Inspecting agentic workflows

Flow inspector in context of workspaces in IBM Cloud

In the IBM Cloud environment only, if a workflow is associated with a workspace, then admin and builders who have access to that workspace can access the workflow runs in the flow inspector.

For more information about workspaces, see Overview of workspaces.

Open flow inspector from flow builder

Opening the flow inspector from the flow builder displays the flow inspector and the workflow builder together. This view supports examining execution data and reviewing the workflow structure without switching views.

To open the flow inspector from the flow builder:

In the flow builder, click the .

The flow inspector opens and displays the current flow run details together with the workflow builder. The flow status is displayed, and a Jump to event link that opens the corresponding event. The flow inspector also displays instance‑level details, including instance ID, agent name, environment, initiator, model, run time, and start date.

The flow run details include two sections: Flow events and Parameters. For more information, see Flow events and Flow parameters.

The workflow builder displays a historical version of the flow that matches the configuration that is used during the run. This version is read‑only. The Flow events section lists all flow events. Selecting a flow event opens detailed information for the selected step. Use the Back button to return to the flow events list. Select Show in flow to open the corresponding node in the workflow builder, which highlights the node and displays its configuration details.

To make updates in the workflow builder, click Return to latest version to switch to the most recent editable version of the workflow.

Open flow inspector from tool list or agent toolset

You can access the flow inspector from the tool list or from an agent toolset for a specific tool. When the flow inspector is opened from these locations, you can view both the Flow events and Flow parameters tabs.

From the menu , navigate to Build.

For IBM Cloud environment, select the workspace associated with your workflow in the workspace list.

Select All tools.
Select the options icon for the tool you want to review.
Select Open flow inspector.

To open the flow inspector from an agent toolset:

Open the agent where the tool is configured.
Select the Toolset section.
Select the options icon for the tool you want to review.
Select Open flow inspector.

The flow inspector opens and shows the instances for the selected workflow. By default, it shows the most recent instances initiated by you.

Viewing the flow run list

When you open the flow inspector, it displays the list of workflow runs associated with the selected workflow. This list provides complete information about each execution instance, including the initiator, duration, environment, and model used during the run.

Each agentic workflow run entry includes the following details:


Detail	Description
Flow run status	Indicates the outcome or current state of the execution: - Succeeded: The flow run completed without errors - Failed: One or more instances encountered an issue - Running: The execution is still in progress - Waiting for user: The flow is paused until a user provides input
Initiated by	Identifies the user or system that triggered the flow run
Agent	Displays the name of the agent that is associated with the execution
Start time	Displays the date and time when the flow run started
Environment	Specifies where the execution occurred: draft or live environment
Instance ID	A unique identifier to reference and locate the flow run

Using filters in the flow inspector

The Flow inspector includes a filter section that helps you refine the list of workflow runs and locate specific instances efficiently. You can filter workflow runs by time, status, environment, agent, or initiator. To search for a specific instance, enter the Instance ID in the search field.

You can reduce large sets of results by applying one or more of the following filters:


Filter type	Description
Time range	Select a preset range such as last 1 hour, last 6 hours, last day, or last week. You can also choose a custom range by entering the start date, end date, and times.
Flow status	Filter the workflow runs by execution state: waiting for user, running, complete, or failed.
Environment	Display runs for specific environments, such as draft or live.
Agent	Filter the runs associated with one or more selected agents.
Initiator	Filter the runs triggered by selected users.

After you select the filter criteria, select Apply filters to display the filtered workflow runs.

To clear all selections, select Clear filters.

Viewing flow run details

Selecting a workflow run opens a detailed view of that specific instance. It summarizes the initiator, agent information, execution environment, run duration, and any model used during the run. Each detail view includes a direct link to the workflow builder so that you can navigate to the corresponding node.

The flow run details header includes actions to help you refresh, review, export, or share workflow run information. These actions help you work with workflow run information efficiently and support both collaborative and technical review scenarios.

The following actions are available in the flow run details header:


Action	Description
Share	Copies a link to the workflow run that you can share with users who have the appropriate permissions. The feature supports collaboration during workflow review and validation.
Copy JSON payload	Copies the complete JSON representation of the workflow run, including inputs, outputs, flow variables, and metadata. The JSON payload is useful for auditing, debugging, exporting run data, or including run information in support cases.
View AI summary	Opens an AI‑generated summary of the workflow run. The summary highlights key events, major actions that ran during the workflow run, and any issues detected. The AI‑generated summary provides an overview of the flow behavior without requiring review of each step.

Managing flow run details

The flow run details include two sections:

Flow events, which show the sequence of actions that are taken during the run.
Flow parameters, which display the data that is used by the workflow.

Flow events

Flow events show a summary of each action that occurred during the workflow run. The events list displays all events in flow order, and you can scroll through the list to review earlier or later events. Each event shows its type, timestamp, and execution duration. When you select an event from the flow events list, the details section displays information for the selected node.

The event details include:

Node name and node type
Runtime duration
Option to open the node in the workflow builder to view or update its configuration
Current execution status
Failed node indicators : When a workflow contains failed nodes, the parent node displays a failure notification with a Jump to event link that scrolls directly to the failed event.
Error details: Failed nodes display detailed error information.
Code execution details: For logic blocks and code nodes, the executed code is displayed with line numbers.
Parameters used by the node, including inputs, and outputs.

This information helps you track the execution flow, validate expected behavior, identify points where the flow paused or failed, and efficiently navigate events during troubleshooting.

Flow parameters

Displays the inputs, outputs, and flow variables provided to the workflow. This section includes an Open in flow builder link at the top for quick access to the workflow configuration. Reviewing flow parameters helps confirm that data was processed as expected and validates that inputs were correctly passed to the workflow and outputs were properly generated.

To open flow run details:

From the flow run list, select View details for the flow run you want to inspect.
From the flow run details window:
- Toggle between Flow events and Flow parameters to review the flow execution and data that is used in the workflow.
- Select Flow events to review the sequence of actions in the workflow run.
- Click Open in flow builder to open the workflow in a separate browser tab. The workflow opens with detailed information, including how each node is configured. You can update the flow if necessary.

After you update the flow, run the workflow again to generate a new workflow instance with the changes applied.