# Publishing and sending your flow

## Publish your flow

{% hint style="info" %}
Remember, once a Flow has been published it can no longer be modified. See [Flow Status Lifecycle](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/flows/gettingstarted/flows-lifecycle) for more information on the different Flow states.
{% endhint %}

When you first created your Flow, it entered the Draft state. And as you edited and saved the modified Flow JSON content, it remained in the Draft state. You are able to send the Flow while it's in the Draft state, but only for testing purposes. If you want to send the Flow to a larger audience, you'll need to Publish the Flow.

You can publish your Flow once you have ensured that:

* All validation errors and [publishing checks](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/flows/guides/healthmonitoring#publishing-checks) have been resolved.
* The Flow meets the [design principles](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/flows/guides/bestpractices) of WhatsApp Flows
* The Flow complies with [WhatsApp Terms of Service](https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.whatsapp.com%2Flegal%2Fterms-of-service%2F%3Flang%3Den%26fbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0KQLkm-uQlOYgUATw5r9djIr0s8kd4iu6mBj1Dz-Hejk2YBMXoTTD7XLY_aem_ubQ-cBxfOYrPA0TuzlU6hg\&h=AT3-MPs5uGd6n7UyXLAlniDSSfrC1wQqgRR6O1Ee7Fa6vy0r8krcoUpdouWD_6uaGmLb8kYLEF_PRAMfQyJQhSeHmjOQi3bpqLYYC7Q2Yv-Ue53nX3bxnjEjAjSM_tp6YrhVQkhp), the [WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy](https://faq.whatsapp.com/933578044281252?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3c-IhIqEvF5ADZN64Blk6crFROfcdS_manrXaXeourN7Wpzwp_eaPglNw_aem_bDMLnf0hYk4qXLl2NDSNTA) and, if applicable, the [WhatsApp Commerce Policy](https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.whatsapp.com%2Flegal%2Fcommerce-policy%2F%3Flang%3Den%26fbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1_xsuj-pA8DbFMByaRFXrPptjFMtsWL2xVTjP9sS2-8xk2vuH4hLBghuI_aem_hP8DXdBNAuNLmBn6cIwtzA\&h=AT0q77WxYs3-e_Y_djGPeiRmG_KPDN_6DbxvSWnbDRqZo2Y1J67vekpTVH4DXXfhv4Idy77dF5CI1tJ1_6BDosbuSB9dRO55_pmUIsfnpPrv6ah2qHj8mqwLPgY3M-1FZIkXnpqv)

To publish your Flow, open the menu to the right of the **Save** button and click **Publish**. Once published, the Flow can be sent to anyone!

<figure><img src="https://3861485111-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FU9kiDiTGVD8kkbnKKyEn%2Fuploads%2FWDd4rD0cgwFH2aZlxf36%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=a7e0b7d7-c5bf-4f5a-ae0d-f8d76361ddfe" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## Sending your flow

Now your WhatsApp flow is published, copy the flow id and then go ahead and create a WhatsApp template that can be used to send the flow to customers

* [create-approved-whatsapp-flows-template](https://docs.bird.com/applications/~/changes/SidqSnOUVNHmcp2wkLG7/content/message-templates/how-to/whatsapp-message-templates/create-approved-whatsapp-flows-template "mention")
* [create-reply-to-open-conversation-whatsapp-flows-template](https://docs.bird.com/applications/~/changes/SidqSnOUVNHmcp2wkLG7/content/message-templates/how-to/whatsapp-message-templates/create-reply-to-open-conversation-whatsapp-flows-template "mention")