Steps to Test a Workflow
Open the Workflow
From the Workflow Builder, click into your workflow and go to the Actions menu.
Select Test Deploy.
Choose a Test Organization
From the list of your connected Salesforce orgs, select the organization you want to test into.
Pick its corresponding Connection ID from the dropdown.
Input Workflow Variables (if applicable)
If your workflow uses variables, you’ll be prompted to enter or select values for them.
Follow recommended Testing Methods Below
Recommended Testing Methods
1. Validate Metadata Only
Check the box “Check to skip deploying and JUST build the metadata”.
Click Test Deploy Workflow.
This generates the workflow’s metadata JSON without deploying it to Salesforce.
You can review the JSON output in the Workflow Test Deployments section on the workflow’s page.
This is the quickest way to confirm that metadata is generated correctly and that variables are defined as expected.
2. Deploy to Salesforce
Once you’ve validated the JSON, run the same test again without the “skip deploy” box checked. This actually deploys the workflow into your selected Salesforce org.
After deployment, log into Salesforce to confirm the metadata looks correct
This ensures the workflow works end to end and validates the metadata is deployed/updated correctly
Error Handling
If there are issues with generation or deployment, errors will appear in the Workflow Test Deployments record in Swantide.
Deployment errors come directly from the Salesforce API. If you’re unsure what a message means, check Salesforce’s documentation for details.
Special Note on Metadata Errors
If you encounter an error during the “skip deploy” test (before metadata is sent to Salesforce) that says “unknown” or something similar, and your workflow uses variables:
Double-check that the variable aliases in the metadata exactly match the aliases defined in the variable usage. A mismatch here is one of the most common causes of these types of errors.
Next Steps
Once your workflow has been tested and validated in Salesforce, it’s ready to publish. For instructions, see the article: How to Publish a Workflow.