering and searching reviewsLink copied!
You can quickly find Workforce Flow review tasks using the filters and search.
Filtering reviewsLink copied!
Filters for flow, assignee and status are available for all reviews.
Additional filters can created for reviews by configuring custom attributes. When additional filters have been added a More filters button is displayed. See Setting custom attributes.
Searching reviewsLink copied!
To find specific reviews - such as those including a particular product id - use the search bar. Search applies to the review label, run label and any custom attributes that have been configured.
You can set custom attributes, that improve search capabilities for specific values, such as, product ids and SKUs. See Setting custom attributes.
Tip
To search for multiple terms - separate them with a comma, or use a line break in the multi-search popup.
When searching reviews, keep the following in mind:
- Use whole words only - partial word searches are not supported
- Phrase search is automatic - no need to wrap terms in double quotes
- Special characters are treated as spaces - for example,
product-nameis searched asproduct name. If an exact match exists, it appears first in the results, followed by any phrase matches - Operators are not supported - wildcards and similar operators are not recognized
Reviewing flow outputLink copied!
For flows that include review actions, runs pause while human review is completed.
The example below shows a flow with a Human Review action as the final step. The review pauses the flow from running, until the output is approved or rejected.
Clicking "Open review" opens the review drawer showing the output that’s ready for review.
Review drawerLink copied!
The review drawer is where you can approve, edit or reject flow output. You can open a review directly from a running flow, or at any time from the Reviews list. Once you've chosen whether to Approve or Reject, the flow will continue to the next action.
Enabling flows to be runLink copied!
Admin users control which Workforce Flows are allowed to run - giving them the flexibility to pause automations and prevent unintended runs.
By default, flows are created as Disabled. In this state, they can only be run in Test mode by Admin users and are not available to non-admin users.
To make a Flow available to other users, an Admin must set it to Enabled. This can be done from the Flows library or while building Flows. See Building a flow in minutes.