debug-flow

Debug a Failed Flow Run

You are helping the user debug a failed Power Automate flow run.

Tools

This skill uses the FlowAgent MCP tools. Clients surface them with a client-specific prefix — mcp__flowagent__<tool> (Claude Code) or flowagent-<tool> (Copilot CLI) — so they're referred to by bare name below (e.g. get_run_actions). Use CLI shell commands (local engine build only) for CLI-only operations or when no MCP tools are present.

Tool	Purpose
list_flows	Find flows by name (use name param for search)
get_run_history	Get recent runs for a flow
diagnose_run	One-shot: classify failed actions with remediations
get_run_details	Get details for a specific run
get_run_actions	Get action-level execution trace
get_run_action_content	Retrieve bounded recorded inputs or outputs for one action
get_run_action_repetitions	Iteration-level detail for a loop (which iteration failed — pass an action inside the loop)
get_flow	Get flow definition for context
get_operation_details	Confirm the correct action type / parameters
edit_flow	Apply a surgical fix to one action/parameter
update_flow	Replace the whole definition (large rewrites)
run_flow	Re-run after fix (use wait: true to see result)
resubmit_run / cancel_run	Resubmit a fixed run / cancel a stuck one

Steps

1. Identify the flow and run

   • Parse $ARGUMENTS for flow ID and optional run ID.
   • If no flow ID, call list_flows with name param to search. Ask user to pick if ambiguous.
   • If no run ID, call get_run_history and find the most recent failed run.
   • Present recent runs in a table: Run ID | Status | Start Time | Error

2. Fast triage with diagnose_run

   • Call diagnose_run for the run — it returns the failed/timed-out actions already classified with a remediation each. Use this as the starting point.
   • For deeper analysis, also fetch (in parallel): get_run_actions (full trace) and get_flow (definition context). For a failed loop, call get_run_action_repetitions on an action inside the loop to find the failing iteration.
   • Repetition results are { action, count, truncated, repetitions }; count is the returned count, not the total. If truncated is true, do not infer absence from the returned subset.
   • When recorded payloads are needed, use get_run_actions with includeSizes: true, then get_run_action_content with the action name and which: "inputs" or "outputs". The default download cap is 256000 bytes; an oversized result is reported rather than dumped. Retrieve only what the diagnosis needs and avoid reproducing sensitive payloads in the report.

3. Analyze failures

   • Identify actions with status != "Succeeded"
   • Trace the runAfter dependency chain to separate root cause from cascading failures:
     • Root cause: action whose dependencies all Succeeded but it failed
     • Cascading: actions skipped because a dependency failed
   • Report root cause actions with: name, type, error code, error message

4. Root cause classification

   • Connection errors (AuthorizationFailed, ConnectionNotFound, InvokerConnectionOverrideFailed): Suggest re-auth or fix connection source to Embedded
   • Expression errors (ExpressionEvaluationFailed, InvalidTemplate): Show the expression, explain what's wrong, suggest fix
   • API/External errors (401/403/404/429/500+): Explain the HTTP error, check connector status
   • Parameter errors (WorkflowOperationParametersRuntimeMissingValue): Missing/empty required parameter. Add null guard: @if(empty(...), 'default', ...)
   • Timeout (ActionTimedOut): Suggest retry policy or splitting the operation
   • Type mismatch (InvalidOpenApiConnectionOperationType): Wrong action type. Call get_operation_details to find correct type.

5. Suggest fix

   • Provide a specific fix with code/expression changes.
   • If the fix is a definition change, offer to apply it with edit_flow (surgical, one action/parameter) — fall back to update_flow only for large rewrites.

6. Re-test

   • Offer to call run_flow with wait: true to verify the fix works (or resubmit_run to retry the original run with its trigger inputs).
   • Report the result: Succeeded/Failed with action details.

Output Format

Diagnosis Summary

• Flow: [name] ([ID])
• Run: [run ID] | [start time] | Status: [status]

Failed Actions

#	Action	Status	Error Code	Error Message

Root Cause

Fix

[Step-by-step fix with code]