name: scheduled-path-patterns description: "Scheduled Paths in record-triggered Flow: delayed execution, time-offset from field, batch size tuning, monitoring Paused Flow Interviews, async limits. NOT for Scheduled Flow (use scheduled-flow-patterns). NOT for time-based workflow rules (use migrate-workflow-pb)." category: admin salesforce-version: "Spring '25+" well-architected-pillars:

• Reliability
• Scalability tags:
• scheduled-paths
• flow
• record-triggered
• async
• paused-interviews triggers:
• "record triggered flow scheduled path 1 hour after create"
• "scheduled path batch size and governor limit behavior"
• "paused flow interview monitoring and failures"
• "scheduled path runs too late or never runs"
• "flow time offset from custom date field"
• "scheduled path vs scheduled flow difference" inputs:
• Record-triggered Flow in scope
• Offset requirement (after/before record create/update event)
• Expected volume of records per path per hour
• Time-sensitivity of execution outputs:
• Scheduled Path design (offset, batch size, filter)
• Monitoring plan for Paused Flow Interviews
• Fallback strategy for failed paths
• Bulk test plan dependencies: [] version: 1.0.0 author: Pranav Nagrecha updated: 2026-04-21

Scheduled Path Patterns

Activate when designing a record-triggered Flow with delayed execution — "after 1 hour," "1 day before Close Date," "every Monday at 9 AM after creation." Scheduled Paths replace many time-based workflow rule use cases but have their own batching, monitoring, and failure semantics.

Before Starting

• Understand the offset anchor. Scheduled Paths offset from either the record-triggered event time OR a field value on the record.
• Plan for volume. Scheduled Paths queue paused Flow Interviews; bulk inserts create bulk paused interviews with batch-size tuning.
• Know the monitoring surface. Setup → Paused Flow Interviews shows queued interviews; failures surface in the Flow debug log and Apex exception email.

Core Concepts

Offset types

• From the trigger event: "1 hour after record is created"
• From a field value: "3 days before CloseDate" — uses a datetime/date field on the record

Batch size

Salesforce processes paused interviews in batches (default 200, tunable in Process Automation settings). Batching controls governor limits for the collection of resumed flows.

Paused Flow Interview

When a Flow hits a Scheduled Path wait, it suspends as a Paused Flow Interview. The interview resumes at the scheduled time. Monitor at Setup → Paused Flow Interviews.

Execution context

Scheduled path execution runs in system context by default (like other record-triggered Flow), with its own governor limit scope. Updates to records made in the scheduled branch are separate transactions from the trigger.

Common Patterns

Pattern: Follow-up reminder 24 hours after creation

Record-Triggered Flow on Case Create → Scheduled Path 1 day after creation → Check IsClosed → If open, send notification to owner.

Pattern: Pre-renewal email 30 days before renewal date

Trigger on Contract update → Scheduled Path 30 days before RenewalDate__c → Send email alert.

Pattern: Re-check condition at path execution

Always re-query record state in the scheduled branch. The record may have changed between queue-time and execution-time.

Decision Guidance

Recommended Workflow

1. Identify the offset anchor: event time vs field value.
2. Define the exact offset (units: minutes, hours, days).
3. Add explicit filter criteria to the path entry — avoid queuing millions of no-op interviews.
4. In the scheduled branch, re-query or re-check the record's current state.
5. Tune Process Automation batch size for your volume.
6. Monitor Paused Flow Interviews in Setup; handle failures via admin email.
7. Test with a bulk insert to confirm batch behavior.

Review Checklist

• Offset type explicit (event vs field)
• Entry criteria scoped tightly (no "always queue")
• Scheduled branch re-checks current record state
• Batch size reviewed for volume profile
• Paused Flow Interview monitoring documented
• Admin notification on scheduled-path errors enabled
• Bulk insert test confirms expected behavior

Salesforce-Specific Gotchas

1. Deleting the triggering record deletes its paused interview. The scheduled branch never runs for deleted records.
2. Changing the source field after the path is scheduled does NOT reschedule. The scheduled time is computed once at entry.
3. Flow version updates do not migrate paused interviews. Queued interviews execute under the version that queued them; test version swaps carefully.

Output Artifacts

Related Skills

• flow/scheduled-flow-patterns — absolute-time scheduled flows
• admin/migrate-workflow-pb — replacing time-based workflow rules
• apex/apex-queueable-patterns — programmatic async alternatives