/flowstudio-power-automate-debug

name: flowstudio-power-automate-debug
description: >-
  Debug failing Power Automate cloud flows using the FlowStudio MCP server.
  The Graph API only shows top-level status codes. This skill gives your agent
  action-level inputs and outputs to find the actual root cause.
  Load this skill when asked to: debug a flow, investigate a failed run, why is
  this flow failing, inspect action outputs, find the root cause of a flow error,
  fix a broken Power Automate flow, diagnose a timeout, trace a DynamicOperationRequestFailure,
  check connector auth errors, read error details from a run, or troubleshoot
  expression failures. Requires a FlowStudio MCP subscription — see https://mcp.flowstudio.app

Power Automate Debugging with FlowStudio MCP

A step-by-step diagnostic process for investigating failing Power Automate cloud flows through the FlowStudio MCP server.

> **Real debugging examples**: [Expression error in child flow](https://github.com/ninihen1/power-automate-mcp-skills/blob/main/examples/fix-expression-error.md) | > [Data entry, not a flow bug](https://github.com/ninihen1/power-automate-mcp-skills/blob/main/examples/data-not-flow.md) | > [Null value crashes child flow](https://github.com/ninihen1/power-automate-mcp-skills/blob/main/examples/null-child-flow.md)

**Prerequisite**: A FlowStudio MCP server must be reachable with a valid JWT. See the `flowstudio-power-automate-mcp` skill for connection setup. Subscribe at https://mcp.flowstudio.app

---

Source of Truth

> **Always call `list_skills` / `tool_search` first** to confirm available tool > names and parameter schemas. Tool names and parameters may change between > server versions. > This skill covers response shapes, behavioral notes, and diagnostic patterns — > things tool schemas cannot tell you. If this document disagrees with > `tool_search` or a real API response, the API wins.

---

Python Helper

import json, urllib.request

MCP_URL   = "https://mcp.flowstudio.app/mcp"
MCP_TOKEN = "<YOUR_JWT_TOKEN>"

def mcp(tool, **kwargs):
    payload = json.dumps({"jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": 1, "method": "tools/call",
                          "params": {"name": tool, "arguments": kwargs}}).encode()
    req = urllib.request.Request(MCP_URL, data=payload,
        headers={"x-api-key": MCP_TOKEN, "Content-Type": "application/json",
                 "User-Agent": "FlowStudio-MCP/1.0"})
    try:
        resp = urllib.request.urlopen(req, timeout=120)
    except urllib.error.HTTPError as e:
        body = e.read().decode("utf-8", errors="replace")
        raise RuntimeError(f"MCP HTTP {e.code}: {body[:200]}") from e
    raw = json.loads(resp.read())
    if "error" in raw:
        raise RuntimeError(f"MCP error: {json.dumps(raw['error'])}")
    return json.loads(raw["result"]["content"][0]["text"])

ENV = "<environment-id>"   # e.g. Default-xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx

---

Step 1 — Locate the Flow

result = mcp("list_live_flows", environmentName=ENV)
# Returns a wrapper object: {mode, flows, totalCount, error}
target = next(f for f in result["flows"] if "My Flow Name" in f["displayName"])
FLOW_ID = target["id"]   # plain UUID — use directly as flowName
print(FLOW_ID)

---

Step 2 — Find the Failing Run

runs = mcp("get_live_flow_runs", environmentName=ENV, flowName=FLOW_ID, top=5)
# Returns direct array (newest first):
# [{"name": "08584296068667933411438594643CU15",
#   "status": "Failed",
#   "startTime": "2026-02-25T06:13:38.6910688Z",
#   "endTime": "2026-02-25T06:15:24.1995008Z",
#   "triggerName": "manual",
#   "error": {"code": "ActionFailed", "message": "An action failed..."}},
#  {"name": "...", "status": "Succeeded", "error": null, ...}]

for r in runs:
    print(r["name"], r["status"], r["startTime"])

RUN_ID = next(r["name"] for r in runs if r["status"] == "Failed")

---

Step 3 — Get the Top-Level Error

> **CRITICAL**: `get_live_flow_run_error` tells you **which** action failed. > `get_live_flow_run_action_outputs` tells you **why**. You must call BOTH. > Never stop at the error alone — error codes like `ActionFailed`, > `NotSpecified`, and `InternalServerError` are generic wrappers. The actual > root cause (wrong field, null value, HTTP 500 body, stack trace) is only > visible in the action's inputs and outputs.

err = mcp("get_live_flow_run_error",
    environmentName=ENV, flowName=FLOW_ID, runName=RUN_ID)
# Returns:
# {
#   "runName": "08584296068667933411438594643CU15",
#   "failedActions": [
#     {"actionName": "Apply_to_each_prepare_workers", "status": "Failed",
#      "error": {"code": "ActionFailed", "message": "An action failed..."},
#      "startTime": "...", "endTime": "..."},
#     {"actionName": "HTTP_find_AD_User_by_Name", "status": "Failed",
#      "code": "NotSpecified", "startTime": "...", "endTime": "..."}
#   ],
#   "allActions": [
#     {"actionName": "Apply_to_each", "status": "Skipped"},
#     {"actionName": "Compose_WeekEnd", "status": "Succeeded"},
#     ...
#   ]
# }

# failedActions is ordered outer-to-inner. The ROOT cause is the LAST entry:
root = err["failedActions"][-1]
print(f"Root action: {root['actionName']} → code: {root.get('code')}")

# allActions shows every action's status — useful for spotting what was Skipped
# See common-errors.md to decode the error code.

---

Step 4 — Inspect the Failing Action's Inputs and Outputs

> **This is the most important step.** `get_live_flow_run_error` only gives > you a generic error code. The actual error detail — HTTP status codes, > response bodies, stack traces, null values — lives in the action's runtime > inputs and outputs. **Always inspect the failing action immediately after > identifying it.**

# Get the root failing action's full inputs and outputs
root_action = err["failedActions"][-1]["actionName"]
detail = mcp("get_live_flow_run_action_outputs",
    environmentName=ENV,
    flowName=FLOW_ID,
    runName=RUN_ID,
    actionName=root_actio