Error handling settings

Workflows and agentflows can fail due to resolvable errors such as a broken connection, an item that no longer exists, a file with the same name that already exists, or an issue in a third-party service. When such failures occur, running the workflow or agentflow again without fixing the error is costly and unnecessary if the failure can be fixed. Error handling provides a way for designers to address these failures and resume the instance from where it paused.

You can configure error handling settings for each workflow or agentflow to control how instances with resolvable errors are handled. When an instance encounters a resolvable error, it either fails or pauses, depending on the selected settings. Selecting Fail the instance ends the instance when an error occurs. Selecting Pause pauses the instance when a resolvable error occurs, allowing a designer to investigate and resolve the issue before resuming from where it paused or ending the instance.

Important: 

  • Paused workflows or agentflows trigger alerts that are sent to recipients specified in the Alerts page. The maximum number of alerts sent per hour for a workflow or agentflow is 12. This includes all instance failure alerts and error handing-related errors. For more information, see Alerts.

  • The Error handling setting for new workflows or agentflows is set to Pause the instance by default.

  • Publish the workflow or agentflow for changes to take effect.

Change the error handling settings

  1. Go to Workflows or Agentflows. For more information, see Access the Workflows page or Access the Agentflows page.

  2. Click the workflow or agentflow in the list to open it.

  3. On the toolbar, click Settings.

  4. Click the Error handling tab.

  5. Select an option from the On action error options.

    • Fail the instance: This option ends the workflow or agentflow instance if an error occurs. The instance is failed and the instance status is updated to Failed.

    • Pause the instance: This option pauses the workflow or agentflow instance if a resolvable error occurs. Pausing the instance allows a designer to investigate the error, resolve it, and resume the instance. The designer can also choose to fail the instance if needed. When the instance is paused, the instance status is updated to Paused. You can resolve paused instances from the Instance details page. For more information, see Error handling and resolving paused instances.

      Important:  All instances, including paused instances, are terminated when they reach a 1-year running time. Once the one-year mark is reached, the status will switch to Failed. After the status changes to Failed, you can only resubmit or delete data. See Resubmit a workflow.