Last updated 03 June 2026
When a flow is triggered, an instance is created to track that specific run from start to finish. Every instance has a status that tells you where it is in its lifecycle.
The instance is active and in progress. At least one step is currently assigned and waiting for someone to complete it.
This is the normal state for flows that have been started but not yet finished. Most instances spend the majority of their lifetime in Pending.
The instance reached a Complete node on the canvas. All required steps on the path have been submitted. No further action is needed.
Completed instances are read-only. The full step history, submitted form data, and uploaded files remain accessible indefinitely.
An admin manually cancelled the instance. No new steps will be created or assigned. Cancellation is permanent — a cancelled instance cannot be resumed.
Pending steps that existed at the time of cancellation remain in the history but require no action.
The workflow engine encountered a problem it could not automatically resolve. The most common cause is an assignee resolution failure — the assignee rule for a step could not find a valid user. Examples:
When an error occurs, the instance stops progressing. An error event is logged in the activity log with a description of the failure.