awesome-copilot/skills/flowstudio-power-automate-mcp/references/tool-reference.md

FlowStudio MCP — Tool Response Catalog

Response shapes and behavioral notes for the FlowStudio Power Automate MCP server.

For tool names and parameters: Prefer list_skills and tool_search. They return focused, up-to-date schemas without loading every MCP tool at once. Use tools/list only as a low-level fallback when the meta-tools are not available. This document covers what tool schemas do NOT tell you: response shapes and non-obvious behaviors discovered through real usage.

---

Source of Truth

Priority	Source	Covers
1	Real API response	Always trust what the server actually returns
2	list_skills / tool_search	Tool names, parameter names, types, required flags
3	This document	Response shapes, behavioral notes, gotchas

If this document disagrees with tool_search, tools/list, or real API behavior, the API wins. Update this document accordingly.

---

Environment & Tenant Discovery

list_live_environments

Response: direct array of environments.

[
  {
    "id": "Default-26e65220-5561-46ef-9783-ce5f20489241",
    "displayName": "FlowStudio (default)",
    "sku": "Production",
    "location": "australia",
    "state": "Enabled",
    "isDefault": true,
    "isAdmin": true,
    "isMember": true,
    "createdTime": "2023-08-18T00:41:05Z"
  }
]

Use the id value as environmentName in all other tools.

list_store_environments

Same shape as list_live_environments but read from cache (faster).

---

Connection Discovery

list_live_connections

Response: wrapper object with connections array.

{
  "connections": [
    {
      "id": "shared-office365-9f9d2c8e-55f1-49c9-9f9c-1c45d1fbbdce",
      "displayName": "user@contoso.com",
      "connectorName": "shared_office365",
      "environment": "Default-26e65220-...",
      "createdBy": "User Name",
      "authenticatedUser": "user@contoso.com",
      "overallStatus": "Connected",
      "statuses": [{"status": "Connected"}],
      "createdTime": "2024-03-12T21:23:55.206815Z",
      "connectionReferenceTemplate": {
        "connectionName": "shared-office365-9f9d2c8e-55f1-49c9-9f9c-1c45d1fbbdce",
        "source": "Invoker",
        "id": "/providers/Microsoft.PowerApps/apis/shared_office365"
      },
      "hostTemplate": {
        "connectionName": "shared_office365"
      }
    }
  ],
  "totalCount": 56,
  "error": null
}

Key field: id is the connectionName value used in connectionReferences.

Key field: connectorName maps to apiId: "/providers/Microsoft.PowerApps/apis/" + connectorName

Filter by status: prefer overallStatus == "Connected" when present; otherwise check statuses[0].status == "Connected".

For build workflows, pass environmentName to avoid using a connection from the wrong environment. Omit it only when intentionally inventorying connections across all environments.

Pass search=<connector or account> to narrow output and receive connectionReferenceTemplate plus hostTemplate values that can be copied directly into update_live_flow.

list_store_connections

Same connection data from cache.

---

Flow Discovery & Listing

list_live_flows

Response: wrapper object with flows array.

{
  "mode": "owner",
  "flows": [
    {
      "id": "0757041a-8ef2-cf74-ef06-06881916f371",
      "displayName": "My Flow",
      "state": "Started",
      "triggerType": "Request",
      "triggerKind": "Http",
      "createdTime": "2023-08-18T01:18:17Z",
      "lastModifiedTime": "2023-08-18T12:47:42Z",
      "owners": "<aad-object-id>",
      "definitionAvailable": true
    }
  ],
  "totalCount": 100,
  "nextLink": null,
  "error": null
}

Access via result["flows"]. id is a plain UUID --- use directly as flowName.

mode indicates the access scope used ("owner" or "admin").

Parameters added in newer server versions:

• search: filter by display name server-side.
• mode: owner for flows owned by the MCP identity; admin for all flows visible to an admin account.
• timeoutSeconds: return partial results with nextLink instead of waiting on very large environments.
• continuationUrl: pass the previous nextLink to continue the same query.

list_store_flows

Response: direct array (no wrapper).

[
  {
    "id": "3991358a-f603-e49d-b1ed-a9e4f72e2dcb.0757041a-8ef2-cf74-ef06-06881916f371",
    "displayName": "Admin | Sync Template v3 (Solutions)",
    "state": "Started",
    "triggerType": "OpenApiConnectionWebhook",
    "environmentName": "3991358a-f603-e49d-b1ed-a9e4f72e2dcb",
    "runPeriodTotal": 100,
    "createdTime": "2023-08-18T01:18:17Z",
    "lastModifiedTime": "2023-08-18T12:47:42Z"
  }
]

id format: <environmentId>.<flowId> --- split on the first . to extract the flow UUID: flow_id = item["id"].split(".", 1)[1]

get_store_flow

Response: single flow metadata from cache (selected fields).

{
  "id": "<environmentId>.<flowId>",
  "displayName": "My Flow",
  "state": "Started",
  "triggerType": "Recurrence",
  "runPeriodTotal": 100,
  "runPeriodFailRate": 0.1,
  "runPeriodSuccessRate": 0.9,
  "runPeriodFails": 10,
  "runPeriodSuccess": 90,
  "runPeriodDurationAverage": 29410.8,
  "runPeriodDurationMax": 158900.0,
  "runError": "{\"code\": \"EACCES\", ...}",
  "description": "Flow description",
  "tier": "Premium",
  "complexity": "{...}",
  "actions": 42,
  "connections": ["sharepointonline", "office365"],
  "owners": ["user@contoso.com"],
  "createdBy": "user@contoso.com"
}

runPeriodDurationAverage / runPeriodDurationMax are in milliseconds (divide by 1000). runError is a JSON string --- parse with json.loads().

---

Flow Definition (Live API)

get_live_flow

Response: full flow definition from PA API.

{
  "name": "<flow-guid>",
  "properties": {
    "displayName": "My Flow",
    "state": "Started",
    "definition": {
      "triggers": { "..." },
      "actions": { "..." },
      "parameters": { "..." }
    },
    "connectionReferences": { "..." }
  }
}

update_live_flow

Create mode: Omit flowName --- creates a new flow. definition and displayName required.

Update mode: Provide flowName --- PATCHes existing flow.

Response:

{
  "created": false,
  "flowKey": "<environmentId>.<flowId>",
  "updated": ["definition", "connectionReferences"],
  "displayName": "My Flow",
  "state": "Started",
  "definition": { "...full definition..." },
  "error": null
}

error is always present but may be null. Check result.get("error") is not None.

On create: created is the new flow GUID (string). On update: created is false.

Required fields can vary by server version. Use tool_search with select:update_live_flow before creating or patching a flow; if a description is required, include either the new description or the existing one from get_live_flow.

The flow description is part of the workflow definition (definition.description), not a top-level tool argument in current schemas.

add_live_flow_to_solution

Migrates a non-solution flow into a solution. Returns error if already in a solution.

Use this after creating a Copilot Studio Skills-triggered flow that must be discoverable as an agent tool. Pass solutionId for the target solution. If the server supports omitting solutionId, it uses the environment's default solution; prefer an explicit unmanaged solution for production ALM.

This tool changes solution membership only. It does not validate the trigger schema, publish a Copilot Studio agent, or prove that the flow is callable by the agent.

---

Connector Operation Discovery

describe_live_connector

Describes a connector/API and its operations. Use it before creating connector actions instead of guessing operation JSON.

Common modes:

Call shape	Use
search="send email" without connectorName	Search operations across connectors
connectorName="shared_sharepointonline"	Compact operation catalog for one connector
operationId="GetItems"	Expanded schema for one operation
variant="flowbot_chat"	Authored example for one operation variant

The operation detail can include:

• hint: authored guidance from the connector hints table.
• exampleDefinition: copy-ready action/trigger shape when available.
• Dynamic metadata with nextTool=get_live_dynamic_options or nextTool=get_live_dynamic_properties.

get_live_dynamic_options

Resolves live dropdown/list options for connector parameters. Use this for IDs selected from lists, such as SharePoint sites/lists, Teams teams/channels, or other x-ms-dynamic-list / x-ms-dynamic-values parameters.

Pass the dynamicMetadata object returned by describe_live_connector, the connection id from list_live_connections, and any already-resolved dependent parameters.

get_live_dynamic_properties

Resolves live schema/field properties for connector parameters. Use this for dynamic field sets such as SharePoint list item columns after the site and list are known.

Useful parameters:

• parameters: dependent values, for example { "dataset": "<site-url>", "table": "<list-id>" }.
• propertyName: request one field after inspecting the compact response.
• includeRaw: include raw connector schema only when needed; it can be large.

---

Run History & Monitoring

get_live_flow_runs

Response: direct array of runs (newest first).

[{
  "name": "<run-id>",
  "status": "Succeeded|Failed|Running|Cancelled",
  "startTime": "2026-02-25T06:13:38Z",
  "endTime": "2026-02-25T06:14:02Z",
  "triggerName": "Recurrence",
  "error": null
}]

top defaults to 30 and auto-paginates for higher values. Set top: 300 for 24-hour coverage on flows running every 5 minutes.

Run ID field is name (not runName). Use this value as the runName parameter in other tools.

get_live_flow_run_error

Response: structured error breakdown for a failed run.

{
  "runName": "08584296068667933411438594643CU15",
  "failedActions": [
    {
      "actionName": "Apply_to_each_prepare_workers",
      "status": "Failed",
      "error": {"code": "ActionFailed", "message": "An action failed."},
      "code": "ActionFailed",
      "startTime": "2026-02-25T06:13:52Z",
      "endTime": "2026-02-25T06:15:24Z"
    },
    {
      "actionName": "HTTP_find_AD_User_by_Name",
      "status": "Failed",
      "code": "NotSpecified",
      "startTime": "2026-02-25T06:14:01Z",
      "endTime": "2026-02-25T06:14:05Z"
    }
  ],
  "allActions": [
    {"actionName": "Apply_to_each", "status": "Skipped"},
    {"actionName": "Compose_WeekEnd", "status": "Succeeded"},
    {"actionName": "HTTP_find_AD_User_by_Name", "status": "Failed"}
  ]
}

failedActions is ordered outer-to-inner --- the last entry is the root cause. Use failedActions[-1]["actionName"] as the starting point for diagnosis.

get_live_flow_run_action_outputs

Response: array of action detail objects.

[
  {
    "actionName": "Compose_WeekEnd_now",
    "status": "Succeeded",
    "startTime": "2026-02-25T06:13:52Z",
    "endTime": "2026-02-25T06:13:52Z",
    "error": null,
    "inputs": "Mon, 25 Feb 2026 06:13:52 GMT",
    "outputs": "Mon, 25 Feb 2026 06:13:52 GMT"
  }
]

actionName is optional: omit it to return top-level actions in the run. Provide it for a specific action. If that action runs inside a foreach, the tool can return every repetition of that action across iterations; pass iterationIndex to pin to one zero-based iteration.

Outputs can be very large (50 MB+) for bulk-data actions. Use 120s+ timeout.

---

Run Control

resubmit_live_flow_run

Response: { flowKey, resubmitted: true, runName, triggerName }

cancel_live_flow_run

Cancels a Running flow run.

Do NOT cancel runs waiting for an adaptive card response --- status Running is normal while a Teams card is awaiting user input.

---

HTTP Trigger Tools

get_live_flow_http_schema

Deprecated. Prefer get_live_flow and inspect the Request trigger's inputs.schema plus any Response actions directly from the definition.

Response keys:

flowKey            - Flow GUID
displayName        - Flow display name
triggerName        - Trigger action name (e.g. "manual")
triggerType        - Trigger type (e.g. "Request")
triggerKind        - Trigger kind (e.g. "Http")
requestMethod      - HTTP method (e.g. "POST")
relativePath       - Relative path configured on the trigger (if any)
requestSchema      - JSON schema the trigger expects as POST body
requestHeaders     - Headers the trigger expects
responseSchemas    - Array of JSON schemas defined on Response action(s)
responseSchemaCount - Number of Response actions that define output schemas

The request body schema is in requestSchema (not triggerSchema).

get_live_flow_trigger_url

Deprecated. Prefer trigger_live_flow when you need to invoke an HTTP-triggered flow; it fetches the current callback URL internally.

Returns the signed callback URL for HTTP-triggered flows. Response includes flowKey, triggerName, triggerType, triggerKind, triggerMethod, triggerUrl.

trigger_live_flow

Response keys: flowKey, triggerName, triggerUrl, requiresAadAuth, authType, responseStatus, responseBody.

Only works for Request (HTTP) triggers. Returns an error for Recurrence and other trigger types: "only HTTP Request triggers can be invoked via this tool". Button-kind triggers return ListCallbackUrlOperationBlocked.

responseStatus + responseBody contain the flow's Response action output. AAD-authenticated triggers are handled automatically.

Content-type note: The body is sent as application/octet-stream (raw), not application/json. Flows with a trigger schema that has required fields will reject the request with InvalidRequestContent (400) because PA validates Content-Type before parsing against the schema. Flows without a schema, or flows designed to accept raw input (e.g. Baker-pattern flows that parse the body internally), will work fine. The flow receives the JSON as base64-encoded $content with $content-type: application/octet-stream.

---

Flow State Management

set_live_flow_state

Start or stop a Power Automate flow via the live PA API. Does not require a Power Clarity workspace — works for any flow the impersonated account can access. Reads the current state first and only issues the start/stop call if a change is actually needed.

Parameters: environmentName, flowName, state ("Started" | "Stopped") — all required.

Response:

{
  "flowName": "6321ab25-7eb0-42df-b977-e97d34bcb272",
  "environmentName": "Default-26e65220-...",
  "requestedState": "Started",
  "actualState": "Started"
}

Use this tool — not update_live_flow — to start or stop a flow. update_live_flow only changes displayName/definition; the PA API ignores state passed through that endpoint.

set_store_flow_state

Start or stop a flow via the live PA API and persist the updated state back to the Power Clarity cache. Same parameters as set_live_flow_state but requires a Power Clarity workspace.

Response (different shape from set_live_flow_state):

{
  "flowKey": "<environmentId>.<flowId>",
  "requestedState": "Stopped",
  "currentState": "Stopped",
  "flow": { /* full gFlows record, same shape as get_store_flow */ }
}

Prefer set_live_flow_state when you only need to toggle state — it's simpler and has no subscription requirement.

Use set_store_flow_state when you need the cache updated immediately (without waiting for the next daily scan) AND want the full updated governance record back in the same call — useful for workflows that stop a flow and immediately tag or inspect it.

---

Store Tools --- FlowStudio for Teams Only

get_store_flow_summary

Response: aggregated run statistics.

{
  "totalRuns": 100,
  "failRuns": 10,
  "failRate": 0.1,
  "averageDurationSeconds": 29.4,
  "maxDurationSeconds": 158.9,
  "firstFailRunRemediation": "<hint or null>"
}

get_store_flow_runs

Cached run history for the last N days with duration and remediation hints.

get_store_flow_errors

Cached failed-only runs with failed action names and remediation hints.

get_store_flow_trigger_url

Trigger URL from cache (instant, no PA API call).

update_store_flow

Update governance metadata (description, tags, monitor flag, notification rules, business impact).

list_store_makers / get_store_maker

Maker (citizen developer) discovery and detail.

list_store_power_apps

List all Power Apps canvas apps from the cache.

---

Behavioral Notes

Non-obvious behaviors discovered through real API usage. These are things tool schemas cannot tell you.

get_live_flow_run_action_outputs

• actionName is optional: omit to get top-level actions, provide to get one action. For actions inside foreach loops, a named action may return multiple repetitions; use iterationIndex to pin to one iteration.
• Outputs can be 50 MB+ for bulk-data actions --- always use 120s+ timeout.

update_live_flow

• Required fields can vary by server version; confirm with tool_search (select:update_live_flow) before create/update. If description is required, preserve the existing description when patching.
• error key is always present in response --- null means success. Do NOT check if "error" in result; check result.get("error") is not None.
• On create, created = new flow GUID (string). On update, created = false.
• Cannot change flow state. Only updates displayName, definition, and connectionReferences. Use set_live_flow_state to start/stop a flow.

trigger_live_flow

• Only works for HTTP Request triggers. Returns error for Recurrence, connector, and other trigger types.
• AAD-authenticated triggers are handled automatically (impersonated Bearer token).

get_live_flow_runs

• top defaults to 30 with automatic pagination for higher values.
• Run ID field is name, not runName. Use this value as runName in other tools.
• Runs are returned newest-first.

Teams PostMessageToConversation (via update_live_flow)

• "Chat with Flow bot": body/recipient = "user@domain.com;" (string with trailing semicolon).
• "Channel": body/recipient = {"groupId": "...", "channelId": "..."} (object).
• poster: "Flow bot" for Workflows bot identity, "User" for user identity.

list_live_connections

• For build workflows, pass environmentName; omitting it inventories connections across environments.
• Use search=<connector/account> to get smaller output and paste-ready connectionReferenceTemplate / hostTemplate values.
• id is the value you need for connectionName in connectionReferences.
• connectorName maps to apiId: "/providers/Microsoft.PowerApps/apis/" + connectorName.