How it works
Normal workflows run in real-time. Whenever a new comment or post arrives, BrandBastion checks every active workflow against it and applies any matching actions on the spot.
A past-items run is different. When you turn on the toggle and save, BrandBastion looks up every comment and post in your connected assets within the date range you chose, then runs each one through the workflow as if it were a fresh arrival. Items that match the workflow's rules get the action applied (tagged, hidden, archived, or re-classified), and items that don't match are skipped.
The work runs in the background. You can keep using BrandBastion normally while it processes; the notification fires once the entire range has been scanned.
For NLP-based tagging, items that have already been classified by BrandBastion's AI are skipped to avoid duplicate processing. Only items that haven't been seen by the workflow before are sent through.
Setting Up the Workflow
1. Open the Workflow You Want to Apply
In Control Panel > Workflows, open the workflow you want to run against past data. The toggle is available on rules-based tagging, NLP tagging, post tagging, hide, archive, and change-sentiment workflows.
2. Turn On Apply Workflow to Past Items
Under the workflow's action, switch the Apply workflow to past items toggle ON. Two date inputs appear: From date and To date.
📌 Note: Processing may take some time depending on conversation volumes during the selected period.
3. Set Your Date Range
Pick the From date and To date to cover the period you want the workflow to scan. The workflow will run on every item posted within that window that matches your existing rules.
4. Save and Confirm
Save the workflow. A confirmation appears: Apply this workflow to past items? Once confirmed, BrandBastion begins applying the workflow across the selected period.
Supported Actions
Past-items runs are available for these action types at launch:
Tag (rules-based and NLP-based)
Tag post
Hide
Archive
Change sentiment
📌 Note: Reply workflows (including AI replies and DM AI bot workflows) are not included in past-items runs at launch.
What to Expect After You Run It
When the run finishes, you'll get an in-app notification (and an on-screen message if you're active in the app):
Finished applying: {workflow name} — the run completed cleanly. Select View results to see what was updated.
Finished applying with some issues: {workflow name} — most items were updated, but some couldn't be. Select Open workflow to re-run to run it again.
Couldn't finish applying: {workflow name} — the run failed. Select Open workflow to re-run to run it again.
Open the workflow later, and you'll see a Past Items Runs section listing every retroactive run, with status, date range, and a summary of what was scanned, matched, and updated.
📌 Note: The Apply workflow to past items toggle resets to OFF every time you open the workflow. Editing and saving a workflow does not re-apply it to past items unless you turn the toggle ON again — so you can adjust the workflow without triggering another backfill by mistake.
Limitations
BrandBastion-side
Past-items runs are available for tag (rules + NLP), tag post, hide, archive, and change-sentiment workflows at launch. Reply workflows, AI reply workflows, and DM AI bot workflows are not included.
There's no date-based lookback limit specific to this feature. Past-items runs follow the same constraints as the normal Engage list. The practical limit is on volume, not age: an "Apply up to" cap governs how many items a single run will process, rather than how far back the date range can reach.
Past-items runs respect the same deduplication as live workflows; if an item already has the tag, sentiment, or status the workflow would apply, it's left untouched and reported as "no change needed."
Platform-side
Hide is restricted by every platform. Quote tweets and mentions on X cannot be hidden. Instagram Story replies, DMs, mentions, and reviews cannot be hidden. Threads replies-to-replies cannot be hidden directly; the parent comment must be hidden instead.
LinkedIn doesn't support "hide" at the API level. The hide action uses LinkedIn's delete action instead, which permanently removes the comment.
Meta (Facebook & Instagram) only allows hiding comments posted within the last 90 days. Because past-items runs inherit the same hide logic as live workflows, comments older than that can't be hidden through the platform API and are reported as failed — they'll land in the "couldn't be updated" count.
Edge cases & scenarios
What happens if a comment in the date range has been deleted on the platform since it was posted?
The item is skipped and counted in the "finished with issues" bucket. BrandBastion can't act on something that no longer exists on the platform.
What if the workflow has already tagged some items in the range during normal live processing?
Those items are detected and left alone. A past-items run won't double-tag, double-archive, or re-apply a sentiment that already matches.
Can I run the same date range twice?
Yes. Each run is logged separately in the Past Items Runs history. Items that were already updated in the first run will be skipped in the second.
What if I edit the workflow's rules while a past-items run is in progress?
The in-progress run uses the rules as they were when you saved and confirmed. To apply your new rules to past items, turn the toggle on again and start a new run after saving.
Does it work across all my workspaces?
A past-items run is scoped to the assets the workflow was already configured for. Workflows in other workspaces aren't affected.
Troubleshooting
If the toggle isn't visible, check your plan. Essential accounts need to upgrade to see the option.
If a run finishes with a high "couldn't be updated" count, the most common cause is Meta's 90-day hide window: comments older than 90 days can't be hidden through the platform API.
If the toggle re-appears as OFF after editing a workflow, that's intentional. The reset is there to prevent accidental re-runs every time someone tweaks a rule.
If a run is stuck on "running" for an unusually long time, the duration scales with the number of comments in the range. A six-month range on a high-volume account can take significantly longer than a one-week range — wait for the notification before reporting it as stuck.