---
id: ERR-3
family: RT-ERR
level: core
profiles: [runtime]
posture: normative-target
added: "1.0"
changed: "1.0"
source: https://flowdrop.io/spec/rules/rt-err/err-3
specification: FlowDrop Workflow Specification 1.0-draft
licence: CC BY 4.0
---

# ERR-3 — A failure that is not node-level fails the run

*RT-ERR (Part II) · level: core · profiles: runtime · added in 1.0*

## The rule

> **Normative.** This is the rule.
>
> 1. A failure that is not converted into an error output escapes the node: the node is recorded as failed, no output exists for it, no error edge is followed, and the run fails.
>
> 2. The failure reported to the caller preserves the original cause.


## What it means

A failure that never becomes a routable error output is not a milder version
of ERR-1's outcome — it is the escape hatch that has to exist for an error
edge to mean anything at all. The node itself is recorded failed, and no
output exists for it, so there is nothing an error edge could route to,
however the workflow wires the node downstream: the run fails outright. What
does carry forward is the original cause — the failure reported to the
caller keeps it, rather than a generic message that discards where the
failure actually came from.

## Example

The same kind of node run as ERR-1, but with a failure the runtime does not
convert.

```json title="The status trail broadcast for an escaping failure" verdict="failed"
["running", "failed"]
```

Contrast ERR-1's trail for a converted failure: it never reaches `failed`.

## Related rules

- Names: ERR-1, ERR-8
- Referenced by: ERR-1

---

Rule identifiers are permanent and are never renumbered. This specification carries
no implementation status: each implementation publishes its own standing against
these rules. Licensed CC BY 4.0.