Salesforce Flow Access: Flow User Checkbox vs. Run Flows Permission

As a Salesforce administrator, I created a flow that allows employees to request leave through a screen flow in Salesforce. I add the flow to a button on the Employee record page.

However, whenever the user clicked the button to apply the leave, they received an error. Additionally, when some users navigated to the flow to create a New one, they were unable to select the option to create a new one, but they were still able to apply leave.

This is because we need to grant specific flow permissions to the user from the user profile or the permission set, specifically the ‘Flow User’ and ‘Run Flows’ permissions.

In this article, we will learn about the difference between the Flow User checkbox and Run Flows in Salesforce. Additionally, I will explain how to grant permission to a user to create and run a flow in Salesforce, using a real-time scenario and a step-by-step explanation.

Table of Contents

What is the Flow User Checkbox in Salesforce?

Flow User is a checkbox available on a user’s profile in Salesforce. It controls whether the user is allowed to run flows that require user permissions.

When we enable the flow user option, it does not allow users to access Flow Builder and create or edit flows.
Using it, we can only allow the user to run flows that need that extra permission level.
We usually enable this permission for users who interact with Screen Flows.
This permission is only required for screen flows or flows with actions. It is not necessary for autolanch flows.

What is the Run Flows Permission in Salesforce?

The flow user permission we give from the user record page, and that permission only gets enabled for that particular user.

Now, the Run Flow permission is also a user permission that can be assigned through Profiles or Permission Sets. Since we are giving permission from the profile, it will get assigned to all users assigned to that profile.

This permission is required if a user wants to:

Open and run a screen Flow manually from the Debug options.
Use a flow from a button, quick action, or record page.

Enable Flow User Checkbox and Run Flows in Salesforce

Below, I will use a scenario to explain the key differences between enabling and restricting access to the flow user and the run flow option, as well as their respective functionalities.

Use Case:

We have the screen flow, which creates the new account from the custom object named Job Application__c. I created the flow and then added to that object using an action.

Now, whenever the user clicks that button, the screen will open, and the user will be able to create an account record.

First, let’s navigate to check whether the ‘Flow User‘ checkbox is checked or not. For that, go to Setup -> in Quick Find, search for ‘User‘, and click the user for which you want to check the flow permission.

Below, you can see the check we have granted the Flow User permission for this user.

User Name: Ella Edward.
Profile: Agent.
Flow User: Enabled.

Flow User Checkbox vs Run Flows in Salesforce

Now, navigate to the Agent profile assigned to the above user, and there, you need to find the Run Flows permission. First, we will disable this permission so that we can understand the function and the difference between these permissions.

As you navigate to the object where you added the action to call the screen flow to create the record, and click the action button, the screen will open.

On that screen, you will see the fields that you added while creating the flow. Provide values to the fields, and then click the Save button. You will see an error.

The error occurred because the Run Flow permission is disabled from the user profile.

Create Record Using Screen Flow in Salesforce

Disable the Flow User permission from the user record page.
Disable the Run Flow permission from the user profile.

Restrict Flow User Permission in Salesforce

If you set the above permissions and navigate to the object there, you will not find the action to call the screen flow that the admin created and added to the object because the user does not have the Flow user permission.

Now, disable the Flow User permission on the user record page.
Next, navigate to the profile and enable the ‘Run Flows’ permission.

Then, as you log in with the user for whom we disabled the permission, even though that user can see the action button to call the screen flow.

This time, you can create the account record even though the flow user permission hasn’t been assigned to the user.

Assign Flow User Permission in Salesforce

In this way, we can grant Flow User and Run Flows permissions as per the user’s requirements in Salesforce.

Flow User Checkbox vs Run Flows in Salesforce

Below, I have explained the key comparison between the Flow User Checkbox and Run Flow permission in Salesforce.

Feature	Run Flows Permission	Flow User Checkbox
What it is	A permission in a profile or a permission set	A checkbox on the User record
Purpose	Allows the user to run active flows	Gives additional ability to run advanced flows (with Apex, Quick Actions, etc.)
Required for	Running any flow (basic requirement)	Running flows with complex elements
Needed for creating flows?	No	No
Can be assigned via	Profile / Permission Set	Only from the User Detail Page
Common use case	Run screen/auto-launched flows	Run flows with advanced elements
Works alone?	Sometimes yes	Only works with the Run Flows permission.

Frequently Asked Questions on Flow User Checkbox and Run Flows in Salesforce

What does the User Details checkbox “Flow User” give access to?

Flow User is a checkbox available on a user record page in Salesforce. It controls whether the user is allowed to run flows that require user permissions.
The “Flow User” checkbox enables a user to run flows that require additional permissions, such as those that perform record updates or call Apex actions.

Flow User vs. Run Flows permission

If we have enabled the Run Flows permission, then we don’t need to give flow user permission, because the Run Flows permission already allows the user to execute the flow.
However, even if a user has the “Run Flows” permission, certain types of flows, such as screen flows or those using specific actions, require the Flow User checkbox to be selected.

How to get a list of users with “Flow User” selected or not selected

You can write a SOQL query to get the users with ‘Flow User’ selected or not.
SELECT Id, Username, name FROM User WHERE UserPermissionsInteractionUser=TRUE

“Flow user license not available” when I’m trying to enable the Flow User checkbox

The license you assigned to the user may be a license that does not support the Flow User permission.
Below, I provided the supported licenses list:
1. Salesforce (full CRM license)
2. Salesforce Platform (some limitations, but generally works)
3. Service Cloud
4. Sales Cloud

Conclusion

I hope you have got an idea about the difference between the Flow User checkbox and Run Flows in Salesforce. Additionally, I have explained how to grant permission to a user to create and run a flow in Salesforce, using a real-time scenario and a step-by-step explanation.

Additionally, we have highlighted the key differences between the Flow User and Run Flows permissions in Salesforce, as well as some frequently asked questions.