Once a flow is running on a project, you're not locked into it — you can pause it, push individual actions through early, skip steps you've already handled by hand, and step in when an action needs your approval or has hit an error. This article walks through managing a flow that's already applied to a project.
How project flows and flow templates relate
A flow running on a project is its own independent copy. Edits you make to it stay on that project only — they don't reach back and change the template in Flows ➔ Flow Templates. The same is true in reverse: editing a flow template doesn't automatically update flows already running on projects.
Edits you make to a flow on a project stay on that project. To change the flow for all future projects, edit the flow template instead.
To push template changes out to flows that are already running, use the Update projects button on the flow template. That process is covered in a separate article — see updating your flow template on active projects for details.
Finding a running flow
There are two ways to reach a flow that's already been applied to a project.
From the Flows app: Go to Flows in the main sidebar. The left navigation pane shows filtered views: All Flows, Approval Required, In Progress, Paused, Errored, and Complete. These views span all your projects at once, so you can quickly find flows by their current state.
From a project: Open any project and click the Flows tab. This shows only the flows running on that project.
Either way, click a flow in the list to open its detail view — the node-based visualization where you can see each action and interact with the flow.
If you haven't applied a flow to a project yet, see apply a flow to a project to get started.
Reading the flow: status and progress
The flow detail view gives you a live picture of where things stand. The header shows a status chip reflecting the flow's current state:
Complete — green with a check icon; all actions have finished.
In Progress (or Active at narrower screen widths) — blue with a play icon; the flow is running.
Paused — orange with a pause icon; the flow is stopped and won't run further actions until resumed.
Each action appears as a node in the visualization. Completed actions show a check icon and appear dimmed; skipped actions show a skip-forward icon and also appear dimmed. Actions that haven't run yet show their available controls.
The flow list (before you open the detail view) shows a colored progress bar for each flow. For a full breakdown of what each color means, see the flow status and progress overview.
After an action has run, you can't edit, force, or skip it. Completed actions are locked.
Tasks created by a flow are completed from the task itself. For more on how tasks and approval work together in a flow, see controlling flow automation with approval and tasks.
Pause or resume a flow
When a flow is running, you can pause it to stop further actions until you're ready to continue. This is useful if you need to catch up with a client manually or hold off on automated follow-ups.
The Pause and Resume buttons appear in the subheader of the flow detail view, just below the flow title next to the project link.
When the flow is running: click Pause to stop it. A "Flow paused" alert confirms the change.
When the flow is paused: click Resume to pick up where it left off. A "Flow resumed" alert confirms.
The button is disabled once the flow reaches Complete — there's nothing left to pause or resume.
If a flow paused because of an error, fix the error before resuming. See diagnosing flow errors for help identifying what went wrong.
Force an action to run now
Each action that hasn't run yet shows a Force now control — a lightning bolt icon with the tooltip "Force now." Clicking it runs the action immediately, skipping its scheduled trigger timing and active hours window.
Use Force now when a client needs something right away, or when you're testing a flow whose actions are scheduled far in the future.
Open the flow's detail view.
Find the action you want to run early.
Click the Force now control (lightning bolt icon) on the action node.
There can be a short delay before the action completes — the node updates once it finishes running.
Skip an action
Each action that hasn't run yet also shows a Skip and mark complete control — a skip-forward icon with the tooltip "Skip and mark complete." Use this when you've already handled that step yourself, such as sending an email manually, and want the flow to move on without running it.
Skipping marks the action as done without executing it. The node shows the skip-forward icon and appears dimmed, and the flow continues to the next step.
Skipping can't be undone. The flow will not perform a skipped action. If you need the action to run, re-add it in the flow editor.
Approve an action that's waiting
When an action is configured to require your manual approval before it runs, it pauses in a purple "approval required" state. It surfaces in the Approval Required view in the Flows sidebar so you can find it quickly.
On the action node, a purple Approve button (thumbs-up icon) appears. Click Approve to let the action proceed.
For details on setting up actions to require approval, see controlling flow automation with approval and tasks.
Retry a failed action
When an action fails, it appears in the Errored view in the Flows sidebar and the node shows a Retry control — a counter-clockwise arrow icon with the tooltip "Retry." On a failed action, Retry takes the place of Force now.
Before retrying, fix whatever caused the failure. See diagnosing flow errors for help identifying and resolving specific errors.
Once the underlying issue is resolved:
Open the flow's detail view.
Find the failed action node.
Click Retry (counter-clockwise arrow icon) to run the action again.
On a failed action, the Retry control replaces Force now. Resolve the underlying error before retrying.
Edit, add, or remove individual actions
Editing a flow on a project — adding actions, removing them, or changing their configuration — all happen inside the flow editor. You open the editor from the flow detail view.
In the flow header, click the Edit button (pencil icon). This opens the flow editor as a two-column view: the flow visualization on the left, and an Actions configuration panel on the right.
Editing, adding, and removing individual actions all happen inside the flow editor. You can't make these changes from the flow's read-only view. After editing an action, check the rest of the flow — other actions may depend on the one you changed.
Editing an action
Click any action node in the editor to open its configuration in the Actions panel. You can change the action type, its trigger timing (When), or its content. Completed actions can't be edited — only actions that haven't run yet are available.
For a reference on each action type, see flow actions. For help with trigger timing configuration, see flow triggers.
Adding an action
The Actions panel lists available actions grouped by category. Click an action to add it to the flow, then drag it — or use the Move up and Move down controls on the node — to position it in the sequence. Reordering is only available in edit mode.
Removing an action
Open an action in the editor, then click the Delete button (trash icon) in the action's panel header. A confirmation dialog titled Delete action? appears. Click Delete to confirm — once an action is deleted, it can't be recovered.
For a deeper look at working in the flow editor, see creating flow templates.
Delete a flow from a project
Deleting a flow removes it from the project permanently. It does not undo actions that already ran, and it does not affect the flow template.
Deleting a flow from a project is permanent and can't be undone. Actions that already ran will not be reversed, and the flow template is not affected.
Open the flow's detail view.
Click Delete (trash icon) in the flow header.
A Delete flow? confirmation dialog appears. Review the warning, then click Delete to confirm, or Cancel to back out.
FAQ
I edited a flow on one project — did that change my flow template?
No. A flow running on a project is an independent copy. Changes you make to it stay on that project only. Your flow template under Flows ➔ Flow Templates is untouched. To push template changes to active project flows, use the Update projects button on the template.
I skipped or removed an action by mistake. Can I undo it?
There's no undo. To bring a removed action back, re-add it in the flow editor — open the editor with the Edit pencil, then add the action from the Actions panel. A skipped action stays marked complete; re-add it the same way if you need it to run.
Why can't I edit or force one of my actions?
Actions that have already run are locked — you can't edit, force, or skip them. If the entire flow has reached Complete, the Pause/Resume button is also disabled.
An action failed. How do I run it again?
Fix the underlying issue first — see diagnosing flow errors for help. Then find the failed action node and click Retry (counter-clockwise arrow icon). On a failed action, Retry takes the place of Force now.
My forced action didn't fire instantly — is something wrong?
Usually not. There can be a short delay before a forced action completes, since execution runs asynchronously. The action node updates once it finishes. If it still hasn't completed after a few minutes, refresh your page. Then, check the Errored view in case it failed.