Edit active workflows

You can edit a workflow while it's running, but it requires care. A workflow is a logical sequence, changing one block can affect contacts who are already inside it, sometimes in ways you don't anticipate.

How to open an active workflow for editing

1. Go to Automation, then Workflows.
2. Click on the name of the workflow you want to edit.
3. Below the warning message, click on Edit.
4. Make your changes to the relevant blocks.
5. Click Save and start to apply the changes and restart your workflow.

How edits affect contacts already in the workflow

Contacts move through a workflow one step at a time. At any given moment, some contacts may be sitting in a wait block, paused until a trigger fires or a time period passes. When you change a block that comes after a wait block, those contacts will encounter the new version of that block when they resume, not the version that was in place when they entered the workflow.

This can cause contacts to receive a different email than intended, get stuck if a condition no longer matches their profile, or be routed down a different if/else path than they should be.

Tips for safer edits on active workflows

• Only edit blocks that no contacts are currently waiting in or moving toward. Check the workflow report to see where contacts are currently positioned.
• Keep your changes minimal. Correcting a typo in a message or updating a link is low-risk. Restructuring branches or changing trigger conditions is high-risk.
• For major restructuring, create a new workflow and redirect new contacts there, rather than modifying the live one.
• Check the workflow report after any edit to confirm contacts are progressing as expected and no one is stuck.

When deactivating is the better choice

Deactivating a workflow stops new contacts from entering and freezes the progress of contacts already inside it. Use this approach when:

• You need to change the overall structure, adding or removing branches.
• You need to update the start block trigger.
• You are replacing a message that's part of the workflow with a significantly different version.
• You're making several changes at once and can't easily assess the combined effect on in-progress contacts.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Editing a block while contacts are actively waiting inside it. Those contacts will experience the new version of the block, which may not be what you intended.
• Assuming deactivation deletes contacts from the workflow. It doesn't, it just freezes them. When you reactivate, they don't automatically resume.
• Making multiple changes without checking the workflow report afterward. Always verify that contacts are progressing correctly after any edit to a live workflow.

Next steps

• See "Create a workflow" for a full walkthrough of building workflows from scratch.
• See "Workflow best practices" for guidance on keeping workflows simple enough that edits are low-risk.