> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://developer.harness.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://developer.harness.io/harness-solutions-factory/use-hsf/workflows/execute-a-workflow.md).

# Execute a Workflow

Start using HSF by finding, executing, and approving a workflow in IDP, then verifying its output in the catalog.

This guide walks through executing an HSF workflow end to end, from finding it in IDP to verifying the output is visible in the catalog.

***

### Before you begin <a href="#before-you-begin" id="before-you-begin"></a>

* You have been added to the **HSF Users** group (or HSF Admins).
* HSF has been deployed and post-deployment configuration is complete.
* You know which workflow you want to run. Go to [How workflows work](/harness-solutions-factory/use-hsf/workflows/overview.md) for the full list of default workflows.

***

### Steps <a href="#steps" id="steps"></a>

Complete the following five steps to run a workflow and confirm its output.

#### Step 1: Find the workflow in IDP <a href="#step-1-find-the-workflow-in-idp" id="step-1-find-the-workflow-in-idp"></a>

Workflows are published in the IDP workflows catalog. To locate the one you want to run, do the following:

1. Navigate to **IDP** in your Harness account.
2. Select **Workflows** from the left navigation.
3. Browse or search for the workflow you want to run.

{% hint style="info" %}
If you do not see the workflow you are looking for, it may not be registered in IDP yet. Ask your HSF Admin to run **Register Custom IDP Templates** to sync the latest workflows.
{% endhint %}

#### Step 2: Execute the workflow <a href="#step-2-execute-the-workflow" id="step-2-execute-the-workflow"></a>

Submitting the workflow form starts the provisioning pipeline. To submit it, do the following:

1. Click the workflow to open it.
2. Click **Execute**.
3. Fill in the required inputs. Each field has a description explaining what it expects; go to the individual workflow reference page for a full breakdown of all inputs and valid values.
4. Click **Create** to submit.

#### Step 3: Monitor the execution <a href="#step-3-monitor-the-execution" id="step-3-monitor-the-execution"></a>

After submitting, HSF starts the **Create and Manage IACM Workspaces** pipeline in the background. To monitor progress:

1. After clicking **Create**, select **Show Logs** to see the initial output.
2. Scroll down in the logs panel. You will see a link to the running **Create and Manage IACM Workspaces** pipeline. Click it to open the pipeline execution view.
3. Monitor the pipeline run. Once it completes, it will automatically trigger the **Provision Workspace** pipeline.

#### Step 4: Respond to approval requests <a href="#step-4-respond-to-approval-requests" id="step-4-respond-to-approval-requests"></a>

At two points during execution, an HSF Admin will receive an email notification asking them to approve the next step:

1. **Entity creation approval:** review the summary of what will be provisioned and approve or reject.
2. **Terraform plan approval:** review the full resource diff and confirm the changes are expected before approving.

Approvals are completed directly inside the pipeline execution view in Harness.

{% hint style="info" %}
If no approval notification arrives within a few minutes of submission, check that the HSF Admins group has notification settings configured. Go to [Post-deployment configuration](/harness-solutions-factory/new-to-hsf/get-started.md) to review the notification setup.
{% endhint %}

#### Step 5: Verify the output <a href="#step-5-verify-the-output" id="step-5-verify-the-output"></a>

Once the workflow completes successfully, confirm the following:

* Navigate to **IDP** → **Catalog** and search for the resource that was provisioned. The workflow output is automatically registered as a catalog entry.
* Navigate to **IaCM** → **Workspaces** and confirm the workspace was created in the correct project.

***

### Update an existing resource <a href="#update-an-existing-resource" id="update-an-existing-resource"></a>

You do not need to re-run the workflow from IDP to update a resource. Because each workflow creates an IaCM workspace, you can update it directly:

1. Navigate to **IaCM** → **Workspaces** and find the workspace for the resource you want to update.
2. Under **Variables** → **OpenTofu Variables**, update the relevant variable.
3. Save the variable, then run **Provision Workspace** on the workspace to apply the change (this will go through the approval flow again).

***

### Troubleshooting <a href="#troubleshooting" id="troubleshooting"></a>

If a pipeline step fails during workflow execution, start with the execution view:

* **Open the pipeline execution view:** navigate to the pipeline run link visible in the IDP execution log, or find it directly under the Solutions Factory project in Harness.
* **Check the step logs:** click the failed step to expand its log output. Most failures will have a clear error message.

<details>

<summary>HSF workflow pipeline fails immediately at start in Harness</summary>

An account-level OPA policy is most likely blocking execution. Check the policy evaluation output on the failed pipeline and confirm the policy set with your Harness admin.

</details>

<details>

<summary>HSF approval notification email never arrives after submitting an IDP workflow</summary>

The HSF Admins group has no notification settings configured. Add a notification channel to the group, then re-run the workflow.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Image pull failure in an HSF workflow pipeline due to DockerHub rate limiting</summary>

The DockerHub connector is using anonymous authentication and has been rate limited. Add credentials to the hsf\_dockerhub\_connector connector.

</details>

<details>

<summary>IDP catalog entry does not appear after an HSF workflow completes successfully</summary>

Run the Register Custom IDP Templates workflow to re-sync the catalog, then reload the IDP catalog page.

</details>

***

### Next steps <a href="#next-steps" id="next-steps"></a>

You have executed a workflow and confirmed its output in the catalog. Continue with the following:

* [How workflows work](/harness-solutions-factory/use-hsf/workflows/overview.md): Review every default HSF workflow and what it provisions.
* [Central Build Farm Workflow](/harness-solutions-factory/use-hsf/workflows/central-build-farm-workflow.md): Configure the build infrastructure other workflows depend on.
* [Created resources](/harness-solutions-factory/use-hsf/created-resources.md): Understand what HSF creates across your account.

{% @harness-feedback/feedback %}