{"schemaVersion":"1","contentVersion":"2026-11-01.13","slug":"system-explorer-workflows","updated":"2026-11-01","title":"Workflows","summary":"Find, inspect, test, and troubleshoot your application’s automations.","category":"System Explorer","manual":true,"minutes":6,"prerequisites":["Access to the factory and the resources you want to inspect."],"technical":[],"sources":["Live Rumata workspace reviewed October 15, 2026; controls inspected without modifying resources."],"related":["controls-workflows"],"sections":[{"id":"create","title":"1. Create workflows with AI or manually","blocks":[{"type":"paragraph","text":"There are two ways to create and manage workflows in Rumata."},{"type":"heading","text":"Create a workflow with AI"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"You don't need to build every automation step yourself. Simply describe what you want to happen, and Rumata's AI agent can create the workflow for you."},{"type":"steps","items":["Open your factory workspace.","In the **AI Chat**, describe the process you want to automate.","Explain what should trigger the workflow, what actions it should perform, and what result you expect.","Review the workflow created by the AI agent.","Open **System Explorer → Workflows** to inspect, test, and customize it."]},{"type":"example","title":"Example prompt","text":"Create a workflow that runs whenever a customer submits a contact form. Save the submission to my database, use AI to categorize the request, and send a notification to my support team."},{"type":"heading","text":"Build or customize a workflow manually"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Prefer more direct control? You can also work with workflows using Rumata's visual editor."},{"type":"steps","items":["Open **System Explorer → Workflows**.","Open the workflow you want to modify, or use the available creation controls to start a new one.","Use **Add step** to explore triggers, activities, integrations, AI, and control nodes.","Configure the steps and connect them to define how information moves through the workflow.","Save your changes and test the workflow before deploying it."]},{"type":"note","title":"Good to know","text":"You're not limited to one approach. You can start with AI-generated workflows, customize them manually, and return to the AI agent whenever you need help making changes."},{"type":"note","title":"Check your result","text":"Your workflow should appear in the Workflows section, where you can inspect its steps, test its behavior, and prepare it for deployment."}]},{"id":"open","title":"2. Find a workflow","blocks":[{"type":"steps","items":["Select Workflows in System Explorer.","Search workflows by name or use the trigger filter.","Choose Grid view or Table view.","Open the workflow that handles the task you want to inspect."]},{"type":"paragraph","text":"The table shows deployment status, endpoint, last run, recent activity, average latency, and creation/update dates. A deployed version and unsaved canvas edits are different states."}]},{"id":"editor","title":"3. Understand the workflow editor","blocks":[{"type":"paragraph","text":"The **Workflow Editor** lets you explore how your automation works, step by step. Whether your workflow was created by Rumata's AI agent or built manually, you can explore and manage it using the same visual editor."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Every step is visible and configurable, giving you the freedom to understand how your automation works, make adjustments, and take control whenever you need to. Each workflow consists of connected steps that determine what happens when an event occurs."},{"type":"heading","text":"Explore a workflow visually"},{"type":"steps","items":["Open a workflow and select **Visual** to see its flow diagram.","Find the **Trigger**, which determines what starts the workflow.","Follow the connected steps to understand what happens next.","Click any step to inspect its configuration, inputs, and outputs.","Use **Find a step**, zoom controls, **Fit view**, or the mini map to navigate larger workflows."]},{"type":"paragraph","text":"You can also switch to **JSON** to inspect the workflow's underlying structure."},{"type":"heading","text":"Add or modify steps"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Click **Add step** to explore available workflow components, including:"},{"type":"list","items":["**Triggers:** Events that start an automation.","**Connectors:** Integrations with external services and tools.","**Activities:** Reusable operations and custom functionality.","**AI:** AI-powered steps for processing information or making decisions.","**Control nodes:** Logic that directs how the workflow proceeds."]},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Before making changes, review how each step connects to the others and what information it receives or returns."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Click **Save workflow** to save your changes. The **Saved** indicator confirms the graph was saved. For an existing workflow, Save publishes a new active graph version; inspect HTTP and schedule effects before saving."},{"type":"heading","text":"Example"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Imagine you've built a customer support application. You could have a workflow that:"},{"type":"steps","items":["Starts when a customer submits a support request.","Uses AI to categorize the request.","Saves the request to your database.","Sends a notification to your support team."]},{"type":"paragraph","text":"All these steps can be viewed and managed within the same workflow."}]},{"id":"runs","title":"4. Review workflow executions","blocks":[{"type":"paragraph","text":"Want to know what happened when your workflow ran?"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"The **Runs** section lets you examine previous executions, understand how each step performed, and identify where something may have gone wrong."},{"type":"heading","text":"Inspect a workflow run"},{"type":"steps","items":["Open your workflow and select **Runs**.","Click **Refresh run history** to update the execution list.","Select a run to view its trigger, execution time, duration, and available results.","Follow the **read-only replay** to see how the workflow moved through its steps.","Click individual steps to inspect their execution status and available input or output data."]},{"type":"paragraph","text":"If a workflow didn't behave as expected, look for the step where an error occurred or an unexpected result was produced."},{"type":"note","title":"Check your result","text":"You should be able to identify what happened during a specific execution and which steps completed successfully or encountered an issue."},{"type":"note","title":"Good to know","text":"Available execution history and detailed run data depend on your plan and how long execution records are retained."}]},{"id":"performance","title":"5. Monitor workflow performance","blocks":[{"type":"paragraph","text":"Rumata also helps you understand how reliably and efficiently your workflows are running."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Open **Performance** or the performance summary in **Runs** to review:"},{"type":"list","items":["**Success rate:** How often the workflow completes successfully.","**Recent errors:** Issues recorded during recent executions.","**Average execution time:** How long executions typically take.","**P50 (median):** The execution time at or below which half of measured runs finish.","**P95:** The execution time at or below which 95% of measured runs finish.","**Execution statistics:** Information about the available runs within the selected monitoring period."]},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Always check the displayed time range when comparing results."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"If you notice slow or failed executions, open a relevant run to investigate the individual steps."},{"type":"note","title":"Tip","text":"A successful execution means the workflow finished without a reported execution failure. You should still verify that it produced the intended result in your application."}]},{"id":"test-deploy","title":"6. Test and deploy your workflows","blocks":[{"type":"paragraph","text":"Before making changes available to your live application, you can test your workflow and review its behavior."},{"type":"heading","text":"Test your workflow"},{"type":"steps","items":["Open the workflow and review its steps and configuration.","Click **Save workflow** to save your intended changes.","Select **Run workflow** to execute a test using appropriate input and execution credentials.","Review the response and open the corresponding run in **Runs**.","Confirm that the workflow produced the expected result."]},{"type":"heading","text":"Deploy your workflow"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Once you're satisfied with the results:"},{"type":"steps","items":["Click **Deploy workflow**.","Review the workflow version and available deployment settings.","Confirm the deployment.","Test the deployed trigger or endpoint to verify that the live workflow behaves as expected."]},{"type":"note","title":"Important","text":"Running a workflow can perform real actions, such as modifying database records, sending emails, calling external services, or consuming paid resources."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Use test data and safe destinations whenever possible. Viewing a workflow's diagram does not execute it."},{"type":"note","title":"Check your result","text":"Your workflow should be deployed, and its trigger or endpoint should produce the expected outcome when tested."}]},{"id":"access","title":"7. Manage access and explore related tools","blocks":[{"type":"paragraph","text":"Rumata lets you manage access to individual workflows and explore the components they use."},{"type":"heading","text":"Manage workflow access"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Open **Manage who can access this workflow** to review and adjust who has permission to work with that workflow."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"You can also use **More actions** to explore additional available workflow tools."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Before changing a workflow's input or output schemas, review how other applications or services depend on them."},{"type":"heading","text":"Explore related components"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Return to **System Explorer** to access:"},{"type":"list","items":["**Activities:** Reusable operations and custom functionality used within workflows.","**Connectors:** Integrations that allow workflows to communicate with external services."]},{"type":"paragraph","text":"These components help you extend your automations beyond your application's built-in functionality."}]},{"id":"build-more","title":"Build more than simple automations","blocks":[{"type":"paragraph","text":"Workflows allow your application to do more than display information. They help you automate processes, connect services, work with data, and incorporate AI into your application's behavior."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"And because workflows are part of Rumata's unified environment, you can manage them alongside your application's frontend, backend, database, and infrastructure."}]}],"audience":"general","media":[{"src":"https://docs.rumata.dev/media/system-explorer/workflow-runs.png","sectionId":"performance","width":1513,"height":1040,"alt":"The Runs view combines execution history and read-only graph replay.","caption":"The Runs view combines execution history and read-only graph replay. Illustrative interface reference; your resources and values may differ."}],"video":null,"url":"https://docs.rumata.dev/guides/system-explorer-workflows"}