HighLevel’s Workflow Builder continuously saves your canvas edits to draft, helping you move faster with less risk. Enable it once and keep iterating confidently, nothing goes live until you publish. This article gives an overview of the auto save feature in Workflows.
Note: This feature is currently in Labs and needs to be enabled by Agency for Sub-accounts.TABLE OF CONTENTS
- What is Auto Save in the Workflows?
- Key Benefits of Auto Save in Workflows
- Draft vs. Publish Behavior
- What Auto Save Captures
- What Auto Save Doesn’t Capture (Configuration Modals)
- Version History & Checkpoints
- Multi‑Editor & Multi‑Tab Behavior
- How To Setup Auto Save
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Related Articles
What is Auto Save in the Workflows?
Auto Save is a Labs feature that continuously saves your workflow canvas edits in the background while you build. Your changes are written to the current draft so you don’t lose progress; you still control when updates go live by clicking Publish.
Key Benefits of Auto Save in Workflows
Zero manual saves: Canvas edits are captured automatically as you build—no Save button required.
Draft safety: Changes save to draft only; nothing affects live workflows until you click Publish.
Fewer clicks: Toggle Auto Save once and move faster without pausing to save.
Reliable checkpoints: Create named milestones any time with Save Version so you can return to a known good state.
Collaboration awareness: When multiple people or tabs edit the same workflow, the most recent auto-save becomes the current draft version.
Draft vs. Publish Behavior
Auto Save writes your ongoing edits to the draft state. Publishing is still a deliberate action you take to push changes live.
Understanding draft vs. published behavior prevents accidental changes from impacting active workflows.
Auto Save → Draft only: Edits are preserved in the draft as you work.
Publish controls go-live: Click Publish when your draft is ready to run.
Safe iteration: You can make and store many changes without affecting currently published behavior.
What Auto Save Captures
Knowing exactly what’s captured helps you avoid missing important changes. Auto Save will capture when you:
Add any action or trigger to the canvas
Delete any action or trigger from the canvas
Make changes in the Settings tab of a workflow
Edit the Workflow name
Change workflow status (Draft or Publish)
What Auto Save Doesn’t Capture (Configuration Modals)
Auto Save does not apply inside individual action/trigger configuration modals. Changes inside a modal are not saved until you commit them back to the canvas.
While editing a step’s settings in a modal, click Save/Apply (or the equivalent) to commit changes back to the canvas.
Once committed to the canvas, Auto Save will capture the update in the draft.
Example: Changing the time in a Wait step inside its modal isn’t auto-saved until you click Save in the modal to update the canvas.
Version History & Checkpoints
Each editing session automatically creates entries in Version History. You can also use Save Version any time to create a named checkpoint.
Version History gives you a recoverable record of progress. Named checkpoints make it easy to roll back to key milestones.
Session entries: Automatic, created as you edit with Auto Save enabled.
Save Version: Manual, creates a named checkpoint you can easily identify later.
Restore: Use Version History to review and restore an earlier state as needed.
Multi‑Editor & Multi‑Tab Behavior
If multiple users or browser tabs edit the same workflow, the most recent auto-save becomes the current draft version.
Coordinating edits prevents overwriting each other’s changes and ensures everyone works from the latest draft.
Prefer a single editor at a time for critical updates.
If collaborating, communicate timing to avoid collisions.
If you return after being idle, refresh to make sure you’re viewing the latest draft.
How To Setup Auto Save
Proper setup ensures your edits are captured continuously while you work.
Method 1: Using Workflow Builder
- Login to your sub-account.
- Go to Automations → Workflows and open any workflow.
- On first open, an onboarding pop-up may appear.
- Choose Enable Auto Save Now to turn it on immediately.
Method 2: Thorough Global Workflow Settings
Login to your sub-account.
Go to Automations → Global Workflow Settings.
Turn the Auto Save and toggle On.
Build as usual: Add, remove, and rearrange steps on the canvas. Your edits will auto-save to the draft.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Does Auto Save publish my changes automatically?
No. Auto Save updates the draft only. Click Publish to push changes live.
Q: Do I still need to click Save inside step configuration modals?
Yes. Changes made inside a step’s modal must be Saved/Applied to commit to the canvas; then Auto Save captures them.
Q: What happens if my internet drops while I’m editing?
When connectivity returns, your canvas can resume saving. If you’re unsure which draft is current, refresh the workflow and review Version History.
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