Flow runs and versions
Follow every run of a flow, see what each step did, start or cancel runs, and look at past versions and how many runs reached each step.
Every time a published flow starts for a contact, it creates a run. The Runs tab shows them all, and the Versions tab shows every version you have published.
The Runs tab
Open a flow and click Runs. It lists every run of the flow's published versions, newest first. Test runs are not listed here.
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Started | When the run started. Click it to open the run. |
| Contact | Who the run is for, or No contact (for example, a scheduled run). |
| Version | Which version the run is following. |
| Started by | What started it: a customer message, a tag being added, the schedule, a person, and so on. |
| State | See below. |
Use Filter by state to narrow the list, and Load more for older runs.
Run states
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Running | The run is working through its steps. |
| Waiting | The run is in a Wait step, or waiting for the customer's reply to buttons, a list or a question. |
| Paused for a person | A handover is waiting for the conversation to be released. |
| Completed | The run finished. |
| Failed | A step failed and its failed exit was not connected. |
| Cancelled | Someone cancelled the run. |
| Stopped at the step limit | The run reached 200 steps and was stopped. |
A run's details
Click a run to open it. You see the contact, the version, what started it, when, and whether another flow caused it ("Caused by another flow, 1 deep"). Below, Steps lists each step the run went through in order, with its outcome, and the canvas highlights the path the run took.
When a step was refused or failed, the step says why in plain words, for example:
- Window closed: free-form text outside the 24-hour window.
- Opted out: the contact has opted out, so nothing was sent.
- A person owns it: a person owns the conversation, so the flow stayed silent.
- No conversation: the run had no conversation to send into or assign.
- Template not approved, Error status, Timed out, Allowance used up, Not enough WhatsApp credits, and others.
See Flows and WhatsApp numbers if you see No conversation.
Cancel a run
Note: Owners, Admins and Marketing Managers can cancel runs.
- Open the run.
- Click Cancel run and confirm.
The run stops after the step it is on. Anything it has already done stays done: messages it sent are not recalled from WhatsApp, and calls it made to your systems are not reversed.
Start a run by hand
If the live version has a Started by a person trigger, you can start it for one contact.
Note: Owners, Admins and Marketing Managers can do this. You also need to be able to search contacts.
- Open the flow's Runs tab.
- Click Start for a contact.
- Search by name or number and choose the contact.
- Click Start run.
This is not a test: the live version runs and can message the contact. A contact can be in only one run of a flow at a time; if they are already in one, click Open that run. Because a run started by hand has no conversation of its own, its message steps need Send from set (see Flows and WhatsApp numbers).
The Versions tab
Each publish makes a version that never changes. Open a flow and click Versions to see them:
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Version | Version 1, 2, 3 ... Click to open it. |
| Status | Live (the one new runs use), Replaced (a newer version was published) or Unpublished. |
| Published | When it was published. |
| From draft | Which draft revision it was made from. |
The top of the tab also shows how many runs are in progress, and these actions:
- Unpublish: stop new runs (Owners, Admins, Marketing Managers).
- Cancel runs in progress: every running, waiting or paused run stops after its current step. This is recorded in the audit log (Owners, Admins, Marketing Managers).
- Delete flow: deletes the flow, its draft and its versions; if it is live, it stops. This can't be undone, and is refused while runs are in progress, so cancel them first (Owners and Admins).
A version's page
Open a version to see its canvas as published, with how many runs reached each step. The Runs panel counts production runs only, never tests, and shows totals by state. Click Refresh numbers to update them.
Select a step to see how many runs Entered, were Done, Refused, Failed, are Waiting now or were Cancelled here, and why runs were refused or failed there.
Triggers that started nothing counts trigger events that could not start a run, for example Contact already in this flow, Too many runs starting at once, Webhook named no contact of yours, Run allowance used up for the period or Stopped a loop between flows. These are counted, not queued for later.
To change the flow, click Edit the draft.
Note: There is no button to restore an older version. To go back to an earlier design, rebuild it in the draft and publish again.
For trends across all your flows, see the Automation report.
Still need help?
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