# Workflow run statuses

A **workflow run** (a flow execution) carries a single status describing where it is in its lifecycle. This page defines the five run statuses, how they transition, and which are terminal. These are distinct from [work item statuses](./work-item-statuses.md) — do not conflate the two vocabularies.

The status values come from the released API contract (`FlowExecutionStatus`) and are surfaced in the builder's run history. See [Flow executions](/api/flow-executions) for the API and [Run history](../monitor-review/run-history.md) for the UI.

## The five run statuses

| Status (`FlowExecutionStatus`) | Terminal? | Meaning | Run-history badge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `PENDING` | No | The run has been accepted but has not started executing yet. | In-progress state |
| `RUNNING` | No | The run is actively executing its nodes. | **Running** (in-progress) |
| `COMPLETED` | Yes | The run finished its configured path successfully. | **Completed** (green) |
| `FAILED` | Yes | The run stopped on an error before completing. | **Failed** (red) |
| `CANCELLED` | Yes | The run was stopped before it completed. | — |

## Typical transitions

A run normally moves forward through these states; it does not move backward.

```text
PENDING ──▶ RUNNING ──▶ COMPLETED
                   └───▶ FAILED
                   └───▶ CANCELLED
```

- A run is created in `PENDING`, then begins executing as `RUNNING`.
- From `RUNNING` it ends in exactly one terminal state: `COMPLETED` on success, `FAILED` on error, or `CANCELLED` if it was stopped.
- A run that has reached a terminal state does not change status afterward.

## Terminal versus non-terminal

- **Non-terminal:** `PENDING`, `RUNNING`. The run is still in flight; its `completedAt` is not yet set.
- **Terminal:** `COMPLETED`, `FAILED`, `CANCELLED`. The run is finished and its outcome is fixed.

## UI and API naming

The API uses the uppercase enum values above. The run-history UI shows them as title-cased, colored badges — for example, `COMPLETED` displays as **Completed** (green), `FAILED` as **Failed** (red), and an in-progress run as **Running**.

Note the spelling: the run status is `CANCELLED` (double "L"). The work item status uses the American spelling `CANCELED` (single "L"). They belong to different vocabularies — see [Work item statuses](./work-item-statuses.md).

## No retry or replay is implied by status

A run's status records what happened; it does not imply any automatic retry. There is no mechanism that moves a `FAILED` run back to `RUNNING`. To re-process a case, you start a new run, or — through the API only — use [rerun](/api/flow-executions#rerun-a-flow-execution), which creates a **new** execution (with its own status and `executionId`) from the original inputs and repeats any side effects. Reruns and run comparison are not features of the Monitor & Review UI.

## Where to go next

- [Flow executions](/api/flow-executions) — the API resource, where `status` is returned.
- [Run history](../monitor-review/run-history.md) — browse and inspect runs in the builder.
- [Work item statuses](./work-item-statuses.md) — the separate eight-status vocabulary for work items.
- [Concepts glossary](./glossary.md) — concise definitions for every term.