> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.timberlogs.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Flow Timeline

> View related logs grouped together to trace multi-step operations.

The Flow Timeline view shows related logs grouped together, making it easy to trace multi-step operations.

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/enabo/p9BVVvDSI7cm2Vjn/images/dashboard/flows.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=p9BVVvDSI7cm2Vjn&q=85&s=41ff557cda33340ed86457b15b00ca8e" alt="Flow Timeline" width="1440" height="900" data-path="images/dashboard/flows.png" />

## What is a Flow?

A flow is a series of related logs connected by a shared `flowId` and ordered by `stepIndex`. See [Flows](/concepts/flows) for a conceptual overview.

## Viewing Flows

### From the Logs View

1. Click any log that has a flow ID
2. In the detail panel, click the flow ID link
3. View all logs in that flow

### Flow Timeline View

The flow timeline displays:

* All logs in the flow, ordered by step index
* Time elapsed between steps
* Total flow duration
* Visual timeline showing progress

## Flow Details

### Header

* **Flow Name** - Extracted from flow ID (e.g., `checkout` from `checkout-a1b2c3d4`)
* **Flow ID** - Full identifier
* **Total Steps** - Number of logs in the flow
* **Duration** - Time from first to last log
* **Status** - Success/Error based on final log level

### Timeline

Each step shows:

* **Step Index** - Position in sequence (0, 1, 2...)
* **Time** - When the step occurred
* **Delta** - Time since previous step
* **Level** - Log level (color-coded)
* **Message** - Log message

### Example Flow

```
checkout-a1b2c3d4
Duration: 2.3s | 4 steps

[0] 0ms    info  "Checkout started"
[1] 150ms  info  "Cart validated"  (+150ms)
[2] 1.2s   info  "Payment processed"  (+1.05s)
[3] 2.3s   info  "Order confirmed"  (+1.1s)
```

## Filtering Flows

### By Flow ID

Search for a specific flow:

```
flowId:checkout-a1b2c3d4
```

### By Flow Name

Search flows by prefix:

```
flowId:checkout-*
```

### By Status

Filter to failed flows (those ending with an error):

1. Filter logs to `error` level
2. Look for logs with `flowId`
3. Click through to see the full flow

## Flow Analysis

### Identifying Bottlenecks

Look at the time delta between steps:

```
[0] 0ms    "Started"
[1] 50ms   "Validated"     (+50ms)   ← Fast
[2] 3.5s   "Payment done"  (+3.45s)  ← Slow step!
[3] 3.6s   "Complete"      (+100ms)  ← Fast
```

The payment step took 3.45 seconds - a potential optimization target.

### Error Analysis

When a flow ends in error:

```
[0] info   "Checkout started"
[1] info   "Cart validated"
[2] error  "Payment failed: Card declined"
```

The flow stops at step 2 with an error - expand to see the full error details and stack trace.

### Missing Steps

If step indices have gaps, the flow may be incomplete:

```
[0] info   "Started"
[2] info   "Processing"  ← Step 1 missing!
[3] info   "Complete"
```

Check your log level settings - filtered logs won't increment the step index, but SDK bugs might.

## Best Practices

See [Flows — Best Practices](/concepts/flows#best-practices) for naming, context, completion logging, and cross-service correlation guidelines.

## SDK Support

Create flows using the SDK:

```typescript theme={null}
import { createTimberlogs } from 'timberlogs-client'

const timber = createTimberlogs({
  source: 'my-app',
  environment: 'production',
  apiKey: process.env.TIMBER_API_KEY,
})

const flow = timber.flow('checkout')

flow.info('Started checkout')
flow.info('Cart validated')
flow.info('Payment processed')
flow.info('Order confirmed')
```

See Flow Tracking in the SDK: [TypeScript](/sdks/typescript#flow-tracking) | [Python](/sdks/python#flow-tracking).