Workflows

Why isn't my workflow running?

September 15, 2026
Why isn't my workflow running?

When a TeleportHQ workflow doesn't run on your live site, the most common reasons are: you haven't published since your last change, the workflow is Disabled or marked Not exported, the web app isn't covered by a slot, the trigger is one that doesn't currently start workflows (Item Added, Item Updated, Item Deleted, or A Custom Event is Triggered waiting for Emit Custom Event), or one of its steps fails. TeleportHQ keeps no log of your live site's workflow runs, so you check a workflow with Test this node… in the editor and by looking at its result, for example the new record or the email.

How to tell whether a TeleportHQ workflow ran

TeleportHQ has no log of past runs for live, scheduled or webhook workflows. No screen shows when a workflow ran on your site or whether it failed. The Test runs tab in the workflow editor's right panel only lists the step tests you ran in the editor. To check a workflow:

  • Look at the result. Check what the workflow should have done, for example a new row in your Orders table, an email in your inbox or a message on your page.
  • Test a step in the editor. Right-click a step and choose Test this node…. The step runs for real and shows its output or error. The Test runs tab keeps every test, with its result, duration and AI cost. See How to test a workflow step.
  • Get told about failures. Add steps to the workflow's Workflow Error box, for example a Send Email step that emails you, so a failed run tells you itself.
  • For webhooks, check the other service. Many services, such as Stripe, list the requests they sent to your site and the answer they got.
The Test runs tab of the TeleportHQ workflow editor's right panel, listing the step tests run in the editor

Checklist: why a TeleportHQ workflow doesn't run

Work through these checks in order. Most workflows start running after the first two.

  1. Publish again. Workflow changes reach your live site only after you publish. Scheduled and webhook workflows only work on a published site. See How to publish a web app.

  2. Check the workflow card. In the left sidebar, click Workflows and find the workflow's card:

    • A Disabled badge means the workflow is paused and left out of your site. Click the play button on the card (tooltip Enable workflow (include it in the published app)), then publish.
    • A Not exported badge means the workflow can never run as it is. Point at the badge to read why, for example "Its element trigger is not bound to an element". See Why does my workflow show missing configuration or security warnings?.
    • To list only such workflows, click the filter button next to Search workflows... and choose Not exported.
    A TeleportHQ workflow card in the Workflows panel with its Disabled badge and the Enable workflow button highlighted
  3. Check the web app slot. A web app that isn't covered by your plan or a web app slot stops running after its 7-day window. See Why does my web app need a slot, and what is the 7-day window?.
  4. Check the trigger. Click the workflow's first box and make sure it points at the right thing, for example the right button, form or page. Then check it isn't one of the triggers in the next section.
  5. Fix missing settings. A yellow issues button at the top left of the editor, such as 1 issue, or an orange warning icon on a step, means a step will fail on your live site, for example because an email service has no key. Click the button and fix each item in the Issues window.
  6. Test the important steps. Use Test this node… on data, email and HTTP steps and read any error.

Triggers that don't currently start a TeleportHQ workflow

Some triggers appear in the TeleportHQ Add Node menu but don't currently start workflows the way you'd expect. The editor shows no warning for them.

Item Added, Item Updated or Item Deleted (Data Triggers) These TeleportHQ Data Triggers don't fire when a row is added, changed or removed. Use one of these instead:

  • If a workflow makes the change, for example a form saves an order with Create Item, add the follow-up steps, such as Send Email, right after that data step in the same workflow.
  • If the change happens in another service, start the workflow with Webhook Received when that service reports the change. See How to start a workflow from a webhook.
  • To check a table regularly, for example for new orders, start the workflow with Scheduled (Cron). See How to run a workflow on a schedule.

A Custom Event is Triggered, with Emit Custom Event In TeleportHQ, a workflow that uses Emit Custom Event doesn't start a workflow whose trigger is A Custom Event is Triggered. (The trigger does run for the events a Voice Dictation step reports.) To run the same steps from several workflows, put them in a custom node and add it with the Custom Node step. See How to reuse a group of steps (custom nodes).

Troubleshooting scheduled and webhook workflows in TeleportHQ

A scheduled workflow didn't run at the expected time Scheduled (Cron) workflows need a trial or a paid plan and a published site. Times follow the Timezone chosen on the trigger, not your own clock. Open the trigger and check that it says Project Deployed, then publish again if you changed the workflow. See How to run a workflow on a schedule.

A webhook workflow doesn't run when the other service calls it Check that the other service uses the full URL from Copy full URL, the same HTTP Method, and the right Signing Secret and Signature Header. Requests with the wrong method or an invalid signature are refused before any step runs. See How to start a workflow from a webhook.

The workflow runs but stops partway A step failed, and the steps after it didn't run. Add steps to the Workflow Error box to be told about it, then use Test this node… on each step to find the one that fails.

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Related Articles

What are workflows?

A workflow in TeleportHQ is a visual recipe that makes your web app do something, one trigger (like a button click or a form submission) followed by steps (like saving to a database, sending an email or opening a page), built without writing code; adding one makes a website a web app.

Why does my workflow show missing configuration or security warnings?

TeleportHQ shows a yellow "N issues" button at the top left of the editor when workflow steps still need keys, pages, elements or states (it opens the Issues window), a "N security issues" button when workflow code could leak secrets or run unsafe SQL (critical ones block publishing), and a "Not exported" badge on a workflow that can never run; each one leads you to the step to fix.

How to test a workflow step

In TeleportHQ, click a workflow step and click Test in the right panel (or right-click the step and choose Test this node…), fill in sample values for the data it needs, then click Run test to run that one step for real and see its output; the Test runs tab lists every test of the workflow.

Workflow triggers and steps reference

A list of every trigger that can start a TeleportHQ workflow and every step you can add to it, grouped by the categories in the Add Node menu, with one plain line explaining each.

Why does my web app need a slot, and what is the 7-day window?

In TeleportHQ, each web app needs its own Web App slot to keep publishing and running; a web app without one gets 7 days of full access with a watermark, then its site goes offline and it is archived until you add a slot, and it is never deleted.

How to publish a web app

You publish a TeleportHQ web app like a website, with Publish → Publish to Production; a web app not covered by a Web App slot can publish with a TeleportHQ watermark for 7 days, after which it needs a slot to stay online.