---
title: "Create and Manage Data Flows Automate Imports and Exports in Pigment"
slug: "create-and-manage-data-flows"
description: "Create and manage Data Flows to streamline Data Actions and simplify application management with automation and efficiency."
tags: ["Data Actions", "Data Flows", "Importing and Exporting Data ", "Metric Import", "modeling"]
updated: 2026-07-01T08:00:46Z
published: 2026-07-01T08:00:56Z
canonical: "kb.pigment.com/create-and-manage-data-flows"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://kb.pigment.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Create and Manage Data Flows

![Plan availability options include Essentials, Professional, and Enterprise plans for users.](https://cdn.document360.io/e47cfe35-dc28-40c7-a083-6cf003073d8e/Images/Documentation/PlanAvailability_AllPlans(1).png)

Data Flows provide a streamlined way to group Data Actions and trigger them using an Action button on a Board. This article explains how to create and configure Data Flows effectively.

> [!WARNING]
> ⚠️ Important
> 
> You must have saved [Metric-to-Metric](/v1/docs/metric-import) or [List-to-List import](/v1/docs/set-up-list-to-list-import) configurations in an Application before configuring a Data Flow.

## Before you begin

Data Flows are sets of Data Actions grouped into a single configuration. Once created, they can be triggered from a Board using an Action button. This allows users to run multiple Data Actions with a single click.

Parameters can be used to make Data Actions reusable by prompting Members to select values when they run the Data Action. For more information on Parameters, see. [Customize Data Actions with Parameters](/v1/docs/customize-data-actions-with-parameters).

> [!WARNING]
> ⚠️ Important
> 
> You need the Configure Blocks permission to set up Data Flows.

To run a Data Flow from a Board, you must have permission to perform each individual Data Action in the flow.

### Supported Data Actions

At this time, Data Flows support only [Metric-to-Metric](/v1/docs/metric-import) and [List-to-List](/v1/docs/set-up-list-to-list-import) imports from Pigment.

> [!NOTE]
> ℹ️ Note
> 
> More Data Action types are in development.

### Data Flow execution order

Data Flows supports two types of Execution Mode:

- **Parallel**. This runs all Data Actions at the same time, independently of each other.
- **Sequential**. This runs Data Actions one after another, in a predefined order. If a previous step of the Data Flow impacts the source of a Data Action (for instance through a formula), the Data Action waits for the Data source to be updated before starting.

## Create a Data flow

To create a Data Flow:

1. Select the **three-dot menu** and choose **Data Actions & Flows**, or go to **All Settings** then **Data Actions & Flows**.
2. Select **Create a Data Flow**.
3. In the **Details** section, add a name and description:
  1. Use the **Name** field to identify the Data Flow in the list.
  2. Use the **Description** field to explain what the Data Flow does and the business logic it follows.
4. In the **Execution** section, select between **Parallel** and **Sequential**. If you select Sequential, you can specify the behavior in case of failure:
  1. **Stop the Data Flow**: if a Data Action fails, the remaining Actions are not executed. They are marked as **Skipped** in the Data Flow report.
  2. **Continue with next Data Actions**: if a Data Action fails, the remaining Data Actions are still executed.
5. In the **Data Actions** section, define the actions the Data Flow should run:
  1. Select **Add action** to add one or more Data Actions.
  2. Choose the **Target Block** and **Configuration** from the dropdown menus.
6. Select **Save**.

> [!NOTE]
> **ℹ️** Note
> 
> If you are using Sequential Execution, you can reorder the steps of the Data Flow using drag and drop.

## View or edit a Data Flow

All configurations are stored in the **Data Flows** overview, and each one is specific to an Application.

To view or edit a Data Flow:

1. In your Application, open the **three-dot menu** and select **Data Actions & Flows**, or go to **All Settings** then **Data Actions & Flows**.
2. From the list, you can:
  1. Select **Show details** to review a configuration.
  2. Select the **Edit** icon to make changes.
  3. Use the list item’s **three-dot menu**, then select **Duplicate** to create a copy of the configuration.

> [!NOTE]
> **ℹ️** Note
> 
> Sequential and Parallel Data Flows are represented with a different icon.

## Trigger a Data Flow from a Board

You can run a Data Flow from a Board using an Action button:

1. Go to a Board.
2. Select **Edit**, then **+ Add a widget**.
3. Choose **Action**.
4. Select **Trigger Data Flow,** then select the configuration from the dropdown.
5. Choose **Card** or **Button** for the widget format and add a **Title**, optional **Description**, or **Button label**.
6. Select **Add to board**.

Once added, any Member with the required permissions can trigger the Data Flow directly from the Board.

## Schedule a Data Flow

You can create and edit all scheduled Data Flows from the **Scheduling** page. For more information on how to create and manage a scheduled Data Flow, see [Schedule imports in Pigment](/v1/docs/schedule-imports).

## View Data Flow History

To view a history of executed Data Flows:

1. Go to an Application.
2. Select **History** from the sidebar.
3. Under **All Actions**, select **Data Flows** from the dropdown to view execution history.