> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vortexiq.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Top User Path (Flows), Mixpanel > Top User Path (Flows) for Mixpanel stores. Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre. How to read it, why it matters, and how to act on it. **Card class:** [Hero](/nerve-centre/overview#card-classes-explained) • **Category:** [Flows](/nerve-centre/connectors#connectors-by-type) ## At a glance > **Top User Path (Flows)** is a Mixpanel-distinctive view of the single most-travelled event sequence your shoppers take. Rather than forcing journeys into a fixed funnel, Flows reconstructs the real order of events and surfaces the route the largest number of sessions actually follow. When this dominant path shifts, it means users are finding a new route, or that the old one has broken. As a Hero card it sits front and centre because the most common journey is the one your store lives or dies on. The card presents the leading paths as a table you can read step by step. | | | | --------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **What it counts** | The number of sessions that followed each reconstructed event sequence, ranked so the most-travelled path sits at the top. | | **Sample type** | Backend API data from Mixpanel Flows, built from ordered event sequences across sessions in the window. | | **Why it matters** | The dominant path is how most of your revenue actually flows. A shift signals users are taking a new route, or that a step in the usual route has broken and pushed them elsewhere. | | **Reading the value** | The card is a table, one row per path, ordered by session count. Read each row left to right as the sequence of events; the top row is the most common journey. | | **Currency** | count | | **Time window** | `30D` | | **Alert trigger** | `-` | | **Sentiment key** | `mix_flows_top_path` | | **Roles** | owner, marketing | ## Calculation Vortex IQ reads the Mixpanel Flows report anchored on your primary starting event and reconstructs, for each session, the ordered sequence of events the user fired. It groups sessions by their event sequence and counts how many followed each one over the rolling 30-day window, then ranks the sequences so the most-travelled path is at the top. Because Flows works from the real order of events rather than a fixed template, the dominant path emerges from actual behaviour, including routes you may not have anticipated. The card shows the ranked sequences as a table rather than a single number. ## Worked example *A representative reading of **Top User Path (Flows)** for a typical merchant on Mixpanel.* Say that for the 30 days to 14 Jun 26 the leading path is Product Viewed, Add to Cart, Begin Checkout, Purchase, followed by 6,900 sessions. The week before, the leader had been Product Viewed, Add to Cart, Purchase, with checkout skipped via an express button. The express route has now slipped to second place, and the longer path leads. You investigate and find a recent change quietly hid the express checkout button on mobile, forcing users through the full checkout. The Conversion-Path Share card shows a small dip as the longer route loses a few percent of sessions. You restore the express button on mobile, and the shorter path returns to the top within days. For deeper investigation, use Vortex Mind to trace upstream causes; for natural-language exploration, ask Ask Viq. ## Sibling cards merchants should reference together | Card | Why merchants reach for it | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [`mix_flows_conversion_path_share`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/mixpanel/conversion-path-share) | Quantifies how many of the travelled paths actually reach purchase. | | [`mix_flows_top_exit_event`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/mixpanel/top-exit-event) | Shows where the dominant path breaks down and users leave. | | [`mix_funnel_conversion`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/mixpanel/primary-funnel-conversion) | The fixed-funnel counterpart, useful for checking the path against the intended journey. | | [`mix_funnel_dropoff`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/mixpanel/biggest-funnel-step-drop-off) | Identifies the worst step a shifting path may be routing around. | | [`mix_top_pages`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/mixpanel/top-pages) | Pairs the event-level path with the pages users land on along the way. | ## Reconciling against Mixpanel **Where to look in Mixpanel's own dashboard:** Open the Flows report, set the starting event to your primary entry point and the window to the last 30 days, and read the widest continuous band of flow from left to right. That widest band is the most-travelled path and should match the top row of the card. Hovering over each step shows the session count, which you can compare directly with the card's figures. **Why the Vortex IQ value may legitimately differ:** | Reason | Direction | What to do | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------- | | **Starting event choice.** The dominant path depends entirely on which event anchors Flows. | Reorders the ranking | Confirm both use the same starting event. | | **Path depth setting.** Flows shows a limited number of steps; deeper sequences may be grouped. | Paths look shorter in Mixpanel | Increase the step depth in Flows to match. | | **Event grouping.** Merging or splitting similar events changes which sequence leads. | Either direction | Use the same event definitions when comparing. | **Cross-connector reconciliation:** if the dominant Mixpanel path skips a step your ecommerce platform records, such as an upsell page, the event for that step may not be firing even though the page is served. For divergence investigations, use Vortex Mind. ## Known limitations / merchant FAQs **Q: How often does Top User Path (Flows) update?** It recomputes over a rolling 30-day window on the Nerve Centre's regular sync cadence, so the ranking reflects established behaviour and is not whipsawed by a single unusual day. **Q: Why does the top path change between views?** The dominant path is sensitive to the starting event, the path depth, and how events are grouped. Small differences in those settings can promote a different sequence to the top, so always compare like for like. **Q: The top path looks short and skips checkout. Is tracking broken?** Not necessarily. A short dominant path can be a fast express or one-click route, or it can mean a checkout event has stopped firing. Cross-check against the core-events and conversion cards to tell a healthy shortcut from a broken step. **Q: Can I customise the alert threshold?** This card presents a ranked table rather than firing a fixed numeric alert, so there is no default trigger. You can still configure the starting event, path depth, and watch conditions per profile in the Sensitivity tab to be notified when the dominant path changes. *** ### Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre *Top User Path (Flows)* is one of hundreds of KPI pulses Vortex IQ tracks across Mixpanel and 70+ other ecommerce connectors. Nerve Centre runs the detection layer; Vortex Mind investigates the cause when something moves; Ask Viq lets you interrogate any number in plain English. [Start for free](https://app.vortexiq.ai/login) or [book a demo](https://www.vortexiq.ai/contact-us) to see this metric running on your own data.