Summary

Flows are Alta's automation builder — chain a trigger and a sequence of integration actions to move data, send messages, or react to events without writing code. The sidebar item is labeled Workflows (route /workflows), but the feature is referred to externally and in our integration articles as Flows. This article covers the full lifecycle: create, build, publish, toggle on/off, and inspect runs.

Who this is for: Anyone automating Alta with another tool — typically RevOps or anyone who would otherwise reach for Zapier / n8n. You don't need to write code.

Before you start

You'll need permission to create flows in your Alta workspace.
If your flow uses a third-party integration (Salesforce, Klaviyo, Monday.com, Microsoft Teams, etc.), connect that integration first so it shows up in the picker. Each integration has its own dedicated setup article in the Help Center.

Step 1 — Create a flow

In the Alta sidebar, click Workflows.
You'll see two tabs at the top: Workflows (your saved flows) and Runs (every execution).
From the Workflows tab, click + Add workflow in the top right. The Add workflow dialog opens.
Enter a Name (placeholder: Enter workflow name). The name is required.
Click Add workflow. Alta creates the flow and drops you on the editor.

Step 2 — Build the flow in the editor

The editor is a drag-and-drop canvas powered by React Flow. The top bar has the editable flow name on the left and a Draft / Published badge next to it.

Pick a trigger

Every flow starts with one trigger. Click the empty trigger node on the canvas and pick from the integration list — for example, a scheduled trigger, a webhook, or an event from a connected integration. The trigger settings open in a right-side panel.

Add steps

Click the + below the trigger to add the next step.
Pick an integration from the list. Available actions depend on the integration — for example, Microsoft Outlook Calendar offers Create event, List events, and Delete event; Klaviyo offers Search Profile, Create Profile, etc.
Configure the step in the right-side panel. Each property has its own input — text, dropdown, datetime, etc. — and you can pipe data from earlier steps into any field using the variable picker.
Repeat for as many steps as your flow needs. The canvas is resizable; drag the divider between the canvas and the step panel to give yourself more room.

Step 3 — Publish the flow

A flow only runs when it's Published. The flow editor enforces a strict draft / publish split.

While editing, your changes live in a Draft version. The badge in the top bar reads Draft.
When you're ready, click Publish in the top right. The button stays disabled if the version isn't valid — hover for the tooltip: "Please fix the errors in the workflow".
Once published, the badge flips to Published and the version becomes the one Alta runs.

Edit a published flow

Published flows are read-only. To change one:

Click Edit in the top right. Alta creates a fresh Draft based on the published version and reloads the editor.
Make your changes.
Click Publish again to make them live, or Discard Draft to throw the draft away and keep the published version unchanged.

Step 4 — Toggle a flow on / off

Back on the Workflows tab, every row has four columns: Name, Integrations (icons for each integration used), Status, and Actions.

The Status column has a switch. Toggle it to set the flow Active or Inactive.
The switch is disabled until the flow has at least one published version. Publish first, then you can toggle.
Toggling Inactive pauses execution — the flow won't run on its trigger until you flip it back to Active.

Step 5 — Monitor runs

Switch to the Runs tab. Every execution of every flow shows up here — success, failure, and in-flight. Click into a run to open it in the same editor, with each step annotated by what happened during that specific execution. Useful for debugging — the input and output of each step is visible inline.

Tips and common pitfalls

"Workflows" in the sidebar, "Flows" everywhere else. The product label is Workflows (and the URL is /workflows), but our integration articles all say "Alta Flows". They refer to the same feature.
Drafts vs published — they're separate versions. Editing a flow doesn't change what's running until you hit Publish. Conversely, publishing replaces the live version — there's no preview / staging step.
Discard Draft is destructive and final. It throws away every change you made since the last publish — useful when you want to start a fresh edit from the published baseline.
Status switch stays disabled until first publish. A brand new flow can't be toggled Active. Publish at least once, then toggle.
Connect integrations from the relevant integration article first. The step picker shows every integration available in your workspace; if you don't see one you want, install / authenticate it first. Each integration has its own setup article in the Help Center.
Use Runs as your debugger. If a flow misbehaves, open the Runs tab, find the failed run, and step through inputs / outputs. Most failures are typo'd field mappings or expired auth tokens.
Naming matters. Flows accumulate. Give each one a descriptive name from day one — the table column is just text, no descriptions.