How to See and Handle Flow Errors in Salesforce

How to find, route and handle flow errors

A flow error has two sides. The user who triggered the flow sees an error message. The admin gets an email with the details.

1. 1

   Read the flow error email

   The email gives the error message and details of each element the flow ran, and links to the failed flow. Find the element that failed and the values it used.

2. 2

   Choose who gets the emails

   By default the email goes to the admin who last modified the flow or to the Apex exception email recipients. In Setup, open Process Automation Settings to choose the recipients, so the message reaches someone who will act on it.

3. 3

   Look at failed interviews in Setup

   In Setup, search for Paused and Failed Flow Interviews. Open a failed interview to see where it stopped.

4. 4

   Reproduce it with Debug

   Open the flow in Flow Builder and click Debug. Use the same record and values from the error email.

5. 5

   Add fault paths

   On each element that can fail, such as Create Records, Update Records and Get Records, add a fault connector. It runs when that element fails instead of stopping the flow with a raw error.

6. 6

   Log and tell someone

   On the fault path, create a log record, send an email or post a message that includes the fault message and the record Id. Then end the flow with a clear message to the user, if it is a screen flow.

Flow failed on record {!$Record.Id}.
Error: {!$Flow.FaultMessage}

Sources: Trailhead: Handle Flow Errors with Fault Paths; Trailhead: Flow Troubleshooting

The Challenge

Salesforce Flows that lack proper error handling silently fail or show cryptic unhandled fault messages to users, making it difficult to diagnose and fix issues. Admins often skip fault paths because configuring them for every DML operation, callout, and subflow is tedious. Without centralized error logging and notifications, failed automations go unnoticed until users report missing data or broken processes.

Or let Clientell AI do it

Clientell AI analyzes your existing Flows and generates comprehensive fault paths for every element that can fail, including DML operations, HTTP callouts, and subflow invocations. It configures error logging to a custom object, admin email notifications, and optional retry logic for transient failures, all described in plain English and deployed automatically.

How It Works

1. 1

   Identify flows to harden

   Specify which Flows need error handling improvements, or let Clientell AI scan your org to identify Flows lacking fault paths on DML, callout, and subflow elements.

2. 2

   AI adds fault paths

   Clientell AI generates fault connectors, error logging actions, admin notification emails, and configurable retry logic for each vulnerable element in your selected Flows.

3. 3

   Test failure scenarios

   Review the updated Flows in a sandbox and simulate failure conditions to verify that errors are properly caught, logged, and reported without exposing technical details to end users.

4. 4

   Deploy hardened flows

   Push the error-handling-enhanced Flows to production, ensuring your automations fail gracefully and your team is immediately notified of any issues.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can retry logic cause duplicate records or actions?

Clientell AI configures retry logic with idempotency checks where applicable, such as verifying whether a record was already created before retrying a DML insert. For callouts, it uses unique transaction identifiers when supported by the external API.

Where are Flow errors logged?

Errors are logged to a custom object in Salesforce that captures the Flow name, element that failed, error message, running user, and timestamp. This gives admins a centralized view of all Flow failures and supports reporting and trend analysis.

Will fault paths slow down my Flows?

Fault paths only execute when an error actually occurs, so they add no overhead during normal Flow execution. The additional elements for logging and notification are lightweight and do not impact Flow performance under normal conditions.

How do I see flow errors in Salesforce?

Check the flow error email, and open Paused and Failed Flow Interviews in Setup. Then run the flow in Debug with the same record.

How do I get flow error emails in Salesforce?

Salesforce sends them to the admin who last modified the flow or to the Apex exception email recipients. In Process Automation Settings in Setup you can change who receives them.

What is a fault path in a flow?

A fault path is a connector from an element that runs only when that element fails. Use it to log the error, notify someone and end the flow cleanly.

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