cloudthinker-ai Power Automate Management Skill
Manage and monitor Microsoft Power Automate flows, connections, and run history.
MANDATORY: Discovery-First Pattern
Always list flows and environments before querying specific resources.
Phase 1: Discovery
#!/bin/bash
PA_API="https://api.flow.microsoft.com"
pa_api() {
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $POWER_AUTOMATE_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
"${PA_API}/providers/Microsoft.ProcessSimple/${1}?api-version=2016-11-01"
}
echo "=== Environments ==="
pa_api "environments" | jq -r '
.value[] |
"\(.name)\t\(.properties.displayName)\t\(.properties.environmentSku)"
' | column -t
echo ""
echo "=== Flows Summary ==="
ENV_ID=$(pa_api "environments" | jq -r '.value[0].name')
pa_api "environments/${ENV_ID}/flows" | jq -r '
.value[] |
"\(.name)\t\(.properties.displayName)\t\(.properties.state)\t\(.properties.flowTriggerUri != null)"
' | column -t | head -30
echo ""
echo "=== Connections ==="
pa_api "environments/${ENV_ID}/connections" | jq -r '
.value[] |
"\(.name)\t\(.properties.displayName)\t\(.properties.apiId | split("/") | last)\t\(.properties.statuses[0].status)"
' | column -t | head -20
Phase 2: Analysis
#!/bin/bash
ENV_ID=$(pa_api "environments" | jq -r '.value[0].name')
echo "=== Failed Runs (recent) ==="
pa_api "environments/${ENV_ID}/flows" | jq -r '.value[].name' | head -15 | while read fid; do
pa_api "environments/${ENV_ID}/flows/${fid}/runs?\$filter=status eq 'Failed'&\$top=3" | jq -r --arg fid "$fid" '
.value[]? |
"\($fid)\t\(.name)\t\(.properties.status)\t\(.properties.endTime)"
'
done | column -t | head -20
echo ""
echo "=== Flow Status Summary ==="
pa_api "environments/${ENV_ID}/flows" | jq '{
total: (.value | length),
started: [.value[] | select(.properties.state == "Started")] | length,
stopped: [.value[] | select(.properties.state == "Stopped")] | length,
suspended: [.value[] | select(.properties.state == "Suspended")] | length
}'
echo ""
echo "=== Suspended Flows ==="
pa_api "environments/${ENV_ID}/flows" | jq -r '
.value[] |
select(.properties.state == "Suspended") |
"\(.properties.displayName)\tSUSPENDED\t\(.properties.flowFailureAlertSubscribed)"
' | column -t
Output Rules
- TOKEN EFFICIENCY: Target <=50 lines per output
- Filter flows by environment and state
- Never dump full flow definitions -- extract trigger and action connector names
Output Format
Present results as a structured report:
Managing Power Automate Report
══════════════════════════════
Resources discovered: [count]
Resource Status Key Metric Issues
──────────────────────────────────────────────
[name] [ok/warn] [value] [findings]
Summary: [total] resources | [ok] healthy | [warn] warnings | [crit] critical
Action Items: [list of prioritized findings]
Target ≤50 lines of output. Use tables for multi-resource comparisons.
Anti-Hallucination Rules
- NEVER assume resource names — always discover via CLI/API in Phase 1 before referencing in Phase 2.
- NEVER fabricate metric names or dimensions — verify against the service documentation or
--helpoutput. - NEVER mix CLI commands between service versions — confirm which version/API you are targeting.
- ALWAYS use the discovery → verify → analyze chain — every resource referenced must have been discovered first.
- ALWAYS handle empty results gracefully — an empty response is valid data, not an error to retry.
Counter-Rationalizations
| Shortcut | Counter | Why |
|---|---|---|
| "I'll skip discovery and check known resources" | Always run Phase 1 discovery first | Resource names change, new resources appear — assumed names cause errors |
| "The user only asked for a quick check" | Follow the full discovery → analysis flow | Quick checks miss critical issues; structured analysis catches silent failures |
| "Default configuration is probably fine" | Audit configuration explicitly | Defaults often leave logging, security, and optimization features disabled |
| "Metrics aren't needed for this" | Always check relevant metrics when available | API/CLI responses show current state; metrics reveal trends and intermittent issues |
| "I don't have access to that" | Try the command and report the actual error | Assumed permission failures prevent useful investigation; actual errors are informative |
Common Pitfalls
- API call limits: Power Platform enforces per-user and per-flow API call limits per 24h
- Connection consent: Connections require interactive consent -- cannot be created via API alone
- DLP policies: Data Loss Prevention policies block certain connector combinations
- Suspended flows: Flows suspend after repeated failures -- must be manually restarted
- Premium connectors: Premium/custom connectors require paid licenses per user
- Desktop flows: Desktop flows require on-premises gateway -- check gateway status
- Environment isolation: Flows in different environments cannot share connections