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Terminology

This chapter defines the key terms used throughout the FlowRunner™ documentation.

Flow Concepts

  • Flow - An automated process that runs a series of blocks based on defined logic. A flow can run on its own or pause for human input at designated points. See Flows and Instances.

  • Flow Version - A flow can have several versions, but only one is LIVE at a time. You do not edit a running version in place; you clone it, change the copy, and switch the LIVE version over.

  • Flow Instance - A single run of a flow version. A version creates instances only while it is LIVE; each instance carries its own data and its own Instance ID. Instances start on a schedule, when a trigger fires, or when something calls the flow with Call Flow.

Flow Components

  • Block - The building unit of a flow. Blocks are grouped by the kind of work they do - triggers, actions, AI steps, flow-control utilities, groups, and subflows. See Blocks.

  • Trigger - A block that waits for something to happen outside FlowRunner™ - a form submission, an incoming webhook, a new record appearing. A trigger can sit anywhere in a flow: first, where it starts an instance, or in the middle, where the flow reaches it and waits for the event before carrying on. See Triggers.

  • Action - A block that performs a task within a flow - calling a service, sending a message, running custom code. An action reads its input, does its work, and exposes a result that later blocks can read.

  • Custom Extension - An integration you write yourself in JavaScript and deploy to one workspace. It provides its own actions and triggers, which appear in the flow editor under Local Extensions, and it gets its own page under Custom Extensions in the workspace navigation. See Custom Extensions.

  • Extension - An integration that ships with FlowRunner™ and is available in every workspace - Airtable, Acumatica, AWS Bedrock and hundreds more. Its actions and triggers appear in the flow editor under Extensions. You configure it in your workspace; you do not deploy it.

  • Transform Data - A utility block that reshapes a value as it moves through a flow - extracting fields, converting formats, sorting or filtering a list.

  • Placeholder - A named value declared on a flow version and read through an expression by the fields that need it. Set once when the flow is configured, it holds for every run of that version - the channel a flow reports to, a threshold it applies, or any other setting kept in one list instead of inside the blocks that use it.

  • Condition - A utility block that creates branching logic: the flow takes one of two paths depending on whether its test evaluates to true or false.

  • Loops - Container blocks that run a set of inner steps more than once. FlowRunner™ has two: a List Iterator, which runs its steps once for every item in a list, and a Repeat, which keeps running its steps for as long as a condition you set stays true.

  • Groups - Container blocks that hold and run other blocks. FlowRunner™ has two: an Actions Group, which runs several actions together, and a Triggers Group, which holds several triggers.

Flow Development

  • Flow Editor - The visual, drag-and-drop workspace where you build and edit a flow by placing blocks and wiring them together.

  • Test Mode - Testing built into FlowRunner's Flow Editor, not a separate mode you switch into. Right where you build a flow, you run the whole flow - or a single block - with test data, to check its logic and see what it produces before you set the version LIVE.

Compliance and Monitoring

  • SLA Goal - A service-level target a flow's runs are measured against, such as "done within four hours". You set a flow's goals on its SLA Goals tab, and FlowRunner™ tracks whether each run meets them. See Compliance and Security.

  • SLA Calendar - The business-hours calendar an SLA goal measures against, so "four hours" counts working hours rather than wall-clock time across nights and weekends. You manage calendars under SLA Calendars in the workspace navigation.