Publish and run a flow

Try a draft with a debug run, publish it as a numbered version, start instances from Flow Studio or the API, and publish a new version later.

A draft never runs in production. You publish it as a version (v1, v2 and so on), and every normal run starts the newest published version. To try a draft first, use a debug run. Debug-run a draft# In the editor, select Debug run. Under Run with sample inputs, check the JSON. It is prefilled from the variables' defaults, for example { "invoice": { "number": "INV-2026-0412", "amount": 4820.5 } }. Select Start debug run (or Save and start debug run when the draft has unsaved changes). Flow Studio freezes the draft into a temporary debug version, checks it as it would for a publish, starts it and opens the instance in Flow Monitor. If the draft has errors, the run does not start and Problems opens. To stop at a step, select the element and choose Add breakpoint in the toolbar above it (or right-click the element) before you start. The debug instance suspends before the element runs; select Resume on the instance page to go on. Debug runs take no version number, are left out of Flow Monitor's figures unless you tick Include debug runs, and are deleted after 7 days. Publish a version# Before you start, check that Problems shows no errors. Select Publish v1 (the button always names the next number). Read the dialog: Dependencies: each robot task's automation and whether it is pinned, each user task's Action App (approval@1), each business rule and called flow. First version, or Changes since v1 on later publishes: every element and sequence flow that was added, changed or removed. If the draft has errors, they are listed at the top and the publish button is disabled. Select Publish v1. The header now shows Published and the version. The version records each robot task's package version at this moment. If someone later moves the process to another package version, the step stops at a The job did not start incident instead of running code the flow was not published against. Start a flow# From Flow Studio: Open the flow and select ⋮ (More actions for this flow). Select Run v2 (the newest published version). Flow Monitor opens on the new instance. Run starts the version without input variables. To pass inputs, start the flow through the API: Start the newest published versionHTTPCopyPOST /api/v1/tenants/{tenantId}/flow-designer/drafts/{flowId}/run Content-Type: application/json { "variables": { "invoice": { "number": "INV-2026-0433", "vendor": "Litware Inc.", "amount": 9875, "pdfPath": "ap-inbox/INV-2026-0433.pdf" } } } The answer holds the instanceId and versionId. Without a published version the call answers 409 flow_not_published. A flow can also start on its own: Timer start: the published version schedules itself (a duration, a date, a repeating cycle or a cron expression in UTC). Publishing a newer version replaces the schedule. Message start: the flow starts when a message of that name is sent to POST /api/v1/tenants/{tenantId}/workspaces/{workspaceId}/flows/messages. Sending messages needs pulse.message. Time or queue trigger: a trigger created through the API with a flowId instead of an automationId starts the newest published version, with the trigger's inputs as start variables. A queue trigger starts one instance per new item and passes it as the variable queueItem. See Triggers and schedules. Instances started by a timer, message or trigger run as the version's publisher. Publish a new version# Edit the draft and publish again. In this example, v2 adds an Over EUR 5,000? gateway so that smaller invoices skip the approval: New instances start on v2. Instances that were already running stay on v1 until they end, unless you migrate them. See Migrate and change running instances. Delete a flow# On the Flows page, select ⋮ on the flow's card ▸ Delete and confirm. The diagram and its versions are removed; instances that already ran stay in Flow Monitor. Next steps# Monitor flows Resolve incidents

Debug-run a draft

Publish a version

Start a flow

Publish a new version

Delete a flow

Next steps