IBM webMethods Integration Flow Pilot: A Beginner's Guide
Supplemental #2: Upgrading Existing Flow Services
Type: Supplemental Article
Read Time: ~6 min
Difficulty: Beginner
Prerequisites: Service Designer 12.1 installed, Flow Pilot extension installed and configured
Product Page: IBM webMethods Integration Flow Pilot
New to Flow Pilot? Start with the Introduction: What Is Flow Pilot? before continuing.
What You Will Do
The Beginner's Guide showed how to generate a new flow service from scratch using AI and deploy it to webMethods Integration Server 12.1. This article covers the reverse: you have an existing Flow Service already running on IS and you want to bring it into the AI-assisted workflow.
We'll upgrade and export a single existing service from Service Designer as Flow Script Language (FSL), move that file into your workspace, and from that point the service is under AI assistance — ready to be documented, tested, diagrammed, or refactored using Flow Pilot.
This process is done one service at a time.
Prerequisites
- IBM webMethods Integration Server 12.1 running locally
- webMethods Service Designer 12.1 open
- At least one existing Flow Service deployed and accessible in Service Designer
- An AI assistant configured with the Flow Pilot skill files (see Supplemental #1: Setting Up the Skills with Your Own Agent)
How This Differs From the Beginner Series
In the beginner series, the direction of travel is: prompt → FSL → IS.
Here the direction is reversed: IS → FSL → workspace.
Service Designer 12.1 can upgrade any deployed Flow Service to FSL — the same text format that Flow Pilot generates. Once the .flow file is in your workspace, it is identical to a file you would have generated from scratch. Your AI assistant has no way to tell the difference, and does not need to.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Upgrading existing flow services is only possible for assets that were not originally created with Flow Script Language. When creating a new flow via Service Designer 12.1, there's a checkbox that asks if you'd like to generate a Flow Script asset for the flow service. Selecting this option will PREVENT you from upgrading the service later.
Step 1. Locate the Service in Service Designer
Open Service Designer and connect to your IS 12.1 instance.
In the Package Navigator, expand the package and namespace folder that contains the service you want to export. We will use a simple flow service called addInts. If the service is deployed to an older version of IS, you must copy it to a package running on at least IS 12.1 in order to upgrade it.
Step 2. Upgrade the Existing Service
Right-click the service you want to upgrade. There will be an option presented to "Upgrade to Flow Script." Select this option to upgrade your service.
Alternatively, you can navigate to the "Source" tab. Doing so will present a banner on the top of the page with the option to upgrade your service. Select this option to upgrade your flow service to Flow Script.
Step 3. Export the Service as Flow Script
Right-click the service in the Package Navigator.
Select "Export from Server" from the context menu.
Select the destination folder you want to export to. Service Designer will create a ZIP file containing:
- a .flow file of your service in Flow Script Language (compatible with the Flow Pilot skills)
- an .xml file of your service
- a .ndf file of your service
- a hidden fsl.digest file
For the remainder of the tutorial, we will only be using the .flow file.
Step 4. Copy the Exported File Into Your Workspace
Locate the exported .flow file.
Copy or move it into the workspace folder where you want to work with it. A flat structure works fine for a single service:
your-workspace/
└── myService/
└── flow.flow
If you are upgrading multiple services over time, a subfolder per service keeps things organized:
your-workspace/
├── serviceA/
│ └── flow.flow
└── serviceB/
└── flow.flow
Step 5. Open the File and Inspect the Flow Script Language
Open the .flow file in IBM Bob or VS Code.
The content should be valid FSL - the same format that Flow Pilot generates. Scroll through it to confirm it loaded correctly and is readable.
If the file is blank, contains binary content, or is not valid FSL, the export did not complete correctly. Return to Step 2 and try the export again.
Step 6. Bring the Service Under AI Assistance
With the .flow file in your workspace and your AI assistant loaded with the Flow Pilot skill files, the service is now part of the AI-assisted workflow. You can send the same prompts you would use for any generated service.
Generate documentation:
- Generate documentation for the service in [your-local-service-path].
Generate unit tests:
- Generate unit tests for the service in [your-local-service-path].
Generate a Mermaid diagram:
- Generate a Mermaid diagram for the service in [your-local-service-path].
Ask the AI to review or explain the service:
- Review the Flow Service in [your-local-service-path] and summarize what it does.
Your AI assistant reads the FSL, applies the Flow Pilot skill rules, and produces output for that service — whether it was AI-generated originally or exported from a live IS instance.
Step 7. Make Changes and Redeploy (Optional)
If you want to modify the service using AI assistance and redeploy it:
- Ask the AI to modify the FSL in myService/flow.flow
- Review the changes
- Deploy the updated file back to IS using the"Deploy FlowService" command palette command (see Part 4: Deploying Your Flow to Integration Server for deployment options). Note, you cannot update a service in place (if you try to deploy a service that has the same package, folder, and name as an existing service, you will receive an error).
Note: You may need to refresh the package within Service Designer to view the changes.
This completes the loop: export from IS, modify with AI, redeploy to IS.
Troubleshooting
Problem: Upgrade to Flow Script option is not visible in the context menu
Solution: Confirm you are running Service Designer 12.1.
Problem: Exported file is empty or contains binary content
Solution: The export may not have completed correctly. Close Service Designer, reopen the service, and try the export again.
Problem: FSL content does not match the service behavior you expected
Solution: Verify the correct service was selected in the Package Navigator before exporting.
Problem: AI assistant does not recognize the FSL format
Solution: Confirm the Flow Pilot skill files are loaded in your workspace (see the main Beginner's Series or Supplemental #1)
Problem: Redeployed service does not reflect changes in IS
Solution: Reload the package in Service Designer after deployment (right-click the package → Refresh).
Summary
If the .flow file is in your workspace and your AI assistant is producing output for it, the service is fully integrated into the Flow Pilot workflow. From this point it is treated the same as any other service — you can generate tests, diagrams, documentation, or use AI assistance to refactor or extend it.
This process covers one service at a time.
Series Home: IBM webMethods Flow Pilot: A Beginner's Guide: Introduction
IBM webMethods Integration Flow Pilot Product Page
Flow Pilot Introduction Blog
IBM webMethods Integration Flow Pilot: A Beginner's Guide - Supplemental 2: Upgrading Existing Flow Services