Runs and restarting
Every time an automation starts, Harmony records a run — what happened, step by step. This is where you check that an automation is working, and where you restart the ones that stopped.
Open run history
Either:
- Open the automation and select the Execution tab, or
- Open the ⋮ menu on its row in the Studio list and choose Execution history, or
- Select the number in the Runs column, which counts the last 30 days.
Runs are listed newest first. Select one to see its steps on the right.
Older runs are removed automatically. There is no way to export them.
Read a run
Each run and each step inside it carries a status:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| In progress | Still going. Steps appear as they finish. |
| Completed | Finished successfully. |
| Failed | Stopped before it finished. |
| Skipped | Not needed on this run — usually a path an If step did not take. |
Two more appear once you have acted on a run:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Re-run | You started this run again. It is superseded by a newer attempt — Open the re-run goes to it. |
| Dismissed | You chose to stop chasing it. Nothing was granted and nothing was re-run. |
Where a step handed work to an agent, Open companion thread takes you to the full conversation, which is the best place to see exactly what the agent did.
Why a run stopped
An automation works while you are not watching, so it cannot interrupt you mid-run. When it needs you, it stops and waits. There are three reasons, and each has its own badge in the Studio list.
Failed
Failed means something went wrong — a tool returned an error, or an external service was unreachable. Open the run to see which step failed and what it reported.
Fix the cause, then re-run it.
Permission needed
Needs permission means the agent tried to do something it is not allowed to do unattended.
There is no button that grants a one-off permission. What an automation may do is decided by the agent the step runs as, so the fix is to give that agent the tool it was missing:
- Open the run and find the step that stopped. It names the tool it needed.
- Select Settings, next to Run this step as. That opens the agent the step runs as — by default, your Companion.
- Give that agent the missing tool, and save.
- Return to the run and select Apply and re-run.
An automation has nobody to ask mid-run, so any tool its agent holds, it may use on its own. Grant only what you are comfortable with it doing unattended.
Run this step as also lets you point the step at a different agent, but that rarely resolves a missing tool today — granting the tool through Settings is the reliable route.
Question asked
Needs your answer means the agent needed information only you have.
Type your answer in the run and select Answer and re-run. Your answer is carried into a new run, which is what lets the rest of the automation continue.
Replying in the agent's own conversation finishes that conversation but leaves the run where it stopped. Only Answer and re-run continues the automation.
Re-run
Select Retry in the run's details.
Steps that already succeeded are not repeated — the run picks up from where it stopped. Anything after that point happens again, so an automation that sends email or calls another service will do so from the stop point onwards.
If the automation is switched off, switch it back on first. Runs only start while an automation is active.
Several at once
When more than one automation is waiting, Re-run N failed automations appears at the top of the Studio list. This is the quickest way to clear a backlog after fixing the thing they were all waiting on, such as giving an agent a missing tool.
A few things to expect:
- It starts one run per automation — the most recent stopped one. Where the same automation stopped several times, open its run history to restart the earlier ones.
- Automations waiting for an answer are left out, because only you can supply it.
- It works in batches. If more are still waiting afterwards, select it again.
Dismiss a run
If a run stopped and you do not intend to do anything about it, select Dismiss. The run stays in the history exactly as it happened; it simply stops asking for your attention. Dismissing grants nothing and re-runs nothing.
Troubleshooting
- The automation never runs. Check it is Active, and that the event you expect is one caused by you — automations do not react to a colleague's activity.
- It ran but did nothing useful. Open the run and read the step-by-step details, then Open companion thread for the agent's full reasoning.
- It keeps stopping for the same permission. The agent it runs as is missing that tool. Repointing the step is a one-time fix; re-running without changing anything will stop in the same place.
- Nothing restarted it on its own. Nothing ever does. A stopped run waits for you.