App runner

How to run, test, and monitor Draft & Goal workflows from App runner: manual and scheduled execution, real-time node status, outputs, and debugging failures.

Overview#

Once you’ve built a workflow, it’s time to run it. This guide covers everything from manual testing to monitoring production executions.

Running a workflow#

Manual execution#

The quickest way to test your workflow:

1. Click the App button in the top-right corner to open App runner
2. A panel opens showing your workflow’s input form
3. Fill in any required inputs
4. Click Generate

Execution modes#

Mode	Description	Use case
Run once	Execute a single time	Testing, one-off tasks
Run with inputs	Provide custom inputs	Processing specific data
Scheduled	Run automatically	Regular reports, monitoring

Monitoring execution#

Real-time progress#

While your workflow runs, you can see:

• Current node: Which node is executing
• Progress: How many nodes completed
• Duration: Time elapsed
• Status: Running, completed, or failed

Node status indicators#

Color	Status
🔵 Blue	Currently executing
🟢 Green	Completed successfully
🔴 Red	Failed with error
⚪ Grey	Not yet executed

Viewing outputs#

Click on any completed node to see:

• Output data: The actual result
• Execution time: How long it took
• Logs: Detailed execution logs

Debugging workflows#

Common issues#

Node shows 'undefined' output

Cause: The previous node didn’t return expected data.

Solution:

1. Check the previous node’s output
2. Verify your variable path is correct
3. Add a Conditional node to handle missing data

API node returns error

Cause: External service issue or invalid configuration.

Solution:

1. Check your API credentials
2. Verify the endpoint URL
3. Test the API directly with curl or Postman
4. Check rate limits

Loop never completes

Cause: Too many items or infinite loop condition.

Solution:

1. Add a maximum iteration limit
2. Check your loop exit condition
3. Process data in batches

Workflow times out

Cause: Processing takes too long.

Solution:

1. Increase timeout in workflow settings
2. Optimize slow nodes
3. Run heavy operations in parallel

Using run history#

Access the complete history of all workflow executions:

1. Open your workflow
2. Click on the Run History tab
3. View all past executions with their status, duration, and outputs

The run history table displays:

• ID: Unique identifier for each run
• Created At: Date and time of execution
• Status: Done, Failed, or Running
• Duration: Total execution time
• Workflow Version: Draft or Published version used
• Steps: Click the eye icon to view detailed step information
• Main Output: Quick access to the final result

Viewing step details#

Click the Steps icon (👁) on any run to see a detailed breakdown of each node’s execution:

The step details panel shows:

• Workflow steps: List of all executed nodes with status indicators
• Execution time: Duration for each individual node
• Compact mode: Toggle to show/hide details
• Render/Code view: Switch between formatted output and raw data
• Copy/Download: Export the output data

Step-by-step debugging#

For complex issues:

1. Isolate the problem: Disable nodes after the failing one
2. Check inputs: Verify the failing node receives correct data
3. Test manually: Run the operation outside Draft & Goal
4. Review connections: Ensure data flows correctly
5. Compare runs: Use history to compare successful vs failed executions

Debugging AI Agents#

AI Agent nodes require special debugging because they make autonomous decisions. Draft & Goal provides a dedicated Agent Trace feature to understand exactly what your agent did.

Accessing Agent Traces#

When viewing workflow steps, AI Agent nodes display a clock icon (🕐) next to their execution time. Click this icon to open the trace viewer:

Understanding Agent Traces#

The Agent Trace panel shows the complete conversation between the AI and its tools:

The trace includes:

Message Type	Description
System	The initial instructions given to the agent
Human	The task or prompt your workflow sent
AI	The agent’s reasoning and tool calls
Tool	Results returned by tools the agent used

Common agent debugging scenarios#

Agent uses wrong tool

Check: Review the System message - are instructions clear?

Solution: Refine your agent prompt to be more specific about when to use each tool.

Agent loops indefinitely

Check: Look for repeated tool calls with same parameters.

Solution: Add clearer success criteria or a maximum iteration limit in your prompt.

Agent returns incomplete results

Check: Examine the Tool responses - did they return expected data?

Solution: Verify tool configurations and test tools independently.

Error handling#

Built-in error handling#

Configure how your node handles failures:

Workflow settings → Error Handling

Option	Behavior
Stop on error	Halt workflow immediately
Continue on error	Skip failed node, continue
Retry	Attempt failed node again

Using the Stop Node#

Gracefully handle expected errors:

1. Add a Conditional node to check for problems
2. Route to a Stop Node with a clear message
3. The workflow stops with your custom error

If {{response.status}} != 200
  → Stop: "API returned error: {{response.error}}"

Performance optimization#

Identify bottlenecks#

After running, check execution times:

1. Look at the duration for each node
2. Find the slowest nodes
3. Optimize or parallelize them

Parallel execution#

Run independent operations simultaneously:

        ┌→ Scrape Site A →┐
Input →│                   │→ Merge → Output
        └→ Scrape Site B →┘

Instead of:

Input → Scrape Site A → Scrape Site B → Output

Caching strategies#

Reduce redundant API calls:

• Use Google Sheets as a cache layer
• Check if data exists before fetching
• Set appropriate cache TTLs

Batch processing#

Process large datasets efficiently:

1. Use the Loop node with batch settings
2. Set reasonable batch sizes (10-50 items)
3. Add delays between batches for rate limits

Execution history#

Viewing past runs#

Access the execution history:

1. Go to Workflows in the main menu
2. Click on your workflow
3. Select the Runs tab

See:

• Run date and time
• Duration
• Status (success/failure)
• Input values used

Re-running workflows#

To repeat a previous execution:

1. Find the run in history
2. Click Run again
3. Optionally modify inputs
4. Execute

Exporting results#

Download execution data:

1. Click on a completed run
2. Select Export
3. Choose format (JSON, CSV)

Scheduled execution#

Setting up schedules#

Run workflows automatically:

1. Open workflow settings
2. Go to Schedule
3. Choose frequency:

Schedule	Example
Hourly	Every hour at :00
Daily	Every day at 9:00 AM
Weekly	Every Monday at 8:00 AM
Custom	Cron expression

Cron expressions#

For advanced scheduling:

┌───────────── minute (0-59)
│ ┌───────────── hour (0-23)
│ │ ┌───────────── day of month (1-31)
│ │ │ ┌───────────── month (1-12)
│ │ │ │ ┌───────────── day of week (0-6)
│ │ │ │ │
* * * * *

Examples:

• 0 9 * * 1 - Every Monday at 9:00 AM
• 0 */6 * * * - Every 6 hours
• 30 8 1 * * - 1st of each month at 8:30 AM

Monitoring scheduled runs#

Check scheduled execution status:

1. View upcoming runs in the Schedule tab
2. Get notifications on failures
3. Review execution history

Next steps#