Approval steps
An Approval step pauses a workflow run until someone decides. Use it before a step you want a person to check, such as a send or a publish.
The step has two outputs, approved and rejected. Connect each one to what should happen next.
Add one
- Open the workflow in Workflows.
- In the step library, under Logic, add Approval after the step you want reviewed.
- Set the options below.
- Connect the approved and rejected outputs.
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Approvers | The email addresses to notify. Leave it empty to notify the person who ran the workflow. |
| Notify via | Where the request goes. Email is the default. |
| Email subject and Message to reviewer | The words the reviewer sees. |
| Review the output of | Which earlier step’s result to show. The default is the step right before. A trigger, a wait or another approval has nothing to show. |
| Expire after (days) | How long the request stays open. The default is 3. |
| On reject with feedback | Where to re-run from, and how many times. See below. |
What the reviewer sees
The reviewer gets an email with a link to a review page. It shows the output of the step and two buttons. A text box takes optional feedback.
- Opening the link never approves anything. Only the buttons do.
- A link works once. After a decision, or after it expires, it shows that the request is closed.
- If nobody decides before the expiry, the run fails with an “approval expired” error. It is never approved for you.
You can also decide from inside the app. When a run stops at an approval, the run view shows Approve and Reject for that step.
Send it back with feedback
If the reviewer rejects and writes feedback, the workflow can run part of itself again with that feedback.
- In the step’s On reject with feedback setting, pick Re-run from node. This is the earlier step to start again from.
- Set the maximum number of revisions. The most you can allow is 3.
The steps from that node up to the approval run again, with the feedback passed in. The reviewer then gets a new request marked as revised. When the revisions are used up, the rejection is final and the rejected output runs.
A rejection without feedback goes straight to the rejected output.
Sends and ads have their own approvals
Steps that send, launch or publish follow your workspace approval rules, separate from this step. See Approvals and guardrails and Guardrails.
Limits
- The review link and the in-app buttons both work. Whichever decides first wins, and the other is closed.
- Reviewers using the email link don’t need an account.
- The page shows what the earlier step produced. It does not show internal fields.
Back to Workflows.