---
schema_version: "1"
id: 51be52f0988c754e05e72dba5e53b061d2d7844c21a8dff98d08ee5b761255ee
title: Flow Orchestration Background Steps
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/platform/264-0-0/orchestrator_concepts_steps_background.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.orchestrator_concepts_steps_background.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: c3412b28b7e1186ca7d818cc36a7b7d78f964d25a8d149b9aaebd21be67df64c
description: A background step launches an active autolaunched flow and has no user interaction. You can control when a background step is ready to start.
products:
  - Flow Builder
  - Salesforce Platform
release: "264"
---
# Flow Orchestration Background Steps

A background step launches an active autolaunched flow and has no user interaction. You can control when a background step is ready to start.

### Required Editions

<table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small edition"><colgroup><col style="width:100%"></colgroup><tbody><tr class=""><td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;"><a href="https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.automate_orchestrator_about_supported_editions.htm&amp;release=264.0.0&amp;type=5" title="Review the supported products and editions for Flow Orchestration.">View supported editions for Flow Orchestration.</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

![Note](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-platform-platform_automation-264-0-0-production-enus/60568438-ec7e-4665-acd1-7c80dcbe60d5/images/icon_note.png)

Note The Step resource in Flow Orchestration isn't related to the discontinued Step element in flows.

## Background Step Work Cycle

![The workflow for a background step in an orchestration](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-platform-platform_automation-264-0-0-production-enus/60568438-ec7e-4665-acd1-7c80dcbe60d5/platform_automation/images/orchestration/orchestrator_background_step_work_cycle.png)

## Background Step Processing

Each background step references an active autolaunched flow. When the orchestration runs, it automatically determines whether the step’s flow runs synchronously or asynchronously.

An orchestration run processes a background step asynchronously when the step's flow contains 1 or more Subflow or Wait elements. How a background step with one or more Action elements runs depends on the orchestration run's API version.

For orchestrations running in API version 68.0 and later, a background step with a flow containing synchronous actions runs synchronously. A background step with a flow containing asynchronous actions runs asynchronously.

For orchestrations running in API version 67.0 and earlier, any background step with a flow containing an Action element runs asynchronously.

When a background step’s flow runs synchronously, the orchestration resumes when the flow is completed.

When a background step’s flow runs asynchronously, the step publishes a Flow Orchestration Event platform event. When the orchestration run receives the event, it evaluates the current stage and each of its Not Started or In Progress steps.

## When to Start the Step

To control when a background step starts, select a condition.

 
| Step Condition | Requires |
| --- | --- |
| **When the stage starts, the step starts** | — |
| **When another step is marked Completed, the step starts** | The name of the step that must be completed before the step can start |
| **When the specified requirements are met, the step starts** | Up to 10 requirements that determine whether the step can start |
| **When the specified evaluation flow returns True, the step starts** | The name of the active evaluation flow that determines whether the step can start |

## Running Context of an Action Called by a Background Step

For API version 60.0 and later, the autolaunched flow called by a background step runs in the context of the Automated Process User by default. To specify a different user's context, use the Select Who to Run the Action As section in the background step's Properties panel. To control the system context's record-level access, use the How to Run the Flow advanced option of the autolaunched flow.

For API version 59.0 and earlier, an active autolaunched flow called by a background step runs in the same context that the orchestration runs in.

Running Contexts of Background Steps in API Version 59.0 and Earlier  
| Orchestration Runs In | Associated Flow Runs In |
| --- | --- |
| System context | System context: To control the sharing access, use the How to Run the Flow advanced option of the autolaunched flow. |
| User context | User context: To control the permission and sharing access, use the How to Run the Flow advanced option of the autolaunched flow. |

For API version 59.0 and earlier, the context of the autolaunched flow called by an asynchronous background step depends on the parent orchestration run.

Running Contexts of Asynchronous Background Steps in API Version 59.0 and Earlier  
| Orchestration Runs In | Associated Flow Runs In |
| --- | --- |
| System context | The Automated Process user in system context: To control the sharing access, use the How to Run the Flow advanced option of the autolaunched flow. |
| User context | The same context that the orchestration ran in before the step: Control the permission and sharing access with the How to Run the Flow advanced option of the autolaunched flow. |

#### See Also

- [Evaluation Flows in Orchestrations](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.orchestrator_concepts_flows_evaluation_flows.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "When you need more than 3 requirements to control stage and step execution, use an evaluation flow. Select the Evaluation Flow tile in the New Flow window to create an evaluation flow.")