• ERROR
  • HISTORY
  • STATUS
  • HUMAN

How to debug failed workflows with your AI

Connect Temporal to your AI client once. From there, your agent handles the heavy lifting of digging through execution logs and event histories.

Ask AI about this page

Short answer

How can my AI help me debug a failed Temporal workflow?

Your AI pulls the specific execution history and workflow details to pinpoint where a panic occurred. It identifies the exact event or code block responsible for the failure. You get a clear breakdown of the error state and the sequence of events leading up to it.

Debugging outcomes

Where your investigation lands.

The AI categorizes the results of its investigation into these four areas.

ERROR

Root cause identified

The AI finds the specific event or line of code that triggered the failure. You get the exact reason the workflow stopped.

HISTORY

Event sequence mapped

The AI reconstructs the timeline of events leading to the crash. You see exactly what happened before the panic.

STATUS

Workflow state summary

The AI pulls the current state and metadata of the failed execution. You get a snapshot of the workflow's condition.

HUMAN

Manual fix required

The AI flags issues that require you to manually edit code or restart a process. You decide how to resolve the logic error.

The workflow

What your AI does when <the thing arrives>.

The AI moves from broad discovery to granular error analysis using your Temporal data.

  1. Locate the failure

    The AI scans your environment to find the specific broken execution.

    list_workflows

  2. Pull execution data

    It grabs the full event log and state information for the target workflow.

    get_workflow_historyget_workflow_details

  3. Analyze the panic

    The agent compares the event sequence against the error message to find the mismatch.

    get_workflow_history

  4. Summarize the fix

    The AI presents the specific line of code or event that caused the crash.

    get_workflow_details

Try it

Copy these to start.

Use these prompts to kick off a debugging session.

Starting points

Replace the bracketed text with your actual workflow IDs or names.

Temporal Connector

You're all set. Choose your MCP client and follow the setup instructions.

Connector linkhttps://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_EnU6gjOxc9KSHxcvKKIpGvDNCsHHJOBTVxTch47l/mcp

Claude Desktop

Follow the steps below to connect in seconds.

  1. 1In Claude Desktop, open Settings → Connectors.
  2. 2Click “Add custom connector” and paste the connector link above as the remote MCP server URL.
  3. 3Click Add and start a new chat — Temporal capabilities are ready to use.
Configuration · claude_desktop_config.jsonCopy
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "temporal-mcp": {
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_EnU6gjOxc9KSHxcvKKIpGvDNCsHHJOBTVxTch47l/mcp"
    }
  }
}
Copy into chat04

  • Find the workflow with ID 'order-process-123' and tell me why it failed.

  • List all workflows in my Temporal namespace that are currently in a failed state.

  • Look at the history for workflow 'payment-retry-99' and find the event that caused the panic.

  • Check the details for workflow 'user-signup-abc' to see the last successful state before the error.

  • Claude
  • ChatGPT
  • Cursor
  • VS Code
  • Windsurf
  • Claude Code
  • JetBrains
  • Cline

Start here

Connect Temporal once, then ask.

You only need to link your Temporal instance once. Your credentials stay encrypted, and you can immediately start asking your AI about your workflows.

Connect Temporal to your AI

FAQ

How this task behaves.

  • 01

    Can the AI fix the code for me?

    No. The AI identifies the error and suggests what went wrong, but you must manually apply code changes or fixes.

  • 02

    Can the AI restart a failed workflow?

    No. The AI only reads data from the history and details. You have to trigger restarts or retries yourself.

  • 03

    Does the AI see all my workflows?

    Yes, it can see any workflow that is accessible through the Temporal namespace you provide.

  • 04

    Can the AI delete a workflow history?

    No. The tools only allow the AI to read information. It cannot delete, modify, or wipe any workflow data.

  • 05

    How does the AI know which line of code failed?

    It analyzes the event history and the specific error details returned by the workflow to correlate the panic with the execution trace.

  • More questions about Temporal? See everything the Temporal Connector can do

Connect Temporal to Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT & more