Flow Step Settings
Configure step-level behavior in your Fastn flows. Learn how to skip steps, add notes, group steps with labels, and set up automatic retries.
Every flow component in Fastn — connectors, switches, loops, data mappers, and more — includes a Settings panel where you control how that step behaves at runtime. These step-level settings help you test, document, organize, and harden your flows.
To open the Settings panel, click the Settings icon in the top-right corner of any component on the canvas.
The panel contains four key features:
Skip a step
Skip lets you temporarily disable a step so the flow bypasses it during test runs. The step stays in the flow but does not execute.
How to skip a step
Hover over the step you want to skip on the canvas.
Click the three-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of the step.
Select Skip from the dropdown.
The step displays a dotted border on the canvas, indicating it is skipped. The flow treats the step as if it does not exist during execution — downstream steps that depend on its output receive no data from it.
How to unskip a step
Click the three-dot menu (⋮) on the skipped step.
Select Unskip to restore normal execution.
The dotted border disappears and the step executes normally on the next run.
When to use skip
Isolating a failure
Skip steps one at a time to find which step causes an error
Testing a partial flow
Skip a Slack notification step while testing data transformation logic
Bypassing slow steps
Skip a step that calls a rate-limited API while iterating on earlier steps
Comparing results
Run the flow with and without a step to compare output
Skipped steps do not produce output. If a downstream step maps data from a skipped step, that mapping resolves to empty. Verify your data flow before relying on test results with skipped steps.
Skip is a testing and debugging tool. It does not affect deployed flows. Remove all skips before deploying to production.
Step notes
Step notes let you add free-text documentation directly to a step. Use notes to explain why a step exists, what logic it applies, or any context a collaborator needs.
How to add a note
Click the Settings icon on the step to open the Settings panel.
Scroll to the Step Note field.
Enter your note text.
After you save a note, a note icon appears on the step in the canvas. Click the icon to quickly view the note without opening the full Settings panel.
When to use step notes
Explaining business logic
"Filters orders over $500 per compliance policy CP-204"
Flagging workarounds
"Uses v1 endpoint because v2 does not support bulk queries yet"
Documenting decisions
"Switch added to handle both JSON and XML responses from vendor"
Onboarding collaborators
"This loop processes each line item from the Shopify webhook payload"
Clear notes make debugging faster. When a flow fails at 2 AM, the on-call engineer sees your note and understands the intent immediately.
Step labels
Step labels let you visually group related steps on the canvas. A label creates a named region that surrounds the steps you assign to it, making complex flows easier to scan and navigate.
How to add a label
Click the Settings icon on a step to open the Settings panel.
Find the Step Label field.
Enter a label name (for example, "Data Validation" or "Notification Block").
All steps that share the same label name are grouped together visually on the canvas under that label.
How labels appear on the canvas
Steps with the same label display inside a shared visual boundary with the label name shown above them. This grouping is purely visual — it does not change execution order or data flow.
When to use step labels
Identifying logical phases
"Input Validation", "Data Transformation", "Output"
Grouping by integration
"Salesforce Sync", "Slack Notifications"
Marking error-handling blocks
"Error Handling", "Retry Logic"
Organizing large flows
"Phase 1: Fetch Data", "Phase 2: Process", "Phase 3: Store"
Labels are especially valuable in flows with 10 or more steps. They turn a flat sequence of steps into a readable, self-documenting flow diagram.
Retry mechanism
The retry mechanism configures automatic retries when a step fails. This is critical for connector and API steps where transient errors (network timeouts, rate limits, temporary service outages) are common.
How to configure retries
Click the Settings icon on the step to open the Settings panel.
Locate the Retry Settings section.
Make step required
Enable the Make Step Required checkbox to mark a step as critical to the flow.
Enabled
The flow stops immediately if this step fails after all retry attempts are exhausted. No downstream steps execute.
Disabled (default)
The flow continues to the next step even if this step fails.
Use Make Step Required for steps where failure means the rest of the flow produces invalid results — for example, an authentication step or a primary data fetch.
When to use retries
Calling external APIs
Enable retries to handle rate limits and transient network errors
Database writes
Enable retries with the step marked as required to prevent partial data
Sending notifications
Enable retries but leave the step as not required — a failed Slack message should not block the flow
Data transformation steps
Retries are usually unnecessary — transformation failures are logic errors, not transient
Retries are most effective for transient errors. If a step fails due to incorrect configuration (wrong endpoint, missing field), retrying produces the same error. Fix the root cause instead.
Combine retries with the Make Step Required checkbox for critical integration steps. This ensures the flow retries on transient failures and stops cleanly if the step ultimately fails.
Feature summary
Use this table to decide which features to apply during flow development:
Building
Step labels
Group steps into logical sections as you add them
Building
Step notes
Document each step's purpose while the context is fresh
Testing
Skip
Disable steps to isolate and debug specific parts of the flow
Hardening
Retry mechanism
Add retries to connector and API steps before deploying
Hardening
Make step required
Mark critical steps that must succeed for the flow to produce valid results
Related
Flow Settings — configure flow-level behavior (type, validation, authentication, visuals)
Debugging & Troubleshooting — use the Test button, Logs page, and Logger step to diagnose flow issues
Connectors — connect your flow to external services and APIs
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