> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.qawolf.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How Runs work

> Learn how QA Wolf executes runs, retries failed flows, and reports results as completed or needs investigation.

A **run** is an execution of one or more **flows**. Runs can be started manually or triggered automatically by a schedule. Each flow in a run is attempted up to three times in case a failure is the result of a temporary flake.

At the end of a run, it will be marked as one of:

* **Completed** — all flows in the run have passed or been marked *Do Not Investigate*
* **Needs Investigation** — one or more flows failed and have not been marked *Do Not Investigate*
  <Note>
    A flow needing investigation should be reviewed quickly and identified as either a bug (filed in your issue tracker) or a broken test (updated accordingly).
  </Note>
* **Canceled** — the run was canceled mid-execution by a subsequent run matching the same branch and environment

## Where runs can be performed

There are several ways to execute flows in QA Wolf. What you can run, where feedback appears, and whether results are recorded differs by method.

| Method                      | How                            | Feedback                        | Appears in <br />Run <br />History |
| --------------------------- | ------------------------------ | ------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- |
| Individual lines            | Select lines in editor + Run   | Editor only                     | No                                 |
| A test block                | Select `test()` function + Run | Editor only                     | No                                 |
| A full flow                 | Run button in Automate         | Editor only                     | No                                 |
| All flows in environment    | Map                            | Runs tab                        | No                                 |
| Select flows in environment | Select flows in Map            | Runs tab                        | No                                 |
| Scheduled run               | Automatic                      | Runs tab<br />Run <br />History | Yes                                |

<Note>
  Run History in the Automate tab only shows results from scheduled runs. See [Scheduling flows](/qawolf/Scheduling-flows-29c5b2a994fb80789f3fea32feae8f92) to set up a schedule.
</Note>

## Start a manual run

A run can be initiated in three ways:

* Manually from the **Runs** tab
* On a schedule — see [Scheduling flows](/qawolf/Scheduling-flows-29c5b2a994fb80789f3fea32feae8f92)
* When a build is deployed — for example, from GitHub Actions or another CI/CD system

## Flow orchestration logic

Runs orchestrate the *execution order* of flows and their multiple attempts, while the flows themselves report the *results* of each attempt, including logs and video artifacts.

## Attempt retry logic

Flows are attempted up to three times to ensure that a failure was not due to an accidental or temporary environment issue. All flows must report a result before any of them are re-attempted. The concurrency of each wave decreases to further reduce the impact of environmental issues.

1. **First attempt** — each flow executes concurrently unless run rules specify an alternate order
2. **Second attempt** — failed flows execute in batches of five
3. **Final attempt** — remaining failing flows execute serially

Logs and video artifacts for each attempt are available immediately after that attempt.