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Human Approval APIs allow you to integrate manual approval steps directly into your automated workflows. When a workflow reaches a human approval step, execution pauses and waits for a human decision (approve or deny) before continuing. This powerful feature makes your automated systems more reliable and gives you complete control over critical decisions.

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What Is Human Approval?

Human Approval is a workflow step that requires manual intervention:
  • Pause Execution: Workflow pauses at the approval step
  • Wait for Decision: System waits for human approval or denial
  • Resume or Terminate: Workflow continues or stops based on the decision
  • Audit Trail: All approval decisions are logged for compliance
This feature bridges the gap between fully automated workflows and processes that require human judgment or oversight.

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Key Benefits

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1. Control Over Critical Decisions

Not all decisions should be automated. Human approval gives you control over:
  • Financial Transactions: Approve large payments or transfers
  • Data Changes: Review and approve critical data modifications
  • User Actions: Approve sensitive user operations
  • System Changes: Control infrastructure or configuration changes

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2. Reliability and Safety

Human approval adds a safety layer to automated systems:
  • Prevent Errors: Catch mistakes before they cause problems
  • Compliance: Meet regulatory requirements for manual oversight
  • Risk Management: Reduce risk in critical operations
  • Quality Control: Ensure high-quality outcomes

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3. Flexibility

Human approval integrates seamlessly into workflows:
  • Any Step: Add approval at any point in your workflow
  • Conditional: Make approval conditional based on workflow data
  • Multiple Approvals: Require multiple approvals for extra security
  • Timeout Handling: Configure timeouts for approval requests

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4. Audit and Compliance

Complete audit trail of all approvals:
  • Who Approved: Track which user made the decision
  • When Approved: Timestamp of approval/denial
  • What Was Approved: Context and data at time of approval
  • Compliance Ready: Meet audit and compliance requirements

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How It Works

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Workflow Execution Flow

1. Workflow Step 1: ✅ Execute
2. Workflow Step 2: ✅ Execute
3. Human Approval Step: ⏸️ Pause - Wait for Approval
   ├─ Approval Request Sent
   ├─ Human Reviews Request
   ├─ Human Approves or Denies
4. Workflow Step 4: ✅ Continue (if approved) or ❌ Stop (if denied)

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Approval Request

When a workflow reaches a human approval step:
  1. Approval Request Created: System creates an approval request
  2. Notification Sent: User receives notification (email, dashboard, etc.)
  3. Context Provided: User sees relevant workflow data and context
  4. Decision Required: User must approve or deny

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Decision Handling

If Approved:
  • Workflow continues to next step
  • Approval decision logged
  • Workflow execution resumes
If Denied:
  • Workflow stops (or follows configured failure handling)
  • Denial decision logged
  • Optional notification sent

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Use Cases

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Financial Transactions

Workflow:
1. Process Payment Request
2. ⏸️ Human Approval (if amount > $10,000)
3. Execute Payment
4. Send Confirmation
Why: Large transactions require manual oversight for security and compliance.

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User Account Modifications

Workflow:
1. Receive Account Change Request
2. ⏸️ Human Approval (review changes)
3. Apply Changes
4. Notify User
Why: Sensitive account changes need human review to prevent fraud.

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Content Moderation

Workflow:
1. Receive Content Submission
2. ⏸️ Human Approval (review content)
3. Publish Content
4. Notify Creator
Why: Content quality and compliance require human judgment.

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System Configuration Changes

Workflow:
1. Receive Configuration Change Request
2. ⏸️ Human Approval (review impact)
3. Apply Configuration
4. Verify Changes
Why: Infrastructure changes need careful review to prevent outages.

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Data Deletion

Workflow:
1. Receive Deletion Request
2. ⏸️ Human Approval (confirm deletion)
3. Delete Data
4. Log Deletion
Why: Data deletion is irreversible and requires explicit confirmation.

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Integration with Workflows

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Adding Approval Steps

Human approval steps can be added to workflows:
  • Via Dashboard: Use visual workflow builder to add approval steps
  • Via API: Programmatically add approval steps to workflow templates
  • Conditional: Make approval conditional based on workflow variables

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Approval Context

When requesting approval, provide context:
  • Workflow Data: Relevant variables and data from previous steps
  • Request Details: What is being requested
  • Impact Assessment: What happens if approved/denied
  • Supporting Information: Additional context for decision-making

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Timeout Handling

Configure timeouts for approval requests:
  • Timeout Duration: How long to wait for approval
  • Timeout Action: What to do if timeout expires (deny, retry, escalate)
  • Reminders: Send reminders as timeout approaches

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Approval Decision API

Use the Human Approval API to:
  • Get Pending Approvals: List all pending approval requests
  • Approve Request: Approve a specific request
  • Deny Request: Deny a specific request
  • Get Approval History: View past approval decisions
  • Cancel Request: Cancel a pending approval request

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Best Practices

  1. Clear Context: Provide clear, actionable context in approval requests
  2. Reasonable Timeouts: Set appropriate timeout durations
  3. Multiple Approvers: Require multiple approvals for critical operations
  4. Audit Everything: Log all approval decisions for compliance
  5. Notification Strategy: Ensure approvers are notified promptly
  6. Fallback Handling: Define behavior for timeouts and denials
  7. Review Regularly: Periodically review approval patterns and optimize

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Security Considerations

  • Authentication: Only authorized users can approve requests
  • Authorization: Role-based access control for approvals
  • Audit Trail: Complete logging of all approval decisions
  • Non-Repudiation: Approval decisions cannot be denied later
  • Encryption: Secure transmission of approval requests

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Example Workflow with Approval

{
  "workflow_name": "Large Payment Processing",
  "steps": [
    {
      "step": 1,
      "action": "validate_payment",
      "type": "webhook"
    },
    {
      "step": 2,
      "action": "check_amount",
      "type": "condition",
      "condition": "amount > 10000"
    },
    {
      "step": 3,
      "action": "human_approval",
      "type": "approval",
      "required": true,
      "timeout": 3600,
      "context": {
        "amount": "{{ amount }}",
        "recipient": "{{ recipient }}",
        "reason": "{{ reason }}"
      }
    },
    {
      "step": 4,
      "action": "execute_payment",
      "type": "webhook",
      "condition": "approval.approved == true"
    }
  ]
}