Workflows

Automation Failures, Retries, and Cancellation in Velveteen

Updated August 16, 2026

The short answer

Fix the cause, reconcile any unknown provider result, then retry with the same effect key or cancel eligible work.

A failed run is not silently marked successful. The timeline preserves the reason and the exact recovery boundary.

Safe recovery

1
Read the reason
Use the step and adapter error classification before changing the workflow.
2
Reconcile
For an unknown outcome, check the provider by effect key or reference first.
3
Retry
Retry only an eligible failed or blocked step; the stable effect key prevents duplicate external work.
4
Cancel
Cancel queued or waiting work. In-flight provider work remains honest until reconciliation.

Can cancellation undo a provider request?+

Only an adapter with an explicit reversible contract can undo work; otherwise the run records the provider outcome and stops new effects.

A central workflow hub for release operations, recipes, custom automations, runs, waits, approvals, and recovery.

Understand queued, waiting, approval, and terminal run states.

Read a run timeline, approve high-impact steps, reconcile unknown outcomes, and recover without duplicating effects.