---
title: Flow Studio
description: "Build automations in Flow Studio, a second editor for the same flows, with colour-coded steps, a plus on every line and one search to add a step."
url: "https://hiveplugins.com/docs/hive-mail-flow-studio/"
updated: "2026-10-28"
category: Hive Mail
---

# Flow Studio

Flow Studio is a second editor for the same flows as **Automation > Flows**: a flow started in one opens in the other. You need the permission **Manage automations**. Step settings are explained in [Steps](/docs/hive-mail-steps/), [Waits, conditions, goals and splits](/docs/hive-mail-waits-conditions-goals-splits/) and [Triggers](/docs/hive-mail-triggers/); new to flows? Start with [Automation basics](/docs/hive-mail-automation-basics/).

## Start a flow

1. Go to **Automation > Flow Studio**. Each flow is a card with its name, a status badge, "{n} in it now" (the people in the flow right now, the same number as on Flows), **Open in the Studio** and **Classic editor**. The home lists up to 60 flows; use **Automation > Flows** for more.
2. Click **New flow**. A draft called "Untitled flow" opens in the editor.
3. On the card **What starts this flow?**, click the tile of a trigger.
4. Add emails, waits and decisions after it (below).

![The Flow Studio home with flow cards, each with Open in the Studio and Classic editor](https://hiveplugins.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/hivemail-studio-home-01-1.webp)

## Add a step

There is no palette; you add every step with one search. Click **Add step** or press `/`, click the **+** under a free port, or hover a line and click its **+** to insert a step between two cards. Type in **Search the steps…**, use the arrow keys and Enter, or click a step. If that port already led somewhere, the steps below move down. The trigger is offered only while the flow has none. A flow holds at most 200 steps.

The steps are the same as in the classic editor: Trigger, Send an email, Wait, Wait until, If, Goal, A/B split, Merge, End, Add or remove a tag, Add to or remove from a list, Set a field, Change status, Call a webhook and Notify someone.

![The Studio editor with a small flow, the top bar and the zoom buttons](https://hiveplugins.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/hivemail-studio-editor-03.webp)

## The top bar

| Control | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Studio** (arrow) | Back to the home; saves first, or asks "Leave without saving?" |
| Name box | Rename the flow ("Name this flow") |
| Status badge | Draft, On or Paused |
| Save state | **Saved**, **Unsaved changes**, **Saving…**, **Not saved** (**Try again**), **Changed elsewhere** |
| **Add step** | Opens the step picker (`/`) |
| **Test run** | Walks the flow for one contact without doing anything; off while the flow has no steps |
| On/off switch | **On**, **Paused** or **Off** |
| **⋯** menu | **Undo**, **Redo**, **Tidy up**, **Show the map** / **Hide the map**, **Flow settings** (description, re-entry, problems), **Who is in this flow**, **Report**, **Runs & logs**, **Keyboard shortcuts**, **Stop the flow…** (not for drafts) |

**Report** and **Runs & logs** save the flow first: see [Runs & Logs and flow reports](/docs/hive-mail-runs-and-logs-and-flow-reports/).

## Cards, lines and the canvas

- Tile colour follows the kind of step: green Trigger, purple Actions (emails, tags, lists, fields, status, webhook, notify), amber Logic (waits, conditions, goals, splits), grey for a step the editor does not know.
- Click a card for a toolbar with **Settings**, **Duplicate** and **Delete**, and a drawer on the right with its settings (**Close (Esc)**). Rename with F2 or a double-click (80 characters).
- A red or amber flag marks problems; hover to read them. While the flow is on, a pill such as "3 here" shows how many people are at the step; click it to see who.
- Branch ports are labelled **Yes**, **No**, **A**, **B**, **Met**, **Not met**. Drag from a port to the top of another card to join them. Each port leads to one step, and nothing leads into the trigger.
- Drag a card to move it (pink guide lines, no grid). Drag the background to pan; Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll to zoom, 10% to 200%. Buttons: **Zoom in (+)**, **Zoom out (−)**, **Fit the flow in view (0)**. Click **Got it** to hide the first-time hint.

## Keyboard shortcuts

Press `?` for the **Keyboard shortcuts** window.

| Keys | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Shift+Z | Undo / redo |
| Ctrl+C / X / V | Copy, cut, paste steps (also into another flow) |
| Ctrl+D | Duplicate selected steps |
| Ctrl+A | Select every step |
| Delete or Backspace | Remove selected steps or connection |
| Tab / Shift+Tab, Enter or Space | Go through steps, select the focused one |
| Arrow keys (Shift: further) | Move selected steps |
| F2, E | Rename, edit settings |
| `/` | Add a step |
| + / − / 0 | Zoom in, out, fit |
| H / V | Hand tool / select tool |
| Escape | Close the panel, clear the selection |
| Ctrl+S | Save now |

Pasting a trigger into a flow that has one says "The trigger was left out: a flow has one."

## Saving, test run, on and off

You never press save: Hive Mail checks the flow 0.5 seconds after your last change and saves after 1 second (Ctrl+S saves at once). While the flow is on, people counts refresh every 10 seconds.

- If the flow changed elsewhere, a red bar offers **Load the saved version** or **Keep mine**.
- Once a flow has run, a blue bar says people already in it finish the version they started on; changes apply to people who enter from now on.
- If a change leaves a live flow with problems, it is paused and a message says so. See [Re-entry, existing contacts, and editing a live flow](/docs/hive-mail-re-entry-existing-contacts-and-editing-live-flows/).

1. Click **Test run**, pick a contact and run it. The steps light up and a bar says "Nothing was done." Click **Clear** to remove the path.
2. Use the switch to turn the flow on ("The flow is on: people who trigger it now enter it."). With problems it says "Fix the problems first…". The same switch pauses it.
3. To stop a flow, choose **⋯ > Stop the flow…** and confirm **Stop the flow**. People leave it where they are and the flow becomes a draft.

The email step has **Preview**, which shows the whole email in a window, and **Edit email**, which opens the email builder and returns you to the same flow.

> **Warning:** Stopping a flow removes everyone from it where they stand. They do not continue if you switch it on again.

Next: [Build your first flow](/docs/hive-mail-build-your-first-flow/), [Automation recipes](/docs/hive-mail-automation-recipes/), [Automation integrations](/docs/hive-mail-automation-integrations/).