Reporting workflow progress back to the app (multiple responses?)

💬 Workflows
1

Hi all,

I’m working with Retool Workflows and wondering what the best approach is for reporting progress back to the app during a long-running workflow.

Ideally, I’d like to send intermediate updates (e.g. step 1 complete, step 2 running, etc.) back to the retool app so the UI can reflect progress in real time. From what I understand, workflows only return a single response at the end, so I’m not sure if there’s a built-in way to handle this.

Has anyone implemented something like this?

Example:

I want my app to show the progress of the workflow. e.g. in this case say 20% and then afte a few seconds 80% …. so O can show the user the progress

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Thanks!

1 Like
4

Hi @Pedram,

You’re correct that Retool workflows currently return only a single final response, so there isn’t built-in support for streaming or intermediate updates. A practical workaround for this is to use a database polling pattern.

Here’s a simple approach:

Step 1 — Create a progress table

Set up a table to track workflow execution status:

CREATE TABLE workflow_progress (
  job_id TEXT,
  progress INT,       -- 0 to 100
  status TEXT,        -- 'running' | 'done' | 'error'
  message TEXT,
  updated_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT now()
);

Step 2 — Update progress within the workflow

At key stages in your workflow, update the progress and message. For example:

UPDATE workflow_progress 
SET progress = 20, message = 'Step 1 complete' 
WHERE job_id = '{{startTrigger.data.job_id}}';

Continue updating as the workflow progresses (e.g., 80% after step 2, and finally 100% with status = 'done' once completed).

Step 3 — Poll from your Retool app

Create a query in your Retool app:

SELECT * 
FROM workflow_progress 
WHERE job_id = {{ jobIdState.value }};

Enable “Run on a timer” (e.g., every 2 seconds).

Bind a Progress Bar component to:

{{ pollProgress.data.progress[0] }}

To stop polling once the workflow completes, use a JS query:

if (pollProgress.data.status[0] === 'done') {
  pollProgress.setTriggerOnLoad(false);
}

This approach provides a near real-time progress update experience for users.

For additional context, you can refer to this forum thread: