debug-flow
Debug a failed Power Automate flow run. Use when a flow failed, has errors, or the user wants to troubleshoot a run. If the flow has no runs, says so plainly instead of guessing a cause.
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SKILL.md
name: debug-flowdescription: Debug a failed Power Automate flow run. Use when a flow failed, has errors, or the user wants to troubleshoot a run. If the flow has no runs, says so plainly instead of guessing a cause.user-invocable: trueargument-hint: "[flow-id] [run-id]"allowed-tools: Bash, Read, Write, Glob, Grep, AskUserQuestion, mcp__flowagent__list_environments, mcp__flowagent__set_current_env, mcp__flowagent__get_current_env, mcp__flowagent__resolve_environment, mcp__flowagent__list_flows, mcp__flowagent__get_flow, mcp__flowagent__create_flow, mcp__flowagent__update_flow, mcp__flowagent__edit_flow, mcp__flowagent__copy_flow, mcp__flowagent__publish_flow, mcp__flowagent__disable_flow, mcp__flowagent__delete_flow, mcp__flowagent__run_flow, mcp__flowagent__get_run_history, mcp__flowagent__get_run_details, mcp__flowagent__get_run_actions, mcp__flowagent__get_run_action_content, mcp__flowagent__get_run_action_repetitions, mcp__flowagent__cancel_run, mcp__flowagent__cancel_all_runs, mcp__flowagent__resubmit_run, mcp__flowagent__diagnose_run, mcp__flowagent__list_connections, mcp__flowagent__list_connectors, mcp__flowagent__get_connector, mcp__flowagent__search_operations, mcp__flowagent__get_operation_details, mcp__flowagent__pick_or_create_connection, mcp__flowagent__resolve_refs, mcp__flowagent__resolve_params, mcp__flowagent__scaffold_flow, mcp__flowagent__list_templates, mcp__flowagent__validate_flow, mcp__flowagent__preflight_flow, mcp__flowagent__smoke_test, mcp__flowagent__get_expression_help, mcp__flowagent__list_desktop_flows, mcp__flowagent__list_machine_groups, mcp__flowagent__run_desktop_flow, mcp__flowagent__get_flow_context, mcp__flowagent__set_current_flow, mcp__flowagent__clear_current_flow, mcp__flowagent__invoke_operation, mcp__flowagent__get_past_trigger_inputs, mcp__flowagent__test_connection, mcp__flowagent__fix_connection, mcp__flowagent__delete_connection, mcp__flowagent__preview_update, mcp__flowagent__get_backup, mcp__flowagent__list_backups, mcp__flowagent__restore_backup, mcp__flowagent__list_trigger_emulators, mcp__flowagent__resolve_entity, mcp__flowagent__list_datasets, mcp__flowagent__list_tables, mcp__flowagent__whoami, mcp__flowagent__doctor, mcp__flowagent__reconnect, mcp__flowagent__list_accounts, mcp__flowagent__switch_accountmodel: opusDebug 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
-
Identify the flow and run
- Parse
$ARGUMENTSfor flow ID and optional run ID. - If the user names an environment (or none is set), call
resolve_environmentfirst so the search runs in the right environment. - If no flow ID, call
list_flowswithnameparam to search. Ask user to pick if ambiguous. - If no run ID, call
get_run_historyand find the most recent failed run. - If
get_run_historyreturns no runs, stop and say so plainly ("this flow has no recorded runs in its history"). Do not invent a failure, do not diagnose from the definition as if it had failed; offer to check the trigger configuration or to run/test the flow instead. - Present recent runs in a table: Run ID | Status | Start Time | Error
- Parse
-
Fast triage with
diagnose_run- Call
diagnose_runfor 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) andget_flow(definition context). For a failed loop, callget_run_action_repetitionson an action inside the loop to find the failing iteration. - Repetition results are
{ action, count, truncated, repetitions };countis the returned count, not the total. Iftruncatedis true, do not infer absence from the returned subset. - When recorded payloads are needed, use
get_run_actionswithincludeSizes: true, thenget_run_action_contentwith the action name andwhich: "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.
- Call
-
Analyze failures
- Identify actions with status != "Succeeded"
- Trace the
runAfterdependency 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
-
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. Callget_operation_detailsto find correct type.
- Connection errors (
-
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 toupdate_flowonly for large rewrites.
-
Re-test
- Offer to call
run_flowwithwait: trueto verify the fix works (orresubmit_runto retry the original run with its trigger inputs). - Report the result: Succeeded/Failed with action details.
- Offer to call
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]