---
title: "POST /start-flow"
method: POST
path: "/start-flow"
---

# POST /start-flow

`POST /start-flow`

Activates an existing flow. For on-demand flows, this operation runs the flow immediately. For schedule and event-triggered flows, this operation activates the flow.

## Request body

- object
  - `flowName` string, required — The specified name of the flow. Spaces are not allowed. Use underscores (_) or hyphens (-) only.
  - `clientToken` string — <p>The <code>clientToken</code> parameter is an idempotency token. It ensures that your <code>StartFlow</code> request completes only once. You choose the value to pass. For example, if you don't receive a response from your request, you can safely retry the request with the same <code>clientToken</code> parameter value.</p> <p>If you omit a <code>clientToken</code> value, the Amazon Web Services SDK that you are using inserts a value for you. This way, the SDK can safely retry requests multiple times after a network error. You must provide your own value for other use cases.</p> <p>If you specify input parameters that differ from your first request, an error occurs for flows that run on a schedule or based on an event. However, the error doesn't occur for flows that run on demand. You set the conditions that initiate your flow for the <code>triggerConfig</code> parameter.</p> <p>If you use a different value for <code>clientToken</code>, Amazon AppFlow considers it a new call to <code>StartFlow</code>. The token is active for 8 hours.</p>

## Response `200`

Success

- StartFlowResponse
  - `flowArn` string — The flow's Amazon Resource Name (ARN).
  - `flowStatus` 'Active' | 'Deprecated' | 'Deleted' | 'Draft' | 'Errored' | 'Suspended' — Indicates the current status of the flow.
  - `executionId` string — Returns the internal execution ID of an on-demand flow when the flow is started. For scheduled or event-triggered flows, this value is null.

## Other responses

- `480` — ResourceNotFoundException
- `481` — InternalServerException
- `482` — ServiceQuotaExceededException
- `483` — ConflictException

---

[API](https://skmtc.net/aws/apis/appflow.md) · [All operations](https://skmtc.net/aws/apis/appflow/llms.txt) · [OpenAPI document](https://skmtc-service-staging.skmtc.workers.dev/v1/apis/aws/appflow/versions/a56dde8bf1e0/schema)