Stop on Error

LAST UPDATED: MARCH 10, 2025

Task Types That Support the Stop on Error Checkbox

The Stop on Error checkbox is available for the task types listed in the following table.

Task Type	Location
Command
Conditional
Data Formatter
Interaction (Investigation Playbooks only)
Passdown (Preprocessing Playbooks only)
REST API
Unwind
Merge
Lock
Unlock

Determining When to Use the Stop on Error Feature

The Stop on Error feature is useful for preventing cascading failures in playbook execution. Enabling it ensures that dependent tasks do not run if a critical task encounters an error, minimizing downstream issues.

For tasks set to auto-run with many auto-run dependencies, enabling the Stop on Error feature is essential to maintaining playbook stability and preventing widespread task failures.

Use Case Example: Preventing Multiple Failures with Stop on Error

SCENARIO A playbook contains multiple command tasks from the Cloudflare integration. All tasks depend on the List Accounts task. If this task fails, subsequent tasks relying on its successful execution may also fail, resulting in a cascade of errors during a playbook run.

Review the demonstration below, which includes an intentionally misconfigured List Accounts task to illustrate the impact of Stop on Error when enabled versus disabled.

WARNING

Step 5 utilizes the Test Playbook functionality. Before proceeding, ensure to read Playbook Testing and Task Re-runs, including the nuances of using it in the context of a task with Stop on Error enabled.

1. Add the List Accounts command task from the Cloudflare integration.

   

2. Intentionally misconfigure the List Accounts task.

   

   1. Click into the List Accounts task.

   2. Leave the connection parameter empty to intentionally produce an error.

   3. Select the Auto Run checkbox.

   4. Leave the Stop on Error checkbox unchecked.

   5. Click the button to save the task.

3. Add and configure the Create Access Rule, Create List, and Create Zone tasks as dependencies of List Accounts, ensuring the Auto Run checkbox is selected for each.

   

   These tasks all rely on the output from the List Accounts task and use dynamic data selection to populate the Account IDs parameters for successful execution.

4. Add and configure an auto-run Add Items to List task as a dependent task of the Create List task, again using dynamic data selection to populate the required parameters.

   

   This task requires outputs from both the List Accounts task and the Create List task to populate its required parameters Account ID (output from List Accounts) and List ID (output from Create List).

5. Click the Test Playbook button to test run the playbook execution.

   

6. Observe the failures.

   

   Because the List Accounts command has encountered an error, all its dependent tasks have also failed. This includes Add Items to List, which is affected as a dependency of the downstream task Create List.

7. Click the button to stop the playbook execution.

8. Click into the List Accounts task, check the Stop on Error checkbox, then click the button to save the task.

   

   Again, keep the connection parameter empty to intentionally trigger an error.

9. Click the button to test re-run the playbook execution.

10. Observe the playbook execution with Stop on Error enabled.

    

    The playbook execution stops at the failed task and does not proceed to dependent tasks, preventing further failures.

READER NOTE

Users can use the Stop on Error checkbox with the Error Trigger feature to route playbook errors to the On Playbook Task Errors trigger path. This can be used, for example, to notify relevant parties via email when a critical task fails to execute.

Refer to On Playbook Task Errors for details.

Fixing the Error of a Task with Stop on Error Enabled

Users can click the button on a task with Stop on Error enabled to troubleshoot it and re-execute it upon remediation using the Rerun button. Clicking the Rerun button executes all tasks from the failure point onward, not just the task with the error. Refer to this article for further details.

Fixing the Error During Playbook Testing

1. Click the button, then examine the error message.

   

2. Click the errored List Accounts task and troubleshoot the error by using a valid connection.

   

3. Click the button again, then click the Rerun button to re-execute this task and all tasks following it.

   

Fixing an Error in a Live Playbook Attached to an Incident

1. Click the Edit or View Draft button on the playbook canvas of the live playbook.

   

2. Repeat steps 1 and 2 from Fixing the Error During Playbook Testing to view and remediate the error.

3. Click the Submit button.

   

4. Navigate to the Investigation Dashboard module, then select the incident using the playbook.

   

5. Select the Playbooks tab, then click into the relevant playbook.

   

6. Click the Get Latest Playbook button.

   

7. Click the button to refresh the playbook.

   

8. Select the task with the error, then click the Rerun button to re-execute this task and all tasks following it.