> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.facephi.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.facephi.com/docs.facephi-en/products/idv-suite/flujos-and-integraciones/que-es-un-flujo-de-onboarding-autenticacion.md).

# What is an onboarding / authentication flow?

In Facephi IDV Suite, a **Flow** is the structured definition of an identity verification process.

Simply put:

A Flow indicates **what a user has to do**, in **what order**, and **under what rules**, to complete onboarding or authentication.

Each Flow is made up of:

1. **Asset Capture**\
   These are the actions the user must perform and the checks carried out by the platform. For example:
   * Identity document capture.
   * Biometric capture (selfie, liveness check).
   * NFC capture of document data.
   * Fingerprint Capture.
2. **Extractions and validations**\
   Different validation options within Facephi's portfolio:
   * Facial Matching
   * Passive Liveness
   * Document morphology
   * IAD validation
   * OCR extraction
   * Civil registries

From the client's perspective, the Flow is the **basic configuration unit.**

***

#### **Flow types: onboarding vs. authentication**

Although the design mechanics are the same, we distinguish two main types:

* **Onboarding flows**
  * Objective: new user registration.
  * They usually include document capture + biometrics + additional validations.
  * They are normally executed only once per user (or at very specific moments: country change, data update, etc.).
* **Authentication flows**
  * Objective: confirm that the user is who they claim to be before a sensitive action.
  * They can reuse the biometric template generated during onboarding.
  * They are more frequent (recurring logins, high-risk operations, account recovery, etc.).

Both types are managed homogeneously in IDV Suite, which allows:

* **Reuse components** (capture modules, screens, rules).
* Maintain a **consistent experience** for the user between onboarding and subsequent accesses.
* **Simplify** the maintenance and governance of the identity model.

***

#### **Flow lifecycle**

Every Flow in IDV Suite goes through a controlled lifecycle, aligned with the idea of “**design, test, and publish**”:

1. **Create new Flow**
   * Select between web or mobile
   * Choose a template or start from scratch
     * Onboarding use case
     * Authentication use case
2. **Design**
   * Once the Flow is defined, extra features are added if necessary
3. **Flow configuration**
   * Each component of the Flow has its configuration
4. **Save Flow**
   1. Name the Flow and save it.