Flow Lifecycle

This page describes how a flow progresses from creation to completion (or failure) and what clients should do at each stage.

State Diagram

Flow lifecycle: created can start processing or be aborted; processing can complete, fail, or be aborted.

State Meanings

State	Meaning	Client Action
`created`	Flow was created and queued or waiting.	Start polling `GET /flows/{flow_id}`.
`processing`	Flow is actively running.	Continue polling. Do not request output asset data yet.
`completed`	Flow finished successfully.	List outputs, then fetch assets by `asset_id`.
`failed`	Flow terminated with an error.	Inspect flow details and troubleshooting guidance, then retry if needed.
`aborted`	Flow was manually stopped.	Treat as terminal; create a new flow if needed.

Terminal States

Terminal states are:

completed
failed
aborted

Stop polling when a terminal state is reached.

Output Availability

Outputs should be treated as ready only after the flow state is completed.

Recommended sequence:

Poll until completed.
Call GET /flows/{flow_id}/outputs.
Fetch a specific output with GET /flows/{flow_id}/outputs/{asset_id}?include_data=true.

Polling Guidance

Use a fixed polling interval of 3 to 5 seconds for most clients.
Set a client-side timeout window to avoid infinite waiting.
Handle non-200 responses explicitly and retry only when appropriate.

Abort Guidance

If you abort a flow through the start/abort action endpoint, expect the flow to eventually settle in aborted. Use a new flow for subsequent attempts instead of reusing an aborted flow.