Guide: Follow a run step by step
This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-builder/follow-a-run-step-by-step
Topic: Flow builder
Time: about 3 minutes
Who can do it: Owner, Administrator or Manager
Author: https://anantgupta.xyz (Anant Gupta, founder of CommentWatchDog)
Start in the app: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox
Result when done: You know which way one person went through a flow, and why each step decided what it did.
Context: A run is one person going through one flow. Runs, on the canvas, lists every run still going and the latest finished ones; open one and its path lights up on the canvas, with what each step read, decided and sent: the rules a condition checked and whether each matched, the answer they typed, the API's status and time. The Runs page beside Automation lists everything every automation on the page did.

Before you start:
1. Runs appear once the flow is saved and someone goes through it.
2. Runs still going (waiting on a delay or on the person) are listed first.
3. Older runs keep their path; the details of each step are kept for the most recent ones.

Steps:
Step 1 of 5: Open Runs on the canvas.
Where: Runs is in the bar at the top right of the canvas, after Versions. On a phone, the same button without its label.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox (Open the app)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-flow-history.en.webp (Runs, in the bar, and the panel it opens: still going, then finished.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-flow-phone.en.webp (Runs on a phone: the button with the clock and arrow.)
You should see: The Runs panel on the left: Still going first (Waiting, and since when), then Finished, one row per person.

Step 2 of 5: Filter the list.
Where: The chips above the list, each with its count: All, Still going, With your team, Finished. Failed and Skipped join them when the flow has runs of that kind.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-flow-history.en.webp (The chips above the list, each with its count.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-flow-history-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: Only the runs of that kind.

Step 3 of 5: Open one run.
Where: Click a run in the list. Under its row, the steps it went through are listed in order, each with how long after the one before; the same path lights up on the canvas. A bar above the canvas names the person and how the run ended: its two arrows are Newer run and Older run, and the icon after them is Open the conversation, which goes to the chat in Messages.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-flow-run.en.webp (One run open: its steps in order under its row, the same path lit on the canvas.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-flow-history-phone.en.webp (One run open on a phone: its steps in order under its row.)
You should see: The steps it reached are lit; a step it did not reach says This run didn't reach this step.

Step 4 of 5: Read why a step decided.
Where: Click a step on the path. Its panel opens on the right with a box In this run at the top. A condition shows each rule with Matched, Didn't match, or Unknown: Instagram didn't share it, so it didn't match, and a line saying whether every rule had to match or one matching rule was enough. Other steps show what they sent, the answer typed, or the API's answer (Answered 200 in 340 ms).
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-flow-run.en.webp (A condition's rules, each with what it read.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-flow-run-phone.en.webp (On a phone, the step opens as a sheet: In this run, with each rule.)
You should see: Went on by, under the rules: the way this run took (here, No).

Step 5 of 5: See every run of every automation.
Where: Every run, in the full list, at the bottom of the Runs panel, opens the Runs page: everything the automations on this page did, newest first, grouped by day, with All, Needs a person and Skipped above the list and Search people on the right.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-runs.en.webp (The Runs page: every automation, newest first.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-runs-phone.en.webp (The Runs page on a phone.)
You should see: One row per run: when, the person and the automation, what happened, and how it ended (Done, Waiting, Needs a person, Failed).

If something is off:
Problem: Runs is greyed out
Fix: Runs appear once the flow is saved and someone goes through it. Test it on your phone to make the first one.
Problem: A condition says Unknown
Fix: Instagram did not share that fact about the person (for example whether they follow you), so the rule did not match. Unknown is never a match either way.
Problem: A run shows only its path
Fix: It is older than the last runs whose step details are kept; its path is kept, the details are not.

Common questions:
Question: Where do I see why a condition sent someone the No way?
Answer: Open the run in Runs on the canvas and click the condition. Each rule shows what it read and whether it matched, and whether every rule had to match or one was enough.
Question: How long are runs kept?
Answer: On the Runs page, skipped runs are kept 30 days and the rest 90. The counts on the Automation page never expire.
Question: Can I open the chat from a run?
Answer: Yes. Open the conversation, on the run, goes to that person's chat in Messages.

Related guides:
- Retry failed runs: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-builder/retry-failed-runs
- Read the numbers on a flow: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-builder/read-the-numbers-on-a-flow
- Test a flow on your phone: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-builder/test-a-flow-on-your-phone

Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-builder/follow-a-run-step-by-step.md
All guides for assistants: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/llms.txt