Why your call flow is not answering: Draft vs Published
Last updated: Aug 24, 2026
A call flow answers calls only when two things are true at once: it shows the green Published badge, and at least one phone number is assigned to it. Everything else — a yellow Draft badge, a published flow with no numbers, an edit you made but never published — means callers are not hearing what's on your canvas. This page decodes every badge and state on the Phone System → Call Flows tab.
The two-part rule
- Published — pressing Publish makes the canvas the live flow. Save Draft stores your work without going live; the flow (or your changes) stay off the air.
- Assigned — a number must point at the flow. A published flow with no numbers shows no live badge and answers nothing — see point a phone number at a call flow.
When both are true, the flow row shows a Live on badge with the number count.
What each badge means
| Badge | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Published (green) | The flow's last published version is live and will route calls on any assigned numbers. |
| Draft (yellow) | The flow has never been published, or was demoted. It routes nothing. |
| Live on N (blue) | Published AND assigned — N numbers are actively routed by this flow. |
| Draft with live numbers (red) | Demoted to draft while numbers still point at it — those numbers are NOT routing. Open the flow and press Publish. |
| Unsaved changes (red, in the editor) | The canvas differs from what the server holds. Nothing you see is saved — press Save Draft or Publish. |
| Default | The company's default flow. |
When Publish is blocked
The Publish button always responds to a click — if the flow can't go live, you get an unmissable box titled "Not published — nothing was saved" listing exactly what to fix. The most common causes:
- A node (often a freshly added IVR Menu) "has no outgoing connection." — wire its dots to the next steps.
- A node "is not reachable from the Incoming Call node." — it's on the canvas but nothing leads to it.
- A Business Hours node where "both Open and Closed branches must be connected."
Your edits stay on the canvas while you fix the list — but the live flow is untouched until Publish succeeds. The preflight panel above the canvas shows the same checks live; you're clear when it reads "All checks passed — safe to publish."
Demoting a live flow to draft
Pressing Save Draft on a flow that's live on numbers asks "Demote this live flow to draft?" — confirming stops call routing on every assigned number until you publish again, and the confirmation toast says so plainly: "Saved as draft — live numbers will drop calls". Use this only when you genuinely mean to take the flow offline; otherwise keep the live version and press Publish when your edits are ready.
Troubleshooting
- The flow shows Published but callers get nothing — no number is assigned. Go to Phone System → Numbers and set the number's Inbound Call Flow to this flow; the row then shows Live on 1.
- The flow shows "Draft with live numbers" in red — open it and press Publish. Until then, calls to those numbers are not routed by this flow.
- You edited the flow, it looks right on screen, but callers hear the old version — look for the Unsaved changes pill in the editor toolbar. The canvas is ahead of the server; press Publish.
- You want to test changes without going live — use Save Draft freely on a flow that has never been published, or duplicate the flow (the copy starts as a draft) and publish the copy only when ready.
FAQ
Why is my call flow not answering calls?
Two requirements must both be true: the flow shows the green Published badge, and at least one phone number is assigned to it. A Draft flow, or a Published flow with no numbers, answers nothing.
What is the difference between Save Draft and Publish?
Save Draft stores your work without touching the live version. Publish makes the canvas the live flow that answers calls. Editing never changes the live flow until you press Publish.
What does the red Draft with live numbers badge mean?
The flow was demoted to draft while phone numbers still point at it — those numbers are not routing calls. Open the flow and press Publish to bring them back.
Publish did nothing and my new node disappeared later. What happened?
Publish was blocked by a preflight error. Dispatch Bros shows a 'Not published — nothing was saved' box listing exactly what to fix — the canvas keeps your edit, but the live flow stays unchanged until you fix the list and publish.