Flow Interview
A Flow Interview is a single running instance of a flow.
Definition
A Flow Interview is a single running instance of a flow. When a user launches a screen flow, a record triggers a record-triggered flow, or Apex calls an autolaunched flow, Salesforce creates one Flow Interview to track that execution. The interview holds the current element, the value of every flow variable, the running user context, and the audit trail from start to finish.
Most interviews finish in milliseconds and never appear in the database. Paused screen flows, scheduled-path entries, and any interview that hits a Pause element persist as rows in the FlowInterview standard object. Admins can monitor in-progress interviews under Setup, Paused and Waiting Interviews, resume them on behalf of the user, or delete them when the underlying scenario no longer applies.
How one flow definition spawns thousands of interviews
Flow definition vs. flow interview
The Flow record under Setup, Flows is the definition: the metadata blueprint that describes what the flow does. The Flow Interview is a runtime object created every time that definition runs. One active record-triggered flow on Opportunity might generate ten thousand interviews in a day; each one lives long enough to evaluate the logic, then disappears unless something pauses it. The split is the same as a class versus an instance in Apex.
When interviews persist
Interviews persist when a screen flow user hits Pause, when an autolaunched flow with a Wait element waits for time or event, or when a scheduled path queues the after-save part of a record-triggered flow. Persisted interviews live in the FlowInterview standard object, which has fields for CurrentElement, InterviewLabel, InterviewStatus, PauseLabel, OwnerId, and Guest user references. Query them with SOQL, expose them on a custom list view, or delete them by row.
Resuming a paused interview
Salesforce builds a Paused Interviews component into the Home page and a Paused and Waiting Interviews node in Setup. Users see only the interviews they own. Click Resume to reload the flow at the element where it paused, with every variable already populated from the persisted state. Admins resume on behalf of users by editing the OwnerId, but doing so changes the running-user context, which affects record sharing.
Interview limits and bulk behavior
Each interview counts as one execution against governor limits. Bulk DML on a record-triggered flow can fire hundreds of interviews in the same transaction; the platform groups them under one Apex transaction and shares the 100 SOQL and 150 DML caps across all of them. That is why a flow that loops DML inside an element will fail in batches before it fails on a single-record save.
Debugging an interview
The Debug feature in Flow Builder runs an interview against the live org and shows every element the path touches, every variable value, and the SOQL counts. For interviews that have already run in production, turn on Flow trigger explorer logs in Setup, Process Automation Settings, or enable Apex debug logs scoped to user FlowExecutionDebug. The persisted interview rows themselves do not store the full execution log, only the current state.
Cleaning up stale interviews
Paused screen flows can sit in FlowInterview indefinitely. A renewal wizard left half-finished six months ago still consumes storage and shows up under Setup, Paused and Waiting Interviews. Build a schedule-triggered flow that queries FlowInterview where CreatedDate is older than 60 days and deletes the rows, or surface a list view to the relevant admin. Without cleanup, the table grows quietly and the resume list becomes useless.
Errors and the unhandled-fault email
When an interview fails without a fault path, Salesforce emails the interview detail to a designated user (Setup, Process Automation Settings) or to the running user if no override is set. The email contains the flow name, the failing element, the variable state at failure, and the full error message. Configuring the override to a shared inbox is the single highest-leverage operational fix in any Salesforce org.
Find and manage paused interviews
Paused and Waiting Interviews under Setup gives admins a view of every interview that is currently persisted. Resume, delete, or audit from here.
- Open Paused and Waiting Interviews
Setup, Quick Find, type Paused, click Paused and Waiting Interviews. The list shows the flow name, the current element, the owner, and the date the interview paused.
- Inspect the interview state
Click the interview label to see the variables, the current element, the pause label set on the Pause element, and the running user.
- Resume on behalf of the user
Click Resume to relaunch the screen flow as the owner. The flow opens at the saved element with all variables restored.
- Delete dead interviews
Select stale rows and click Delete. Deletion is hard; the interview cannot resume after it is removed.
- Automate cleanup with a scheduled flow
Build a schedule-triggered flow on FlowInterview that filters where CreatedDate is older than the chosen threshold and deletes the matching rows. Run it nightly.
- FlowInterview is queryable from SOQL but not from list views unless the admin enables it on the FlowInterview object. Turn on Allow Reports and List Views in Setup if needed.
- Resuming an interview as a different user changes the running-user context, which affects field-level security and record sharing for the rest of the run.
- Scheduled-path interviews show up as Waiting (not Paused). They are not visible to end users; only admins see them in Setup.
- Deleting a flow definition while interviews are still paused leaves the interviews orphaned. They will fail on resume. Always wait for the queue to drain before deactivating a screen flow.
Trust & references
Cross-checked against the following references.
- Flow InterviewSalesforce Help
- Paused and Waiting InterviewsSalesforce Help
Straight from the source - Salesforce's reference material on Flow Interview.
- FlowInterview Standard ObjectSalesforce Developers
- How a Flow RunsSalesforce Help
About the Author
Dipojjal Chakrabarti is a B2C Solution Architect with 29 Salesforce certifications and over 13 years in the Salesforce ecosystem. He runs salesforcedictionary.com to help admins, developers, architects, and cert/interview candidates sharpen their fundamentals. More about Dipojjal.
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