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Loops guide · 7 of 8

Test, publish, and maintain

Save, test, check, publish, and switch on a Loop — then change it safely later.

Saving, testing, publishing, and switching on are four separate actions. Knowing which one does what keeps you from changing live work by accident.

The four actions

ActionWhat it doesAffects live Runs?
Save stepsStores your draft.No
Run testRuns the saved draft for real.No — but external actions really happen.
PublishCopies the draft to the live version.Yes, for new Runs.
Switch on (not Paused)Lets automatic triggers start Runs from the published version. Not needed for manual Runs.Yes

Test before you publish

Publication status and review controls.
  1. Highlight 1: Status: “Nothing is published yet. Run test uses this draft.”
  2. Highlight 2: Check
  3. Highlight 3: Publish
Test control and pause switch.
  1. Highlight 1: Run test
  2. Highlight 2: The Paused switch. Leave it paused until you want automatic triggers.

The header shows where the Loop is: whether anything is published, whether there are unpublished changes, and the buttons for Check, Publish, Run test, and switching the Loop on.

Passing a test is not required to publish, but it is strongly recommended.

  1. Click Save steps.
  2. Click Run test, paste a realistic Run objective into Prompt to Trigger the Loop, and click Start run.
  3. Open the Run. Check the Journey, each step's output, and the outcome verdict.
  4. Repeat with at least three different inputs: a normal one, a very short one, and an awkward one.

Remember: Run test really runs your draft. If a step sends email or creates records, the test does too.

Check

The Check list shows two kinds of item:

  • Blockers — structural problems that stop you publishing, such as a step with no prompt.
  • Advisories — things worth fixing that may cause trouble once the Loop is live.

Fix every blocker. Read every advisory and decide.

Test result and unchanged draft status.
  1. Highlight 1: The test Run finished successfully.
  2. Highlight 2: Still “Nothing is published yet.”
  3. Highlight 3: Still Paused.
Separate publication control.
  1. Highlight 1: Publish this version is a separate choice.

A successful test does not publish anything. The Loop stays a draft, and stays Paused, until you choose.

Publish, check, then switch on

  1. Click Publish. The draft becomes the published version. The Loop can stay Paused.
  2. Click Run this Loop and start one Run by hand. Open it and check the Journey and result — this confirms the published version works.

Worked example

The examples use fictional data. Follow the same checks with approved, non-sensitive information for your own task.

After publishing, click Run this Loop. The prompt field starts empty, ready for you to type. Check the safety limits, then click Start run.

Run this Loop dialog with the prompt field empty, ready to type.
  1. Highlight 1: Prompt to Trigger the Loop
  2. Highlight 2: Safety limits for this run
  3. Highlight 3: Start run

On a published Run, check Loop version to confirm which design ran, then open the step output and compare it with the input. Version 1 and Draft (test run) identify different designs; a completed Run still needs a content check.

Check step output and the published version used for this Run.
  1. Highlight 1: Step output
  2. Highlight 2: Tokens, steps and external actions
  3. Highlight 3: Loop version: Version 1
  1. Only if you want automatic starts: add a trigger on the Triggers tab, make sure it is Switched on, then switch the Loop on so it is no longer Paused.

If you only ever start the Loop by hand, you can stop after step 2.

Change a live Loop safely

Editing never changes Runs that already started. Each Run keeps a snapshot of the version it used.

To make a change:

  1. Edit the draft and click Save steps. The live version is unchanged.
  2. Run tests on the draft.
  3. Publish when you are happy. New Runs use the new version.

If a change goes wrong after publishing, switch the trigger or Loop off, fix the draft, test, and publish again.

Worked example

The examples use fictional data. Follow the same checks with approved, non-sensitive information for your own task.

Open More actions (the three dots beside Paused), then Version history. Inspect history without changing your draft.

More actions menu: Version history.
  1. Highlight 1: More actions
  2. Highlight 2: Version history

Version history identifies the live version and its steps. Bring back into the draft copies a version into your draft; it does not replace the live design until you publish again. Review and test the restored draft before making that separate publication choice.

Bringing back a version copies it into the draft; publication is separate.
  1. Highlight 1: Copies into draft; publish again
  2. Highlight 2: Live version and step count

Maintenance routine

Once a week for active Loops:

  1. Open the Runs tab and look for failed or stopped Runs.
  2. Open one successful Run and read the result. Is it still useful?
  3. Check that limits on the Safety tab still fit what Runs actually use.
  4. Check that approvers listed in Who decides still work in those roles.

Optional: on the Report tab, send a report after each Run, after failed Runs, or after successful Runs, by email or webhook. Reports are off by default.

Test reports are real

Send a test report actually sends a report to the address you entered. A failed report delivery does not change the Run's status, and a delivery that was accepted does not prove the recipient received it.

Checkpoint

Your Loop is published, and one Run started by hand from the published version finished as expected. If you use automatic triggers, they are switched on and the Loop is no longer Paused.