> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.hookpulse.io/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Human Approval Overview

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.

## 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.

## Key Benefits

### 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

### 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

### 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

### 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

## How It Works

### 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)
```

### 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

### 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

## Use Cases

### 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.

### 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.

### 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.

### 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.

### 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.

## Integration with Workflows

### 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

### 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

### 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

## 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

## 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

## 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

## Example Workflow with Approval

```json theme={null}
{
  "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"
    }
  ]
}
```

## Related Documentation

* [Workflow Template Overview](/docs/api-reference/workflow-template/overview) - Learn about workflow templates
* [Scheduling Overview](/docs/api-reference/scheduling/overview) - Schedule workflows with approval steps