Workflow

Workflows enable you to set up approval processes for posts, messages and advocacy stories before they're published. Each workflow consists of one or more steps that define which users need to approve the content and whether everyone or just one approver is required at each stage. Once content passes through all workflow steps, it's automatically approved and ready for publishing.

For more details on configuring workflows in the Oktopost platform, see our Help Center article on Approval Workflows.

Workflow Structure

A workflow consists of:

Workflow - The parent approval process with a name and status
Steps - Individual approval stages within the workflow
Approvers - Users assigned to approve content at each step

Content moves through workflow steps sequentially. At each step, approval is required before proceeding to the next step.

Get Workflow

Retrieve details for a specific workflow by ID, optionally including its steps.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
withSteps	Integer	No	Set to `1` to include the workflow's steps in the response.

Request

curl -i "https://api.oktopost.com/v2/workflow/cwf000000000000?withSteps=1"

Response

{
	"Result": true,
	"Id": "cwf000000000000",
	"Created": "2020-09-03 11:10:27",
	"Name": "My Workflow",
	"Status": "active",
	"Steps": [
		{
			"Id": "cws000000000000",
			"Created": "2020-09-03 11:10:27",
			"WorkflowId": "cwf000000000000",
			"Name": "Marketing",
			"MustBeApprovedByEveryone": false,
			"Approvers": [
				{
					"Id": "00A000000000000",
					"Created": "2020-09-03 11:10:27",
					"Name": "Main User",
					"Email": "user@oktopost.com"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"Id": "cws000000000001",
			"Created": "2020-09-03 11:11:37",
			"WorkflowId": "cwf000000000000",
			"Name": "Manager Confirmation",
			"MustBeApprovedByEveryone": false,
			"Approvers": []
		}
	]
}

Response Fields

Field	Description
Status	Workflow status. Values: `active`, `inactive`
Steps	Array of workflow steps (only included if `withSteps=1`)
MustBeApprovedByEveryone	If `true`, all approvers must approve. If `false`, any single approver can approve.
Approvers	Array of users assigned to approve content at this step

List Workflows

Retrieve all workflows in your account.

Pagination is disabled for this endpoint. All workflows are returned in a single response.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
withSteps	Integer	No	Set to `1` to include each workflow's steps in the response.

Request

curl -i "https://api.oktopost.com/v2/workflow?withSteps=1"

Response

{
	"Result": true,
	"Items": [
		{
			"Id": "cwf000000000000",
			"Created": "2020-09-03 11:10:27",
			"Name": "My Workflow",
			"Status": "active",
			"Steps": [
				{
					"Id": "cws000000000000",
					"Created": "2020-09-03 11:10:27",
					"WorkflowId": "cwf000000000000",
					"Name": "Marketing",
					"MustBeApprovedByEveryone": false,
					"Approvers": [
						{
							"Id": "00A000000000000",
							"Created": "2020-09-03 11:10:27",
							"Name": "Main User",
							"Email": "user@oktopost.com"
						}
					]
				},
				{
					"Id": "cws000000000001",
					"Created": "2020-09-03 11:11:37",
					"WorkflowId": "cwf000000000000",
					"Name": "Manager Confirmation",
					"MustBeApprovedByEveryone": false,
					"Approvers": []
				}
			]
		}
	]
}

Get Workflow Step

Retrieve details for a specific workflow step by ID.

Request

curl -i https://api.oktopost.com/v2/workflow-step/cws000000000000

Response

{
	"Result": true,
	"Id": "cws000000000000",
	"Created": "2020-09-03 11:10:27",
	"WorkflowId": "cwf000000000000",
	"Name": "Marketing",
	"MustBeApprovedByEveryone": false,
	"Approvers": [
		{
			"Id": "00A000000000000",
			"Created": "2020-09-03 11:10:27",
			"Name": "Main User",
			"Email": "user@oktopost.com"
		}
	]
}

List Workflow Steps

Retrieve all workflow steps in your account or filter by a specific workflow.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
workflowId	String	No	Filter results by workflow ID to get steps for a specific workflow.

Request

curl -i "https://api.oktopost.com/v2/workflow-step?workflowId=cwf000000000000"

Response

{
	"Result": true,
	"Items": [
		{
			"Id": "cws000000000000",
			"Created": "2020-09-03 11:10:27",
			"WorkflowId": "cwf000000000000",
			"Name": "Marketing",
			"MustBeApprovedByEveryone": false,
			"Approvers": [
				{
					"Id": "00A000000000000",
					"Created": "2020-09-03 11:10:27",
					"Name": "Main User",
					"Email": "user@oktopost.com"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"Id": "cws000000000001",
			"Created": "2020-09-03 11:11:37",
			"WorkflowId": "cwf000000000000",
			"Name": "Manager Confirmation",
			"MustBeApprovedByEveryone": false,
			"Approvers": []
		}
	]
}

Understanding Workflow Steps

Approval Logic

Each workflow step has two key properties that determine how approval works:

MustBeApprovedByEveryone:
- true - All assigned approvers must approve before content moves to the next step
- false - Any single approver can approve to move content forward
Approvers:
- Array of users who can approve content at this step
- If empty, the step may require manual configuration in the platform

Sequential Processing

Content moves through workflow steps in order:

Content is submitted to the first workflow step
Approvers review and approve (or reject) the content
Once the step is approved, content moves to the next step
Process repeats until all steps are completed
Content is automatically approved and ready for publishing

Use Cases

Checking Workflow Configuration

Retrieve workflows with steps to verify approval process setup:

curl -i "https://api.oktopost.com/v2/workflow?withSteps=1"

Identifying Approvers

Get step details to see who can approve content at each stage:

curl -i https://api.oktopost.com/v2/workflow-step/cws000000000000

Filtering by Workflow

Retrieve all steps for a specific workflow to understand its complete approval process:

curl -i "https://api.oktopost.com/v2/workflow-step?workflowId=cwf000000000000"

Best Practices

Use withSteps=1 when you need complete workflow structure in a single call
Query individual steps when you need detailed information about specific approval stages
Check MustBeApprovedByEveryone to understand approval requirements at each step
Verify approver lists to ensure appropriate users are assigned to each step
Monitor workflow status to identify inactive workflows that may need attention

For managing content through the approval process:

Workflow Items - View and manage posts and messages pending approval
Posts - Send posts to workflows using the workflowId parameter
Messages - Send messages to workflows for approval before scheduling

For more information on configuring and using workflows, see the Oktopost Help Center.

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