Delay

Pause a workflow for a set amount of time or until a specific date and time.

The Delay node holds the next step for a chosen amount of time. Think of it like telling an assistant, "Do this task later, not now."

Use it when timing matters, such as sending a follow-up later or spacing out repeated actions.

Supports two timing modes: choose Delay for to wait a set amount of time, or Delay until to resume at an exact date and time.
Converts time for you: if you enter minutes, hours, or days, Diaflow turns that into one clear wait value automatically.
Calculates the remaining wait automatically: when you choose Delay until, Diaflow works out how long it is from now until that date and time.
Keeps the output simple: the node returns one delay value that Diaflow uses to decide when the next step should run.

Wait 2 hours before sending a second outreach email, so contacts do not receive messages too quickly.
Pause a workflow until the next morning before creating a reminder task for a sales rep.
Space out status checks between systems to reduce repeated requests and avoid unnecessary failures.

Drag Delay onto the canvas where you want the pause to happen.
In Type, choose Delay for if you want to wait a fixed amount of time.
If you choose Delay for, in Delayed for, select Seconds, Minutes, Hours, or Days.
If you choose Delay for, in Value, enter the number of seconds, minutes, hours, or days to wait.
In Type, choose Delay until if you want the workflow to continue at an exact date and time.
If you choose Delay until, in Value, select the date and time you want.
Save the node and run the workflow once to confirm the next step resumes when expected.

Before settings entered in the Delay node

After delay value prepared for the next step

Use Delay for when you want a simple fixed pause.
Use Delay until when the workflow must resume at a specific calendar time.
For date-based scheduling, choose the date and time from the picker instead of typing custom formats by hand.
Test one run first if the timing is important for a customer message, reminder, or deadline.
For long waits tied to a real date, prefer Delay until over estimating with a large number of days.

Do not leave Type, time unit, or Value empty. The workflow can fail.
Do not use unsupported time units. Use only Seconds, Minutes, Hours, or Days.
Do not choose a date or time in the past. The workflow may continue immediately or behave unexpectedly.
Do not paste unusual date text into Delay until. Use the standard picker format whenever possible.
Do not assume timezone-sensitive schedules will always match your local clock without testing once first.
Do not rely on this node to change your business data. It only controls when the next step runs.

Last updated 6 days ago