Studio User Guide

Last updated Feb 26, 2025

Long Running Workflows

Long Running Workflow automations allow you to model and automate complex business processes using Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) concepts. BPMN is a standardized graphical representation used to illustrate business processes and information flows. Its widespread adoption helps facilitate the understanding of business activities, process management, and process improvement.

With long running workflows, you can design business processes with complex flow control logic by integrating automated, human, and decision-based tasks while leveraging UI, API, and AI-powered capabilities.

Long running workflows have a new redesigned designer and use dedicated activities grouped under the Long Running Workflow category in the Activities panel. Each node in the designer represents an activity that can be configured directly in the canvas, or require a few quick configuration steps. Additionally, each node can be tracked in Process Mining to get a view of the process and further optimize it.

By combining BPMN concepts with the power of RPA, long running workflows enable you to:

Use a new canvas for designing your long-running enterprise processes in an industry-standard BPMN format.
Obtain a unified view of automations across end-to-end processes.
Leverage activities and activity templates for faster process modeling.
Enhance error handling and resiliency through Error Boundary Event and Error End Event activities.
Discover bottlenecks, identify improvement areas, and optimize your process.

Some key use cases for long running workflows include:

Invoice processing
HR onboarding
Ticket management
Order fulfillment
Incident management

Creating and Configuring a Long Running Workflow

To create a long running workflow in Studio:

Navigate to the Start tab in Studio Backstage View.
In the New from template panel, select the Long Running Automation template.
In the new project window, edit the details of the automation.
Select Create.

You can also navigate to the Templates tab in Studio Backstage View and search for the Long Running Automation template, then select Use Template in the template window.

The following default dependencies are installed when creating a Long Running Workflow:

UiPath.FlowchartBuilder.Activities
UiPath.System.Activities

Note: The UiPath.FlowchartBuilder.Activities package is mandatory and should not be removed from the list of project dependencies.

Alternatively, you can manually add the UiPath.FlowchartBuilder.Activities package and create a new long running workflow from inside a project. To do this:

Create a new project from the Studio Backstage View.
Select the Manage Packages button in the ribbon.
Navigate to the All Packages category in the Manage Packages window.
Search for the latest version of the Flowchart Builder Activities package and install it.
Select the New button in the ribbon and create a new Long Running Workflow.
In the Long Running Workflow window, edit the details of the automation and select Create.

You can also use the Autopilot panel to generate a long running workflow from a BPMN file:

Navigate to the Autopilot panel.
In the Generate Long Running Workflow option, select the Generate button.
Locate the desired BPMN file and select Open.

Note: Generating a long running workflow from a BPMN file replaces any content in the Designer.

Activities

Long Running Workflow projects use a distinct set of activities, which are part of the Flowchart Builder Activities package.

Similar to Flowcharts, long running workflows feature interconnected nodes. Each node represents an activity that can be configured in the designer or in the Properties panel. Some activities act as events that control process executions, while others act as placeholders for other activities and workflows. Configuring some activities may require you to navigate into the sequence.

Activities are grouped under these categories:

Start Events: Define how and when a process begins. They represent the entry point for a process.
Tasks: Represent the building blocks of a process. Tasks act as placeholders for actions or operations to be performed in the process.
Subprocesses: Represent tasks that group related elements within a process to simplify the workflow and improve readability.
Gateways: Define decision points or control flow logic in a process, enabling conditional routing or parallel execution of workflows.
Intermediate Events: Represent points within a process where specific actions pause the workflow.
Boundary Events: Attach to a Task or a Subprocess and route execution on a different path.
End Events: Mark the conclusion of a process path. Some end events represent visual markers, while others trigger specific actions.

Refer to Flowchart Builder Activities in the Workflow Activities guide for detailed descriptions for each activity, as well as use cases and examples on how to best integrate these activities in your long running automations.

Key Functionalities

Every long running workflow starts by default with a Start Event activity added to the designer. You can move the Start Event node in the designer, but you cannot delete it.

You can add other activities to your Long Running Workflow project from the Activities panel. The panel contains only activities that can be used in a BPMN context, grouped under the Long Running Workflow category. The Activities panel also features a Recommended category, which contains root activities that can be transformed into other elements.

Some activities may require setting a template or changing the activity configuration. Right-click any activity added to the designer to open the context menu. Here you can use the Change Type option to modify the way in which some activities behave:

Change a Task into an Agentic Task, User Task, Business Rule Task, Service Task, Send Task, Receive Task, or Subprocess.
Change the Start Event into a Timer Start Event or a Message Start Event.
Change an Intermediate Event into a Timer Intermediate Catch Event or a Message Intermediate Catch Event.
Change an End Event into an Error End Event or a Terminate End Event.