Skip to main content
Code-managed flows sync on every push to your default branch and preview on every pull request. This page covers the workflow around that sync: validating before you push, reading the Autosana - Code-Managed Flows check, what applies on a PR versus at merge, and how deletes and renames behave.

​
Validating locally

Validate your .autosana/ folder before you push with the autosana CLI (install it if you haven’t). By default it checks the .autosana directory in the current folder; pass a path to validate somewhere else, handy for a monorepo:
The CLI runs the flow- and suite-YAML rules exactly as the sync does — required keys, unknown keys, instructions shape, suite references, key uniqueness — and reports each error per file with the offending line. It exits non-zero on errors, so you can wire it into a pre-commit hook or CI step. It also checks the hook slugs your files reference, including built-in hooks like lease-email-address, against your organization’s hooks. That needs you to be logged in: run autosana login or set AUTOSANA_API_KEY.
A few checks still run only server-side and appear on the Autosana - Code-Managed Flows check after you push: app: name resolution, hook slugs that clash with another repository’s hooks, and hook-file contents (empty scripts, invalid launch-args JSON). A green local run doesn’t guarantee a green check if a flow references an unknown app.
Beyond validating, you can run the tests you are editing, on your own device or on cloud devices, without committing. See Running from the CLI.

​
Sync status & validation

Every sync posts a GitHub check named Autosana - Code-Managed Flows on the head commit — on both pushes and pull requests. It concludes as a failure if there are any issues, otherwise success. The summary reports how many files synced (or lists the errors found), and parse errors are attached as inline annotations anchored to the offending line where one is known, with any “Did you mean” hint appended.
This check used to be called Autosana Flows. If you list it as a required status check in a branch protection rule, change that rule to Autosana - Code-Managed Flows — GitHub matches required checks by exact name, so a rule still naming the old one waits forever for a check that no longer reports.
One broken file freezes the whole repo’s materialization. The apply step runs only when the entire .autosana/ folder validates with zero issues. If any file has an error, the check reports everything, but no changes are applied and previously synced flows stay as they were until you fix it. The check makes this loud.

​
Pull request behavior

In Settings → Integrations → GitHub, expand your repository and choose a Pull request behavior under Code-Managed Testing:
  • Sync and run changed flows (default): validate and sync changes, then automatically run changed flows on pull requests.
  • Sync only: validate and sync changes without automatically running changed flows.
E2E Autopilot is independent and can still select and run tests when enabled. Turn it off too if you want no automatic test runs. You can still run tests manually from the dashboard, CLI, or by tagging @autosana. Both modes keep syncing on pushes to the default branch.

​
Pull request workflow

Open a pull request that changes .autosana/ and Autosana previews your flow changes without touching mainline:
  • Each changed or added *.flow.yaml gets a PR-scoped flow version pinned to the PR, so the PR’s test runs use the proposed definitions
  • The Autosana - Code-Managed Flows check runs on the PR. For mechanical typos on lines you changed, Autosana also posts inline GitHub suggestion comments you can apply in one click
  • Suite manifest (_suite.yaml) changes are preview-only on a PR — a warning notes that suite changes apply when the PR merges
  • Removed flow files are ignored during preview; the archival happens on merge
  • Hook files are not previewed. A PR’s runs use the mainline hook scripts, and hook changes (plus their slug-conflict validation) apply on merge. A PR touching only hook files posts no check at all
The PR check validates each changed flow file on its own. Cross-file checks — repo-wide key uniqueness, suite references, hook slugs and conflicts, and app: names — run at merge on the mainline sync, not on the PR. A PR can go green and still fail after merge (for example, a new file whose key duplicates an existing flow). Run autosana flows validate before merging to catch cross-file issues early.
Pull requests from forks are skipped — no flow versions are minted and no check is posted. Fork-authored YAML never touches your organization; it’s validated and applied by the mainline sync only after the PR merges.
When the PR merges, the merge lands as a push to your default branch, and the mainline sync materializes everything for real: new flows go live, PR-created flows are promoted to mainline, and suite, hook, and deletion changes apply.

​
Deleting and renaming

Removing a definition is a soft delete. When you delete a .flow.yaml, _suite.yaml, or hook file and push to your default branch, Autosana archives the corresponding flow, suite, or hook — it’s deactivated and hidden, but its run history is kept. If a file with the same key returns later, the exact same record is reactivated (history intact).
Renaming or moving a flow file without an explicit key splits its history. Because the key defaults to the file path, moving login.flow.yaml to auth/login.flow.yaml archives the old flow (login) and creates a new one (auth/login). Set an explicit key: (see Flow files) so the record — and its run history — follows the file.
Deleting a hook file while any flow or suite still references its slug fails the whole sync with an “unknown hook” error. Remove the setup_hooks / teardown_hooks references in the same commit as the hook file.

​
Troubleshooting

​
My changes didn’t appear in the dashboard

Possible Causes:
  • The repository is not connected to the Autosana GitHub App
  • The push wasn’t to the default branch
  • Your .autosana/ folder isn’t at the repository root and no Root directory is set for the repo
  • Another file in .autosana/ has a validation error, so the whole apply step was skipped
  • After a force-push that rewinds the branch to older-dated commits, the sync may be skipped as stale — use Resync in the repository’s GitHub integration settings
Solutions:
  • Connect the repository in Settings > Integrations > GitHub
  • Confirm you pushed to the default branch, or use Resync in the repository’s GitHub integration settings
  • Open the Autosana - Code-Managed Flows check on the commit and fix every reported error — apply only runs at zero issues

​
The Autosana - Code-Managed Flows check failed

Possible Causes:
  • An unknown top-level key or a malformed instructions value
  • A suite reference that doesn’t match any flow key, or a duplicate flow/suite key
  • A setup_hooks / teardown_hooks slug that doesn’t match any hook, or two hook files whose slugs collide
  • An app: name that doesn’t match a linked app — or an omitted app: when the repo is linked to more than one app
  • A hook file that’s empty, or a .json launch-args hook that isn’t valid JSON
Solutions:
  • Read the inline annotations and any “Did you mean” suggestions on the check
  • Run autosana flows validate locally to reproduce the flow/suite YAML errors before pushing (app and hook errors surface only on the check)

​
My PR check passed but nothing applied after merge

Possible Causes:
  • The PR check validates each changed flow file on its own; cross-file checks (duplicate keys, suite references, hook slugs/conflicts, app: names) run at merge
Solutions:
  • Open the Autosana - Code-Managed Flows check on the merge commit and fix the reported cross-file errors
  • Run autosana flows validate on the whole .autosana/ folder before merging

​
A run from the terminal fails

Errors from autosana run (an app that isn’t found, a flow key that isn’t found, a suite refused because a file on the branch could not be read) are covered in Running from the CLI.

​
The dashboard won’t let me edit a flow

Possible Causes:
  • The flow is code-managed and therefore read-only in the dashboard
Solutions:
  • Edit the linked .autosana/ YAML file in your repository and push, or open a PR to preview the change

​
Next Steps