# Undeploy a workflow

Takes a workflow out of service without deleting anything.

- Endpoint: `POST https://api.returning.ai/v1/workflow-builder/data-workflows/{workflowId}/undeploy`
- Section: Workflow Builder / Tests and deploy
- Authentication: `Authorization: Bearer <API_KEY>` (Community API key)
- Permission: `workflowBuilder`
- Retries: Undeploying an undeployed workflow is a no-op that returns the same status.
- Guide: generated from the published specification
- Last updated: 28 Oct 2026
- Web page: https://docs.returning.ai/api-reference/workflow-builder/undeploy-a-workflow

## Authentication

- Header: `Authorization: Bearer <API_KEY>`
- Permission: `workflowBuilder`

`Authorization: Bearer <API_KEY>` with `workflowBuilder`, on a workflow of the key's community. `If-Match` is optional: send the `revision` you read to be refused instead of overwriting a concurrent change, or omit it for last-write-wins.

| Failure | Meaning | Recovery |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `404 WORKFLOW_NOT_FOUND` | Unknown id, or another community's workflow | Use an id from this community. |
| `409 VERSION_CONFLICT` | You sent an `If-Match` that is not the current revision | Re-read and undeploy again. |

## Behaviour

Steps, trigger configuration, credentials and run history all stay, so the workflow can be inspected, fixed and deployed again.

After an undeploy the trigger no longer starts runs.

## Request

### Path parameters

| Name | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `workflowId` | `string` | Yes | Workflow identifier: 24 hexadecimal characters, as returned in `_id`. (`^[0-9a-fA-F]{24}$`) |

### Headers

| Name | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `Authorization` | `string` | Yes | Community API key: `Bearer <API_KEY>`. |
| `If-Match` | `string` | No | Optional. Send the `revision` the change is based on, bare or quoted, to avoid overwriting a concurrent change: a stale value is refused with `409 VERSION_CONFLICT`. Omit it for last-write-wins. |

### Watch for

- Undeploy is not a pause button for one sender. Anything that can still reach the trigger gets no run, but the sender is not notified, so stop the sender too.
- Runs already in flight are not cancelled. Read the runs list after the undeploy to see what finished.
- Undeploying does not change a webhook key or an ingest path, so the same credentials keep working after a redeploy.
- Undeploy is optional before a delete: a deployed workflow can be deleted directly. Undeploying first is the gentler option when the intent is to stop runs before deciding.
- `workflowBuilder` covers undeploy like every other route: there is no separate deployment permission to grant or withhold.

### Example request

```bash
curl --request POST \
  --url 'https://api.returning.ai/v1/workflow-builder/data-workflows/<workflowId>/undeploy' \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <API_KEY>'
```

### More examples

```bash
curl --request POST \
  --url "https://api.returning.ai/v1/workflow-builder/data-workflows/65f1a2b3c4d5e6f708192a3b/undeploy" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer <API_KEY>" \
  --header "If-Match: 68f78253046393414dec404e5442c140bb5db0393a7d1c389ff57bba71585501"
```

```json
{
  "data": {
    "_id": "65f1a2b3c4d5e6f708192a3b",
    "communityId": "65f1a2b3c4d5e6f708192a50",
    "name": "VIP bonus",
    "status": "undeployed",
    "outgoingWebhookUrl": null,
    "createdAt": "2026-10-24T09:15:00.000Z",
    "updatedAt": "2026-10-24T13:30:08.000Z",
    "trigger": { "_id": "65f1a2b3c4d5e6f708192a41", "name": "Trade bonus trigger", "type": "event-ingest", "status": "idle", "options": { "batchIdPath": "metadata.batch_id", "recordIdPaths": ["trade_id"] } },
    "nodes": [],
    "revision": "162af81f5de4ff2b557a4087de9a9a73a0ed4e621f737787e35a93614cb50d1c",
    "redactedPaths": []
  }
}
```

## Response

HTTP `200` with the workflow and `status: "undeployed"`, plus the new revision. Read back with `GET /{workflowId}`: the status must be `undeployed`, the steps and trigger configuration must be unchanged, and `GET /{workflowId}/runs` must still return the earlier runs.

The negative check is what settles it: an event sent to the trigger after the undeploy must not create a run.

### Response fields

| Field | Type | Presence | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `data` | `object` | - | A workflow with its trigger, its steps in canvas order and its revision. |
| `data._id` | `string` | - | Workflow identifier. |
| `data.communityId` | `string` | - | Community the workflow belongs to. |
| `data.name` | `string` | - | Workflow name. |
| `data.status` | `string` | - | `draft`, `deployed` or `undeployed`. |
| `data.outgoingWebhookUrl` | `string` | - | Failure webhook URL, when one is set. (Nullable) |
| `data.createdAt` | `string` | - | Creation time. |
| `data.updatedAt` | `string` | - | Last authored change. |
| `data.trigger` | `object` | - | The trigger, or `null` when the workflow has none. (Nullable) |
| `data.trigger._id` | `string` | - | Trigger identifier. Use it as the source of a reference. |
| `data.trigger.name` | `string` | - | Display name. |
| `data.trigger.type` | `string` | - | Trigger type. |
| `data.trigger.status` | `string` | - | Trigger lifecycle state, for example `idle`. |
| `data.trigger.options` | `object` | - | Trigger options. A webhook key is shown only in the response that created it. (Nullable) |
| `data.nodes` | `object[]` | - | Main-line steps in canvas order, routers carrying their branches. |
| `data.nodes._id` | `string` | - | Step identifier. |
| `data.nodes.name` | `string` | - | Step name. |
| `data.nodes.type` | `string` | - | Step type. |
| `data.nodes.order` | `integer` | - | Position on the main line, from 1. |
| `data.nodes.continueOnFailure` | `boolean` | - | Whether a failure stops the run. |
| `data.nodes.retryOnFailure` | `boolean` | - | Whether the step is retried on failure. |
| `data.nodes.options` | `object` | - | Stored step options, with every credential replaced by `["__REDACTED__"]`. (Nullable) |
| `data.nodes.status` | `string` | - | Last run state of the step, when one exists. |
| `data.nodes.nestedNodes` | `object[]` | - | Present on a router: each branch carries its own `workflowNodeIds` and `nestedNodes`. |
| `data.revision` | `string` | - | 64 hexadecimal characters. Send it back as `If-Match`; it also arrives as the `ETag` header. |
| `data.redactedPaths` | `string[]` | - | Every location where a credential was replaced by `["__REDACTED__"]`. |

### Example response (200)

```json
{
  "data": {
    "_id": "65f1a2b3c4d5e6f708192a3b",
    "communityId": "65f1a2b3c4d5e6f708192a50",
    "name": "VIP bonus",
    "status": "undeployed",
    "outgoingWebhookUrl": null,
    "createdAt": "2026-10-24T09:15:00.000Z",
    "updatedAt": "2026-10-24T09:20:11.000Z",
    "trigger": {
      "_id": "65f1a2b3c4d5e6f708192a41",
      "name": "Trade bonus trigger",
      "type": "webhook",
      "status": "idle",
      "options": {
        "tokenExchangeEnabled": false,
        "apiKey": {
          "enabled": false
        },
        "aesKey": {
          "enabled": false
        }
      }
    },
    "nodes": [
      {
        "_id": "65f1a2b3c4d5e6f708192a3c",
        "name": "Read member XP",
        "type": "platform-action",
        "order": 1,
        "continueOnFailure": false,
        "retryOnFailure": false,
        "options": {
          "action": "get-user-fields",
          "selectUser": {
            "type": "email",
            "value": ["{{65f1a2b3c4d5e6f708192a41.email}}"]
          },
          "fields": [
            {
              "label": "Total XP",
              "field": "total_xp"
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    ],
    "revision": "68f78253046393414dec404e5442c140bb5db0393a7d1c389ff57bba71585501",
    "redactedPaths": []
  }
}
```

## Errors

### Fix the request

| Status | Code | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 400 | `VALIDATION_FAILED` | The id is malformed. Use the id exactly as returned. |
| 401 | `AUTHENTICATION_REQUIRED` | No key, or an unknown key. Send a valid key. |
| 401 | `API_KEY_REQUIRED` | A valid admin session was used, because this API accepts community API keys only. Use a community API key. |
| 403 | `API_KEY_PERMISSION_DENIED` | No `workflowBuilder`. Grant the permission. |

### Fix the data

| Status | Code | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 404 | `WORKFLOW_NOT_FOUND` | Unknown id, or another community's workflow. Use an id from this community. |
| 409 | `VERSION_CONFLICT` | You sent an `If-Match` that is not the current revision. `meta.currentRevision` carries the live value. Re-read and retry. |
| 409 | `WORKFLOW_LOCKED` | Another write to this workflow held the lock for too long, and this write was not applied. Re-read and retry. |

### Retry with backoff

| Status | Code | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 429 | `RATE_LIMITED` | The community's API rate limit was reached. Wait for the window to reset, then retry. |
| 500 | `INTERNAL_ERROR` | Unexpected failure. Re-read the status before retrying. |
| 503 | `LOCK_UNAVAILABLE` | The write lock store did not answer, so nothing was written. Retry shortly. |

**Retries:** Undeploying an undeployed workflow is a no-op that returns the same status. It is safe to retry after a timeout: check the status first, and re-read the revision if the first call landed.

## Next step

- [List the runs of a workflow](https://docs.returning.ai/api-reference/workflow-builder/list-the-runs-of-a-workflow.md): `GET /v1/workflow-builder/data-workflows/{workflowId}/runs`.