Using workflows

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Use workflows to automate repetitive networking tasks, including tasks that require interaction with external applications.

Each workflow is a set of code blocks that are processed in a logical sequence to complete a task. To create a workflow, you choose which blocks you want to use, then sequence and configure them to complete the task that you want to automate. You can use internal code blocks that manipulate variables directly, or integration blocks that submit API calls to external services.

You build, validate, run, test, and refine workflows in the workflow editor. You can then deploy them to API endpoints so that external applications can run them.

Open the Workflows page.

If you are connected to another application, click Workflows.
In the IBM® Concert Workflows® sidebar, click Workflows.

In the Workflows page, the list of workflows is shown. You can search for a workflow by name, description, or by the names of its action blocks. Use the dropdown next to the search bar to select a search type. To include subfolders in your search, after you type your search term, press the Enter key.

You can sort the workflow list by any visible column. Furthermore, you can choose which columns you want to see in the list.

In addition, you can perform the following tasks:

Table 1.
Task	Steps and more information
Clone a workflow	Select a workflow from the list. In the Actions menu, click Manage > Clone. In the dialog, provide a name and location for the cloned workflow.
Compare workflows	Select workflows from the list, click Inspect > Add to compare to view a side-by-side comparison. For more information, see Comparing workflows.
Create a workflow	Click + Create workflow, then indicate how you want to build the workflow. To build it manually, click Build manually, specify a layout type and template, and click Create. To generate workflow by importing a library template, click Select from library. To generate it by using AI, click Generate with AI. For more information about building a workflow manually, see Using the workflow editor. For more information about building a workflow by importing a library template, see Creating workflows. For more information about using AI to generate a workflow, see Generating workflows by using AI.
Create a folder	Click + Create folder, provide a name and description, and save your changes. For more information about folders, see Using folders.
Delete one or more workflows	Select one or more workflows from the list. In the Actions menu, click Delete and confirm whether you want to delete the workflows.
Deploy a workflow	Select one or more workflows from the list. In the Actions menu, click Automate > Deploy. Link the workflow to an API, stage, and endpoint, and deploy it. For more information, seeDeploying workflows.
Edit a workflow’s name and description	Select a workflow from the list. In the Actions menu, click Edit. In the dialog, update the name and description. Optional: Add tags to your workflow metadata. Expand the Workflow tags accordion. In the Values field, enter meaningful tag values. For example, for the Category tag, enter values that indicate the purpose of your workflow, such as `Remediation`. If you intend to make this workflow externally available by exposing it, these tags can then be used by external systems to identify, categorize, or filter the workflow. Optional: Click Update description everywhere it is used to update the workflow’s description in other areas of the system, such as Automation center tiles that use the workflow.
Export one or more workflows	Select one or more workflows from the list. Click Manage > Export and verify that one or more workflows are downloaded. Note: By default, the workflow export is performed by using relative paths. However, if the exported workflows contain dependencies on data from other users, absolute paths are used. For example, if you export a workflow that contains a shared workflow that another user created, the export is done by using absolute paths. If a workflow is exported by using absolute paths, and you then try to import the workflow into another instance, you might see an `Access is denied` error message. Ask your administrator to grant you the required permissions to import the workflow. The View, Execute, and Edit permissions must be granted to your user's role for both the `admin` and `user` folders. For more information, see Permissions. For more information, seeImporting and exporting workflows.
Import a workflow	Click Import, then import the .zip file that contains the workflow. For more information, see Importing and exporting workflows.
Make a workflow externally available	Select a workflow from the list. In the Actions menu, click Automate > Expose externally. In the dialog, in the Exposure path field, specify a unique path that starts with a slash (/). Optional: Click Asynchronous execution if you want the workflow to run asynchronously when triggered by external API requests. Click Expose. The workflow is now available for external systems to discover and run. For more information, see Exposing workflows.
Move one or more workflows	Select one or more workflows from the list. In the Actions menu, click Manage > Move. In the dialog, select the destination folder.
Open a workflow	Select a workflow from the list. In the Actions menu, click Open in new tab. The workflow is opened in the editor. For more information, see Using the workflow editor. Note: Workflows are validated automatically when opened. If configuration issues exist, error and warning indicators are shown in the editor.
Validate a workflow	Select a workflow from the list. The workflow is validated automatically. If validation issues are found, click the Errors and Warnings indicators for further details. Review the suggested actions, fix the highlighted issues and click Validate to revalidate the workflow. For more information, seeValidating workflows.
Push workflows to and pull them from a remote Git repository	In the main overflow (three-dot) menu, click Git config to create an authentication to a remote Git repository. Further options are then shown that you can use to push workflows to and pull them from the repository. For more information, see Using Git with workflows.
Run a workflow	Select a workflow from the list. Click the Run button next to the workflow, or in the Actions menu, click Run. In the Run dialog, select default or custom input variables and click Run. The workflow is validated automatically. Optional: Before you run a workflow, validate it to highlight configuration issues and apply the suggested fixes. For more information, seeRunning workflows.
Copy a workflow’s URL	Click the copy icon that is shown for the workflow. The URL is copied to your clipboard.
View and manage workflow versions	Select a workflow from the list. In the Actions menu, click Manage > Versions. In the dialog, you can view all versions of the workflow and rename, open, restore, or copy specific versions. For more information, seeWorkflow version control.
View detailed information about active workflows	In the workflow list, in theActive column, if a tag is shown, click it to view more information. Click a Deployed tag to see which API endpoints a workflow is deployed on. To edit any of these deployments, click the relevant link. Click a Scheduled tag to see which jobs a workflow is scheduled to run on. To edit any of these schedules, click the relevant link. Click a Tiled tag to see which Automation center panels a workflow is tiled on. To edit any of these tiles, click the relevant link. Click an Exposed tag to see the unique path on which the workflow is exposed. To run this workflow via an API call, you must include the unique path in the call. For more information, see Exposing workflows.
View workflow metadata	Select a workflow from the list. In theActions menu, clickInspect > About workflow and view this information about the workflow: Its hash value. Its creation date. The date when it was last modified and the user who modified it. The time that you save by using it, that is, the manual execution time (MET). The number of action blocks that it contains.
View workflow tags	In the workflow list, in the Tags column, if values are shown, hover over them to see their associated tags. When you create or edit a workflow, you can add tags to its metadata. If you make the workflow externally available, these tags can then be used by external systems to categorize and filter the workflow. For more information, see Creating workflows.