I am trying to edit a workflow but i am getting an error saying i cannot perform this action

Question

I am trying to edit a workflow but i am getting an error saying i cannot perform this action on a draft workflow. I have published this workflow numerous times but i still get this error. Also, when i edit the active version, it turns into draft anyway

Mikael Sandberg · Accepted Answer

Hi @Tony Parsons,

Welcome to Atlassian Community!

The error message is a bit misleading, what it means is that if you are trying to remove a status, or add an outgoing transition to a status that do not have one already you can only do that on an inactive workflow. So what you have to do is make a copy of your workflow, make the changes you want to do in this new copy, and then replace the existing one in the workflow scheme with this new workflow.

John Funk · Accepted Answer

Hi Tony - Welcome to the Atlassian Community!

Yes, this is a very annoying error. It usually happens when you are trying to edit a workflow and a status does not have an outgoing transition. Regardless, there is nothing you can do about it except to copy the workflow, make changes to the copy while it is still in an inactive status. And then add the updated workflow into the workflow scheme, attaching it to the same issue types as the current workflow, thereby replacing the current workflow.