Test and publish a flow

Before a flow reaches customers, check it, test it against one contact you trust (usually your own phone), then publish it. Publishing makes a new version that starts runs straight away.

Check for problems

In the flow's Draft tab, click Check for problems. You see either "No problems found: this draft can be published." or a list headed, for example, "2 problems stop this flow publishing". Each problem is marked on its step. Click a problem to jump to the step, or press F8 in the outline view to move between them.

Common problems and how to fix them:

The check is for the revision shown. If you change the draft afterwards, the result says "Changes since then are not checked yet".

Test a flow

A test runs the real draft for one contact you name. Only that contact can be messaged, and the test appears in no analytics.

1. In the Draft tab, click Test. The draft is saved first.
2. Under Start as if, choose which trigger the test pretends fired (if the flow has more than one).
3. Under Test contact, search by name or number and choose the contact. This is the only person the test can message.
4. Under What the trigger received, fill in any values the trigger would have set, for example the text of the customer's message for {{message_text}}. Leave a value blank for none.
5. Under Calls to your systems, choose what each HTTP request and Send a webhook step does:
   • Simulate success — nothing is sent (you can give Sample answer values for the variables the lookup would set),
   • Simulate failure — nothing is sent, or
   • Call for real.
6. If any step is set to Call for real, read the warning and tick I understand these steps will send real requests. Real calls can create records, send emails or charge cards, and tests are not undone.
7. Click Start test.

The test run page opens. It shows the test contact, what was tested, when it started, its state, which steps called for real, and every step the run has taken, with the canvas marked to show the path. If you change the draft after testing, the page tells you the canvas now shows the newer draft.

To stop a test, click Cancel test.

During a test

• Messages really go to the test contact, so you can reply from that phone to buttons, lists and questions.
• AI agent steps answer from sample answers, not the real AI; the answer goes to the test contact and no tool is called.
• Tag the contact starts no other flow.
• Each contact can have only one test of a flow in progress. If one is running, click Open that test.

"The test contact has not written to this flow's number yet"

If the flow replies in the customer's conversation (any step without Send from, or an assign, handover or AI step), the test contact needs a conversation on the flow's number. Send any message from the test phone to your business number, then start the test again.

Publish a flow

1. In the Draft tab, click Publish. The draft is saved first.
2. Read the dialog "Publish revision N?". Once published, the flow can message real customers.
3. Click Publish.

You see "Version N is live." New runs use the new version straight away; runs already in progress finish on the version they started on.

If the draft has problems, nothing is published and the list of problems opens. If someone changed the draft just before you published, review the latest draft and publish again.

Warnings

The Publish dialog (and Check for problems) may list things to check, such as a keyword another flow also uses on the same number, a number with no Default flow, or a flow that answers on every number. Publishing still goes ahead; each warning has a button or link to fix it. See Warnings when you publish.

Unpublish a flow

1. Open the flow and go to the Versions tab.
2. Click Unpublish, then confirm Stop new runs?.

No new runs start. Runs already in progress finish on their version unless you cancel them with Cancel runs in progress. The flow's status becomes Unpublished. To make it live again, publish the draft.

Start a flow by hand

A flow with a Started by a person trigger can be started for one contact from its Runs tab. This is a real run, not a test. See Flow runs and versions.