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Manual & test runs

You start a manual run yourself, from the editor or from your own code. New workflows start with a Start node for this.

The Start node

Every new workflow has a Start node on the canvas. It starts a run when you click Run in the editor or call the workflow through the API.

In its default simple start mode, the Start node outputs the data the run was started with: the input of an API call, or the mapped input from a parent workflow when it runs as a sub-workflow. The Include Metadata, Include Timestamp and Generate Execution ID toggles add _start, _timestamp and _executionId fields to that output.

Running from the editor

  1. Open the workflow.
  2. Click Run in the top toolbar (⌘↩ / Ctrl+Enter).
  3. Watch the canvas colour the nodes as the run progresses.

If the workflow has more than one trigger node, the Run menu lets you choose which trigger to start from.

If the workflow has no published version yet, Flero asks to publish the current saved state as the first version and then runs it.

See Running a workflow for what you see during a run.

Running from the API

Start a run from your own code with a Flero API key:

curl -X POST https://acme.flero.ai/api/workflows/<workflow-id>/execute \
  -H "x-api-key: dk_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"input": {"orderId": 42}}'

Replace acme.flero.ai with your Flero address. The body is optional. The full reference is in Running workflows.

Body field Meaning
input The data the run starts with. The Start node outputs it.
triggerNodeId Optional. The trigger node to start from, when the workflow has several.

Flero queues the run and answers straight away with 202 Accepted:

{
  "message": "Workflow execution has been queued.",
  "executionId": "..."
}

The call does not wait for the run to finish. Follow it with GET /api/executions/<executionId>, or in the execution history.

Errors

The common ones are below. See Errors and limits for the rest.

Status Meaning
401 No key, or the key is invalid or expired
403 The key's scopes do not allow this call, or the key is bound to another workspace
402 The AI spending limit is reached
409 The workflow has no saved version yet (NO_ACTIVE_VERSION)
413 The workspace is over its storage quota
429 The workspace hit its execution rate limit. Retry after the Retry-After header.

The API key

Create the key under Settings → Credentials, in the API Keys card, with Generate API Key. New keys default to Read-only. Starting a run is a write to /api/workflows, so the key needs the workflows:write scope or a preset that includes it. See Authentication and API keys.

Send the key in the x-api-key header. Authorization: Bearer is for signed-in user sessions, not API keys.

Replacing Start with a real trigger

When the workflow is ready, you usually start it from a trigger that fits the job: a webhook, a schedule, a form or a connector event.

  1. Add the new trigger node to the canvas.
  2. Connect it to the first node after Start.
  3. Delete the Start node, or keep it if you still want a manual run path.
  4. Save, then set the workflow to Active. See Turning a trigger on.

Tips & gotchas

  • Editor runs do not need an active workflow. Webhook, schedule, form and connector triggers do.
  • One key per caller. Give each script or pipeline its own API key, so you can revoke one without breaking the others.
  • The API response is not the result. It returns an execution id. Read the result from the execution once it finishes.

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