← Al Davies, 250 High Street

Power Automate run history only shows 28 days: how to keep a longer record

Short answer: Power Automate shows a flow's run history for 28 days, then the older runs are gone from the Run history page. Microsoft says: "By default, flow run data is stored for 28 days." To keep a longer record, have the flow write one row per run to a list you own.

What you see after day 28

Microsoft's troubleshooting page describes the symptom: you cannot find your flow on the Run history page or the flow's Details page. The cause it gives is the 28 day storage. If the last run was more than 28 days ago, that run is no longer listed. Microsoft's fix for that case: run the flow again so new run data appears.

What Microsoft says about keeping more

Microsoft says: "To maintain a flow run history for over 28 days, you need to manually capture the run history before it's deleted." The page names one admin feature, Cloud flow run history in Dataverse. It says administrators can manage or reduce the number of days flow runs are kept in the Power Platform admin center. Ask your admin whether your company uses it.

Option 1. Log each run to a SharePoint list

Our advice, not a Microsoft rule: add a last action to the flow that writes a row to a log list. Then the record lives in SharePoint, not in the 28 day window.

  1. Create a list named "Flow log". Columns: Title (flow name), Run time (Date and time), Result (Choice: 1 Succeeded, 2 Failed), Item ID (Number), Note (Single line of text).
  2. Open your flow in edit mode. Exact names may differ on your screen.
  3. Select the plus sign under your last action and choose Add an action.
  4. Search for "Create item" in the SharePoint connector and select it.
  5. Choose your site address and the "Flow log" list.
  6. Fill Title with the flow name. Fill Run time with the expression utcNow().
  7. Set Result to "1 Succeeded".
  8. Save the flow.

Log the failures too

A last action only runs when the steps before it work. Microsoft's connection page shows how to catch a failure: add a parallel branch, select the three dots on the new branch's first action, select Configure run after, and check only "has failed". Put a second Create item action there with Result set to "2 Failed". Microsoft's page uses a Send an email action there, so you can add that too.

Do not create a loop

If your flow starts when an item is created or modified in a list, never log into that same list. The log row would start the flow again. Our advice, not a Microsoft rule: log to a separate list that no flow watches.

Option 2. Export what you can see today

Our advice, not a Microsoft rule: before day 28 passes, open the Run history page and copy the rows you need into a spreadsheet. This is a one time rescue and does not repeat itself, so use Option 1 for anything you need long term.

What to avoid

For flows that stop on their own, see "Power Automate flow turned off automatically".

When to get help

You can build all of this yourself in Microsoft 365. If you would rather have it built and tested for your team, I do that. A tracker like this is a fixed price: $5,000 for one, built in 2 weeks. See "What a SharePoint tracker costs to build". Bring one example of the problem to a free call.

Tell me what's still manual

I am Al Davies. I run 250 High Street LLC and build SharePoint trackers and Power Automate flows for operations teams. I work remotely. The first call is free, and I will not try to sell you anything.

See trackers I built: Tools I built

FAQ

How long does Power Automate keep run history?

Microsoft says flow run data is stored for 28 days by default.

Why is my Power Automate run history empty?

If the last run was more than 28 days ago, it no longer shows. Run the flow again to see new run data.

Can I see Power Automate runs older than 28 days?

Microsoft says you need to capture the run history before it is deleted. A log list written by the flow does that.

Who can change how long flow runs are kept?

Microsoft says administrators can manage or reduce the days in the Power Platform admin center, with the Cloud flow run history in Dataverse feature. Ask your admin.

How do I log failed runs too?

Add a parallel branch set to run only when the action before it has failed, as Microsoft's connection page shows. Put a Create item action in that branch.

Sources