Action dependency issue – Action dependent on another action that failed or wasn’t completed.

In Power Automate, actions often depend on the output of previous actions. When an action fails due to an Action Dependency Issue, it means that:

The action relies on another action that failed or didn’t execute.
The flow stopped before reaching the dependent action.
The output of a previous action was null or incorrect, causing the dependent action to fail.

This guide explains:
🔹 Common causes of Action Dependency Issues
🔹 How to diagnose and fix the issue
🔹 Best practices to prevent dependency errors in Power Automate

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Step 1: Understanding the “Action Dependency Issue” Error

Power Automate executes actions sequentially unless configured otherwise. A dependent action can fail due to:

Cause	Description
Previous Action Failed	The required action before the current one did not execute successfully.
Missing Data from Previous Action	The expected output (e.g., a record ID, file URL) is missing.
Conditional Execution Skipped an Action	A condition prevented the execution of a required action.
Concurrency Control Issues	Parallel executions caused an action to miss its expected input.
Invalid Dynamic Content Reference	The dependent action references dynamic content that doesn’t exist in the flow.

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Step 2: Diagnosing the Issue

2.1. Check Flow Run History

1. Open Power Automate (https://make.powerautomate.com).
2. Navigate to My Flows → Select the failing flow.
3. Click Run History and open a failed run.
4. Find the action with the error “Action Dependency Issue”.
5. Look at the previous action to see if it failed or was skipped.

2.2. Identify the Failing Action Type

• If the previous action failed: Check its error message.
• If the previous action was skipped: Review conditional statements.
• If the previous action returned null: Verify that it correctly produces an output.

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Step 3: Fixing the “Action Dependency Issue”

3.1. Fix Failed Previous Actions

Problem: A required action before the dependent action failed.

Solution:

• Fix the root cause of the failure.
• Add error handling using a “Configure Run After” setting.

How to Configure Run After:

1. Click the three dots (...) on the dependent action.
2. Select “Configure run after”.
3. Choose “is successful” or “has failed” to handle errors.

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3.2. Ensure Data Is Available from Previous Actions

Problem: The dependent action is expecting missing or null data.

Solution:

• Add a condition to check if the data exists before proceeding.
• Use default values to prevent null values from breaking the flow.

Example: Preventing a failure if an ID is missing

Condition: If variable('RecordID') is empty → Terminate flow with custom error.
Else → Proceed with next action.

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3.3. Fix Conditional Execution Issues

Problem: A previous action skipped execution due to a conditional statement.

Solution:

• Ensure the condition logic is correct.
• Use an “Initialize Variable” step before conditions to prevent missing data.
• Change the “Configure Run After” settings to continue even if the action was skipped.

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3.4. Fix Invalid Dynamic Content References

Problem: The dependent action references dynamic content that doesn’t exist.

Solution:

• Open the “Dynamic Content” panel and verify if the expected field exists.
• If missing, ensure that the previous step outputs the required data.
• Use the “Coalesce” function to set a fallback value.

Example: Handling missing dynamic content gracefully

coalesce(outputs('PreviousAction')?['body/value'], 'Default Value')

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3.5. Handle Parallel Execution Issues

Problem: The dependent action executes before the required data is available.

Solution:

• Disable Concurrency Control in the settings of “Apply to Each”.
• Add a delay or a “Wait Until” action if an API response takes time.

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Step 4: Preventing Future Action Dependency Issues

✅ 4.1. Use “Run After” Configuration

• Always configure actions to handle failures properly.
• Allow retries where necessary.

✅ 4.2. Validate Data Before Using It

• Use conditions to check for missing or incorrect values before processing.

✅ 4.3. Implement Error Handling & Retry Policies

• Enable “Retry Policy” on actions that might fail due to temporary issues.
• Wrap critical steps inside “Scope” containers with error handling.

✅ 4.4. Monitor Flow Performance

• Regularly check Run History for dependency failures.
• Set up alerts when a dependent action fails.

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Step 5: Setting Up Alerts for Dependency Failures

To detect dependency issues early, set up an alert:

1. Add a “Condition” action after a key dependency.
2. If the previous action failed or returned empty, send an email notification.
3. Example: If outputs('PreviousAction') is empty → Send alert email "Dependency Action Failed!"