How to Restore a Previous Version of a Power Automate Flow, from John Liu

TL;DR: Open the flow in the designer, select Version history, pick the earlier version, select Restore and confirm. The restored version becomes the latest draft, so select Publish to make it run. This works for solution-aware cloud flows in the new designer. A flow outside a solution has no version history, and a deleted flow can be restored by an admin within 21 days.

A flow that worked yesterday can stop working after an edit: a changed expression, a removed action, a condition that no longer matches. Instead of rebuilding the old logic from memory, go back to the version you know was working.

John Liu recorded the video below in 2020, when Power Automate had no version history of its own. It shows PowerStudio.app, a third-party tool that filled that gap. Today the native version history covers the simple restore, so start there.

💡 Challenge

You changed a flow, saved, and now it fails or behaves differently. You need the previous definition back, quickly and without guessing which actions you touched.

✅ Solution

Use the built-in drafts and versioning of solution-aware cloud flows. Every save and every publish is stored as a version in Dataverse, and any earlier version can be restored as a new draft.

🔧 How It’s Done

1. Open the version history.

🔸 Open the flow in the new designer and select Version history. The panel lists the versions grouped by day, marked as Latest version, Published or Past published.

2. Restore the version you want.

🔸 Select the earlier version to review it. Then select Restore and confirm.

🔸 The restored version is now the latest draft. The running flow does not change yet.

3. Publish.

🔸 Select Publish. From now on, new runs use the restored definition.

4. No version history? Add the flow to a solution.

🔸 Flows created outside a solution (“My flows”) have no version history. Add the flow to a solution, and from then on every save builds up a history. Older states before that point cannot be recovered this way.

🎉 Result

The flow runs on the restored definition again, and the version you replaced stays in the history, so you can switch back if needed.

🌟 Key Advantages

🔸 Built in and free: no export, no third-party tool for a one-off restore.

🔸 Safe: restoring creates a draft first, so you can check it before you publish.

🔸 Traceable: co-owners see the full history, including changes made by other users.

⚠️ Good to Know

🔸 Retention: published versions are kept for 12 months, drafts for 6 months.

🔸 Export: a solution export contains only the last published version, not the drafts or the history.

🔸 Deleted flows: an admin can restore a deleted flow, solution or non-solution, within 21 days, with the Power Automate Management action Restore Deleted Flow as Admin or the PowerShell cmdlet Restore-AdminFlow. The flow comes back turned off and must be turned on again. After 21 days only your own backup helps.

🔸 Many flows, whole teams: for change tracking across an environment, scheduled solution exports into source control or a governance tool fit better than restoring flow by flow.

🛠️ FAQ

1. Does Power Automate keep a version history of my flow?

Yes, for solution-aware cloud flows in the new designer. Flows outside a solution have no version history until you add them to a solution.

2. Why can I not find “Version history”?

Either the flow is not in a solution, or it is open in the classic designer. Drafts and versioning exist only in the new designer.

3. Does Restore make the old version run immediately?

No. Restore creates a new draft. Only Publish changes what runs.

4. How do I back up flows myself?

Export them regularly as part of a solution, manually or with a scheduled flow. The linked backup post shows both ways.

🔗 Related Tips

🔸 How to Restore and Create a Backup from a Flow - your own backups with solution exports, for everything the version history does not cover.

🔸 #PowerPlatformTip 8: ‘Automate Backups & Restores for Flows, Apps & Solutions’ - scheduled solution exports as a versioned backup.

🔸 #PowerPlatformTip 20: ‘Change Flow Owner’ - another flow-governance task, done solution-aware without export/import.

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You can see this video here on my blog because I have rated this video with 5 stars in my YouTube video library. This video was automatically posted using PowerAutomate.