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Runs, Logs & Debugging Guide

Overview

This guide teaches you how to use Defense Catalyst’s debugging tools to inspect workflow executions, diagnose issues, and understand what’s happening in your flows.

What you’ll learn:

Finding Run History

Accessing Runs

From Flow Builder:

  1. Open your flow
  2. Click “Runs” tab or “View Runs” button
  3. See all executions for this flow

From Dashboard:

  1. Go to main dashboard
  2. Click “Runs” in navigation
  3. See all runs across all flows

From Workspace:

  1. Navigate to workspace view
  2. Select “All Runs”
  3. Filter by flow, status, date

Run List View

Each run shows:

Filtering Runs

By Status

Succeeded ✅

Failed ❌

Running ⏳

Stopped ⏹️

By Date Range

By Flow

By Trigger Type

Inspecting a Run

Run Overview

Click on any run to see details:

Header Information:

Quick Actions:

Step-by-Step Execution View

See each step in your flow:

1. ✅ Webhook Trigger
   Duration: 0.1s
   Status: Success

2. ✅ Get User Data
   Duration: 0.5s
   Status: Success

3. ❌ Send Email
   Duration: 2.0s
   Status: Failed
   Error: Authentication failed

4. ⏭️ Update Database
   Status: Skipped (previous step failed)

Inspecting Step Details

Click on any step to see:

Input Data:

Output Data:

Error Information (if failed):

Execution Metadata:

Understanding Run Statuses

Success ✅

What it means:

What to check:

Common issues:

Failed ❌

What it means:

What to check:

Common causes:

Running ⏳

What it means:

What to check:

If stuck:

Stopped ⏹️

What it means:

What to check:

Debugging Failed Runs

Step 1: Identify the Failing Step

  1. Open failed run
  2. Find step with ❌ error icon
  3. Note step name and type
  4. Check if it’s trigger or action

Step 2: Read the Error Message

  1. Click on failed step
  2. Expand error details
  3. Read full error message
  4. Note error code (if present)
  5. Look for specific details

Example Error Messages:

❌ Authentication failed
Connection credentials are invalid or expired.
Error Code: CONNECTION_INVALID

❌ Rate limit exceeded
Too many requests. Try again in 60 seconds.
Error Code: RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED

❌ Invalid input
Required field 'email' is missing.
Error Code: REQUIRED_FIELD_MISSING

Step 3: Inspect Input Data

  1. Expand “Input” section of failed step
  2. Check all input fields
  3. Verify required fields have values
  4. Check data format is correct
  5. Look for null/undefined values

What to look for:

Step 4: Check Previous Steps

  1. Review steps before the failure
  2. Verify they completed successfully
  3. Check their output data
  4. Ensure data is available for mapping

Common issues:

Step 5: Verify Configuration

  1. Open flow editor
  2. Check failed step configuration
  3. Verify all settings correct
  4. Check connection is active
  5. Test connection if needed

Step 6: Test in Isolation

  1. Create test flow with just failing step
  2. Use known good data
  3. Test step independently
  4. Identify if issue is step-specific or data-specific

Common Failure Patterns

Intermittent Failures

Symptoms:

Common causes:

Solutions:

Consistent Failures

Symptoms:

Common causes:

Solutions:

Data-Dependent Failures

Symptoms:

Common causes:

Solutions:

Timeout Failures

Symptoms:

Common causes:

Solutions:

Debugging Strategies

1. Start from the Beginning

2. Follow the Data

3. Isolate the Problem

4. Check External Dependencies

5. Compare Working vs Failing

6. Use Test Mode

Debugging Tools

Run Details View

What it shows:

How to use:

Test Mode

What it does:

How to use:

Connection Tester

What it does:

How to use:

Data Inspector

What it shows:

How to use:

Retry Logic

Manual Retry

When to use:

How to retry:

  1. Open failed run
  2. Click “Retry” button
  3. Run executes again with same data
  4. Check if successful

Automatic Retry

How it works:

Retry schedule:

Attempt 1: Immediate
Attempt 2: After 1 minute
Attempt 3: After 5 minutes
Attempt 4: After 15 minutes
Attempt 5: After 1 hour

Not retried automatically:

What to Include When Contacting Support

When you need help debugging, provide:

Required Information

Workspace ID:

Flow ID:

Run ID:

Timestamp:

Error Message:

Helpful Information

Screenshots:

Steps to Reproduce:

  1. What you did
  2. What you expected
  3. What actually happened

Recent Changes:

Environment:

Support Request Template

Subject: Flow Execution Failed - [Brief Description]

Workspace ID: ws_xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Flow ID: flow_xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Run ID: run_xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Timestamp: 2026-01-18 14:30:00 UTC

Error Message:
[Exact error text]

Description:
[What you were trying to accomplish]

Steps to Reproduce:
1. [Step 1]
2. [Step 2]
3. [Error occurs]

Expected Behavior:
[What should happen]

Actual Behavior:
[What actually happened]

Recent Changes:
[Any recent modifications]

Troubleshooting Attempted:
- [What you've tried]
- [Results of attempts]

Screenshots:
[Attach screenshots]

Best Practices

During Development

During Operation

For Debugging

Quick Reference

Run Status Icons

Common Debug Steps

  1. Find failed step
  2. Read error message
  3. Check input data
  4. Verify configuration
  5. Test connection
  6. Retry if temporary error

When to Contact Support