# Activating & Pausing Workflows
Source: https://docs.chain.link/cre/guides/operations/activating-pausing-workflows
Last Updated: 2025-11-04

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt).

After deploying a workflow, you can control its operational state using the `cre workflow activate` and `cre workflow pause` commands. These commands modify the workflow's status in the registry selected by `deployment-registry`, determining whether it can respond to triggers.

**Workflow states:**

- **Active** — The workflow can respond to its configured triggers and execute
- **Paused** — The workflow cannot respond to triggers and will not execute

## Prerequisites

Before activating or pausing workflows, ensure you have:

- **A [deployed workflow](/cre/guides/operations/deploying-workflows)**: You must have a workflow that has been successfully deployed to the registry selected by `deployment-registry`.
- **Workflow authorization**: You must be authorized to manage the workflow. Public onchain registry workflows use the linked workflow owner address. Private registry workflows use your CRE organization login session.
- **Local workflow folder**: You must run these commands from your project directory. The CLI reads the workflow name and configuration from your `workflow.yaml` file to identify which workflow to activate or pause.
- **[Logged in](/cre/reference/cli/authentication#cre-login)**: Authenticated with the platform by running `cre login`. To check your authentication status, run `cre whoami`.
- **(Optional) `deployment-registry` in `workflow.yaml`**: When omitted, the CLI uses the default onchain registry. Set to `"private"` to manage the workflow via the Chainlink-hosted private registry. See [Choosing your registry](/cre/guides/operations/deploying-workflows#comparing-registries).
- **(Onchain registry only) A funded wallet**: The account you are using must be funded with ETH on Ethereum Mainnet to pay gas for the registry transaction.

## Activating a workflow

The `cre workflow activate` command changes a paused workflow's status to active, allowing its triggers to fire and the workflow to execute.

### When to activate

You typically use `activate` after pausing a workflow to resume execution after maintenance or debugging.

### Usage

Run the command from your project root:

```bash
cre workflow activate my-workflow --target production-settings
```

The CLI identifies which workflow to activate based on:

- `workflow-name` from your `workflow.yaml` file
- `deployment-registry` from your `workflow.yaml` file
- `workflow-owner-address` for onchain registry workflows, or your CRE organization for private registry workflows

### What happens during activation

1. The CLI fetches the workflow matching your workflow name and configured registry authorization
2. It validates that the workflow is currently paused
3. If valid, it updates the workflow status in the target's configured registry. For `onchain:ethereum-mainnet`, this sends an onchain transaction. For `private`, this updates the Chainlink-hosted private registry through your CRE login session.

### Example onchain registry output

```bash
> cre workflow activate my-workflow --target production-settings

Activating Workflow :    my-workflow
Target :                 production-settings
Owner Address :          <your-owner-address>

Activating workflow: Name=my-workflow, Owner=<your-owner-address>, WorkflowID=<your-workflow-id>
Transaction details:
  Chain Name:   ethereum-testnet-sepolia
  To:           0xF3f93fc4dc177748E7557568b5354cB009e3818a
  Function:     ActivateWorkflow
  Inputs:
    [0]:        <your-workflow-id>
    [1]:        zone-a
  Data:         530979d6000000000000000000000000...
Estimated Cost:
  Gas Price:      0.00100000 gwei
  Total Cost:     0.00000038 ETH
? Do you want to execute this transaction?:
  ▸ Yes
    No

✓ Transaction confirmed: 0xd5b94bd...87498b
View on explorer: https://sepolia.etherscan.io/tx/0xd5b94bd...87498b

✓ Workflow activated successfully

Details:
   Registry:         onchain:ethereum-mainnet
   Contract address: 0xF3f93fc4dc177748E7557568b5354cB009e3818a
   Transaction hash: 0xd5b94bd...87498b
   Workflow Name:    my-workflow
   Workflow ID:      <your-workflow-id>
```

## Pausing a workflow

The `cre workflow pause` command changes an active workflow's status to paused, preventing its triggers from firing and stopping execution.

### When to pause

Pause workflows when you need to:

- **Perform maintenance**: Temporarily stop execution while updating dependencies or configuration
- **Debug issues**: Halt execution to investigate errors or unexpected behavior
- **Temporarily halt operations**: Stop workflow execution without permanently deleting it

### Usage

Run the command from your project root:

```bash
cre workflow pause my-workflow --target production-settings
```

### What happens during pausing

1. The CLI fetches the workflow matching your workflow name and configured registry authorization
2. It validates that the workflow is currently active
3. If valid, it updates the workflow status in the target's configured registry. For `onchain:ethereum-mainnet`, this sends an onchain transaction. For `private`, this updates the Chainlink-hosted private registry through your CRE login session.

### Example onchain registry output

```bash
> cre workflow pause my-workflow --target production-settings

Pausing Workflow :       my-workflow
Target :                 production-settings
Owner Address :          <your-owner-address>

Fetching workflows to pause... Name=my-workflow, Owner=<your-owner-address>
Processing batch pause... count=1
Transaction details:
  Chain Name:   ethereum-testnet-sepolia
  To:           0xF3f93fc4dc177748E7557568b5354cB009e3818a
  Function:     BatchPauseWorkflows
  Inputs:
    [0]:        [<your-workflow-id>]
  Data:         d8b80738000000000000000000000000...
Estimated Cost:
  Gas Price:      0.00100000 gwei
  Total Cost:     0.00000021 ETH
? Do you want to execute this transaction?:
  ▸ Yes
    No

✓ Transaction confirmed
View on explorer: https://sepolia.etherscan.io/tx/0x2e09a66...db66e
✓ Workflows paused successfully

Details:
   Registry:         onchain:ethereum-mainnet
   Contract address: 0xF3f93fc4dc177748E7557568b5354cB009e3818a
   Transaction hash: 0x2e09a66...db66e
   Workflow Name:    my-workflow
   Workflow ID:      <your-workflow-id>
```

> **NOTE: Missed triggers are not queued**
>
> Triggers that would have fired while a workflow was paused are **not queued or retroactively executed**. When you activate the workflow again, it will only respond to new triggers that occur after activation.

## Using multi-sig wallets

For onchain registry workflows, both `activate` and `pause` commands support multi-sig wallets through the `--unsigned` flag. When using this flag, the CLI generates raw transaction data that you can submit through your multi-sig wallet interface instead of sending the transaction directly. Private registry workflows do not use `--unsigned` because they do not submit registry transactions.

For complete setup instructions, configuration requirements, and step-by-step guidance, see [Using Multi-sig Wallets](/cre/guides/operations/using-multisig-wallets).

## Learn more

- [Deploying Workflows](/cre/guides/operations/deploying-workflows) — Learn how to deploy workflows to the registry
- [Updating Deployed Workflows](/cre/guides/operations/updating-deployed-workflows) — Update your workflow code and configuration
- [Deleting Workflows](/cre/guides/operations/deleting-workflows) — Permanently remove workflows from the registry
- [CLI Reference: Workflow Commands](/cre/reference/cli/workflow) — Complete command reference with all flags and options