flowstudio-power-automate-governance

Power Automate Governance with FlowStudio MCP

Classify, tag, and govern Power Automate flows at scale through the FlowStudio MCP cached store — without Dataverse, without the CoE Starter Kit, and without the Power Automate portal.

This skill uses the same store_* tool family as flowstudio-power-automate-monitoring, but with a different intent: governance writes metadata (update_store_flow) and reads for audit and classification outcomes. Monitoring reads the same tools for operational health outcomes. Don't try to memorize which skill "owns" which tool — pick by what the user is doing. For health checks and failure-rate dashboards, load flowstudio-power-automate-monitoring instead.

⚠️ Pro+ subscription required. This skill calls store_* tools that only work for FlowStudio for Teams or MCP Pro+ subscribers. If the user does not have Pro+ access: the first store_* tool call will return a 403/404 error. When that happens:

STOP calling store tools

Tell the user governance features require a Pro+ subscription

Link them to https://mcp.flowstudio.app/pricing Discovery: load tool schemas via the meta-tools rather than tools/list — call tool_search with query: "skill:governance" for the canonical bundle, or query: "select:update_store_flow" for a single tool. This skill covers workflow patterns and field semantics — things tool_search cannot tell you. If this document disagrees with a real API response, the API wins.

🛑 Live-write authorization required. Workflows 3 (Archive Score) and 7 (Maker Offboarding) call set_live_flow_state, which stops production flows in Power Automate. These workflows must not execute autonomously. Before issuing any set_live_flow_state call, you must: Present the user with the exact list of flows to be stopped (display name, environment, current state). Require explicit typed confirmation — the user must reply with a phrase such as "yes, stop these flows" or equivalent affirmative. Abort if confirmation is absent, ambiguous, or negated.

This requirement cannot be waived by earlier conversational agreement. Confirm immediately before each batch write.

Critical: How to Extract Flow IDs

list_store_flows returns id in format <environmentId>.<flowId>. You must split on the first . to get environmentName and flowName for all other tools:

id = "Default-<envGuid>.<flowGuid>"
environmentName = "Default-<envGuid>"    (everything before first ".")
flowName = "<flowGuid>"                  (everything after first ".")

Also: skip entries that have no displayName or have state=Deleted — these are sparse records or flows that no longer exist in Power Automate. If a deleted flow has monitor=true, suggest disabling monitoring (update_store_flow with monitor=false) to free up a monitoring slot (standard plan includes 20).

The Write Tool: update_store_flow

update_store_flow writes governance metadata to the FlowStudio cache only — it does NOT modify the flow in Power Automate. These fields are not visible via get_live_flow or the PA portal. They exist only in the FlowStudio store and are used by FlowStudio's scanning pipeline and notification rules.

This means:

• ownerTeam / supportEmail — sets who FlowStudio considers the governance contact. Does NOT change the actual PA flow owner.
• rule_notify_email — sets who receives FlowStudio failure/missing-run notifications. Does NOT change Microsoft's built-in flow failure alerts.
• monitor / critical / businessImpact — FlowStudio classification only. Power Automate has no equivalent fields.

Merge semantics — only fields you provide are updated. Returns the full updated record (same shape as get_store_flow).

Required parameters: environmentName, flowName. All other fields optional.

Settable Fields

Caution with security: The security field on get_store_flow contains structured JSON (e.g. {"triggerRequestAuthenticationType":"All"}). Writing a plain string like "reviewed" will overwrite this. To mark a flow as security-reviewed, use tags instead.

Governance Workflows

1. Compliance Detail Review

Identify flows missing required governance metadata.

1. Ask the user which compliance fields they require
2. list_store_flows
3. For each active flow: split id, call get_store_flow, check required fields
4. Report non-compliant flows with missing fields listed
5. For updates: ask for values, then update_store_flow(...provided fields).
   Do not write to the `security` field — see caution block in the
   update_store_flow section above. Use tags (e.g., #security-reviewed) instead.

Common compliance fields: description, businessImpact, businessJustification, ownerTeam, supportEmail, monitor, rule_notify_onfail, critical. Ask for the user's policy before flagging.

2. Orphaned Resource Detection

Find flows owned by deleted or disabled Azure AD accounts.

1. list_store_makers
2. Filter where deleted=true AND ownerFlowCount > 0
3. list_store_flows → collect all flows
4. For each active flow: split id, get_store_flow, parse owners JSON
5. Match owner principalId against orphaned maker id
6. Reassign governance contact or stop/tag for decommission

update_store_flow does not transfer actual PA ownership; use the admin center or PowerShell for that. Some orphaned-looking flows are system-generated; tag them instead of reassigning when appropriate. Store coverage is only as fresh as the latest scan.

3. Archive Score Calculation

Compute an inactivity score (0-7) per flow to identify cleanup candidates.

1. list_store_flows
2. For each active flow: split id, get_store_flow
3. Add 1 point each: created≈modified, test/demo/temp/copy name, age >12mo,
   stopped/suspended, no owners, no recent runs, complexity.actions < 5
4. Score 5-7: recommend archive; 3-4: tag #archive-review; 0-2: active
5. Present the full list of flows scoring 5-7 (displayName, environment,
   score) to the user and request explicit typed confirmation before stopping
   any flow. Do not proceed to set_live_flow_state until the user provides
   unambiguous approval (e.g., "yes, stop these flows").
   On approval: set_live_flow_state(..., "Stopped") and append #archived via
   update_store_flow.
   On non-confirmation or silence: report the candidate list only; do not write.

Archive via MCP means stop the flow and tag it. Deletion requires the portal or admin PowerShell.

4. Connector Audit

Audit which connectors are in use across monitored flows. Useful for DLP impact analysis and premium license planning.

1. list_store_flows(monitor=true)
2. For each active flow: split id, get_store_flow, parse connections JSON
3. Group by apiName; flag Premium tier, HTTP connectors, custom connectors
4. Report inventory to user

Scope to monitored flows where possible; each get_store_flow call costs time. list_store_connections lists connection instances, not connector usage per flow. DLP policies are not exposed; ask the user for connector classifications.

5. Notification Rule Management

Configure monitoring and alerting for flows at scale.

Enable failure alerts on all critical flows:
1. list_store_flows(monitor=true)
2. For each active flow: split id, get_store_flow
3. If critical=true and rule_notify_onfail is false, update_store_flow(...,
   rule_notify_onfail=true, rule_notify_email="oncall@contoso.com")

Enable missing-run detection for scheduled flows:
1. list_store_flows(monitor=true)
2. For active Recurrence flows: get_store_flow
3. If rule_notify_onmissingdays is 0/missing, update_store_flow(...,
   rule_notify_onmissingdays=2)

Check monitoring limits before bulk-enabling monitor=true. If no flows have critical=true, report that as a governance gap before configuring alerts.

For large tenants, confirm with the user before bulk-writing and present a count of flows to be modified.

6. Classification and Tagging

Bulk-classify flows by connector type, business function, or risk level.

Auto-tag by connector:
1. list_store_flows
2. For each active flow: split id, get_store_flow, parse connections JSON
3. Map apiName values to tags (#sharepoint, #teams, #email, #custom-connector)
4. Read existing store tags, append new tags, update_store_flow(tags=...).
   Do not write to the `security` field — see caution block in the
   update_store_flow section above. Use tags (e.g., #security-reviewed) instead.

Store tags and description hashtags are separate systems. tags= overwrites store tags, so read/append/write. Avoid overriding computed tier unless asked.

For large tenants, confirm with the user before bulk-writing and present a count of flows to be modified.

7. Maker Offboarding

When an employee leaves, identify their flows and apps, and reassign FlowStudio governance contacts and notification recipients.

1. Ask the user to confirm they hold offboarding authority for the target
   environments before proceeding. If authority cannot be confirmed, report
   findings only and do not write live state.
   Then: get_store_maker(makerKey="<departing-user-aad-oid>")
   → check ownerFlowCount, ownerAppCount, deleted status
2. list_store_flows → collect all flows
3. For each active flow: split id, get_store_flow, parse owners JSON
4. Flag flows whose owner principalId matches the departing user's OID
5. list_store_power_apps → filter ownerId
6. For kept flows: update ownerTeam/supportEmail/rule_notify_email; consider
   add_live_flow_to_solution before account deletion
7. Present the full list of flows flagged for retirement (displayName,
   environment, current state) to the user. Require explicit typed
   confirmation before calling set_live_flow_state on any flow.
   On approval: set_live_flow_state(..., "Stopped") and tag #decommissioned
   via update_store_flow.
   On non-confirmation or silence: tag #decommission-pending only; do not stop.
8. Report: flows reassigned, flows migrated to solutions, flows stopped,
   apps needing manual reassignment

This changes FlowStudio governance contacts, not actual PA ownership. Power Apps ownership changes are manual/admin-center work.

8. Security Review

Review flows for potential security concerns using cached store data.

1. list_store_flows(monitor=true)
2. For each active flow: split id, get_store_flow
3. Parse security/connections/referencedResources JSON; read sharingType top-level
4. Report findings; for reviewed flows append #security-reviewed tag

Security signals: security.triggerRequestAuthenticationType, sharingType, connections, referencedResources, tier. Never overwrite the structured security field; tag reviewed flows instead.

9. Environment Governance

Audit environments for compliance and sprawl.

1. list_store_environments
   Skip entries without displayName (tenant-level metadata rows)
2. Flag:
   - Developer environments
   - Non-managed environments
   - Environments where service account lacks admin access (isAdmin=false)
3. list_store_flows → group by environmentName
4. list_store_connections → group by environmentName

10. Governance Dashboard

Generate a tenant-wide governance summary.

Efficient metrics (list calls only):
1. total_flows = len(list_store_flows())
2. monitored = len(list_store_flows(monitor=true))
3. with_onfail = len(list_store_flows(rule_notify_onfail=true))
4. makers/apps/envs/conns = list_store_makers/list_store_power_apps/list_store_environments/list_store_connections
5. Compute monitoring %, notification %, orphan count, high-failure count

Detailed metrics (require get_store_flow per flow — expensive for large tenants):
- Compliance %: flows with businessImpact set / total active flows
- Undocumented count: flows without description
- Tier breakdown: group by tier field

Field Reference: get_store_flow Fields Used in Governance

All fields below are confirmed present on the get_store_flow response. Fields marked with * are also available on list_store_flows (cheaper).

Related Skills

• flowstudio-power-automate-monitoring — Health checks, failure rates, inventory (read-only)
• flowstudio-power-automate-mcp — Foundation skill: connection setup, MCP helper, tool discovery
• flowstudio-power-automate-debug — Deep diagnosis with action-level inputs/outputs
• flowstudio-power-automate-build — Build and deploy flow definitions