Test and deploy workflows

A workflow has two kinds of run. A test run tries the draft you are editing. A production run executes the live release you deployed. Past runs labels each Test or Production.

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Test runs

Every run you start from the canvas is a test run of the draft as it is now. You do not need to deploy first. Start one from a step card:

• Run workflow from here — from that step onward; on the trigger it runs the whole workflow;
• Run this node only — just that step.

The builder saves pending edits first. If they cannot be saved, the run does not start, so a test never runs an older copy than the one on screen. A test run is safe to repeat:

• every action is recorded as Shadowed: test run, not dispatched — nothing is sent and no approval is requested;
• a timed wait is not waited out; the step notes that the wait was not observed;
• test runs never send failure notifications.

A test run uses your own connected accounts and needs the Operator role or higher.

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Test a form trigger

A form trigger has a Test tab. Choose Trigger only or Full flow, then:

• Fill form — type sample values for the draft form’s fields; or
• Replay events — resend one of the last 20 real submissions exactly as recorded. If the form has changed since, Hive names the field that no longer fits.

Sample input is validated like a real submission, for example “Email is required by the trigger form.” A trigger with no form takes no sample input.

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Deploy a release

Deploying turns the draft into a numbered, immutable release and makes it live. Hive checks the whole workflow before it deploys and refuses, with the reason, when:

• the graph is invalid, has a cycle, or a branch leaves a loop;
• a loop or wait has no limit, or the workflow could exceed the 500-step run budget;
• a step reads a value that does not exist, or reads a step set to continue after a failure;
• an action is above your role, or a connected-app step is missing a required field or account;
• a step needs something your workspace does not have: an AI model, web search, image generation, Library file storage or live saved agents;
• an AI condition is blank, or a fixed web search contains a placeholder.

Each deploy is recorded in the audit trail. After deploying, keep editing freely: the live release runs unchanged until you deploy again.

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Versions and rollback

Past versions lists every release. Select Re-activate on an earlier one to make it live again. Nothing is deleted, and the next deploy still numbers from the most recent version. Changing the live version ends the current public form link (create a new one), and can pause a schedule someone else owns until they review it. See Schedules and public forms.

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Pause and resume

Pause workflow stops schedules and forms from starting new runs, without deleting anything. Runs already in flight are not cancelled. A paused workflow shows Resume on followed by the version that was live; selecting it re-activates that release.

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Production runs

Production runs execute the live release, never your later draft edits. They start from:

• a schedule, or Run now on a schedule;
• a public form submission, or Fill in form for an in-app form;
• Run with my accounts by a teammate you shared the workflow with.

Each action goes through your workspace’s approval and safety policy: some run, some wait for approval (the step reads Awaiting approval and the run carries on), and some are shadowed. When the kill switch is engaged, actions are not dispatched and unattended runs are refused. Runs also count against your workspace’s monthly run allowance.

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Failure notifications

List who to tell under Notification recipients in the workflow’s settings (up to 20). When a production run fails, each gets a card in their notification bell. That includes a scheduled run or a public form submission Hive refused to start, for example because the kill switch is on or the workspace has used its included runs.

• Only members of this workspace are notified. Hive sends no email.
• Test runs never notify.
• Each person gets at most one card per workflow per hour. Every failure is still in Past runs.
• The card names the workflow and how the run started, never the error.

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