Approval steps

An approval step pauses a workflow run at a designated node and waits for an authorised person to review the context and either approve or reject the continuation. In Orvanta this mechanism is called ConsentGate.

Why approval steps?

Automation is powerful — but some operations are irreversible, high-risk, or require human judgement. An approval step gives you a safe checkpoint without breaking the automation flow:

• Deleting production data
• Sending bulk communications
• Deploying to a critical environment
• Initiating financial transactions
• Approving an AI agent’s proposed action

How it works

1. The workflow runs normally until it hits an approval (ConsentGate) node.
2. The run transitions to awaiting_approval and execution pauses.
3. Designated approvers receive a notification (email, Slack, or webhook).
4. An approver opens the approval UI, reviews the run context, and clicks Approve or Reject.
5. If approved, the workflow continues from the next node.
6. If rejected, the run transitions to failed (with a rejection reason attached to the context).

Configuring an approval node

In the workflow editor, add a ConsentGate node and configure:

Field	Description
Approvers	One or more users or roles who can approve this gate.
Timeout	How long to wait before auto-rejecting (optional).
Notification channel	Email, Slack, or webhook.
Message template	Custom message shown to the approver; can reference context values.

Example message template

Workflow: {{ workflow.name }}
Triggered by: {{ run.triggered_by }}

The following action is about to be taken:
- Delete customer: {{ context.customer_id }}
- Record count: {{ context.record_count }}

Please review and approve or reject.

Programmatic approval

Approvals can also be submitted via the REST API, enabling programmatic approval workflows (e.g., from a custom internal tool):

POST /api/v1/runs/{run_id}/consent
Authorization: Bearer <token>
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "decision": "approved",
  "reason": "Reviewed and confirmed by on-call engineer"
}

Related

• Jobs and runs — Run lifecycle and the awaiting_approval state.
• Workflows — Node types and workflow structure.
• API Reference — Full API reference including the consent endpoint.