What contributor approval is
The contributor approval flow lets contributors make changes to card content without those changes going live immediately. A contributor works on a draft, submits it as a proposal, and a writer, playbook expert or admin decides whether to approve or decline it.
Approval makes the proposed version the approved version and updates the live card content. Decline returns the same version to draft so the contributor can keep editing.
This flow applies to cards only. Guides and screen recordings are not included in the current release.
*Approval flows sit in our Enterprise plan only.
How contributors create, edit, and submit drafts
To contribute changes to a card, you need contribute access to the playbook it belongs to. Watch a full explanatory video further in the article.
Open a card in a playbook where you have contribute access.
Create a new draft or resume an existing one. A card can have only one active draft or proposal at a time. If a draft already exists, resume it rather than creating another.
Edit the draft. Your changes do not affect what readers see while the draft is open.
When your changes are ready, submit the draft as a proposal. The proposal is locked for editing while it is under review.
Once submitted, a proposal assignment is routed to the playbook expert. If you are the playbook expert yourself, no assignment is created.
How writers and playbook experts review proposals
When a proposal is submitted, the playbook expert receives a proposal assignment in the approvals area of the dashboard.
Any writer with write access to the relevant playbook can also approve or decline, even if they are not the assigned expert. The first decision closes all open proposal assignments for that proposal round.
Writers can also make direct live edits to a card. A direct live edit creates an approved version immediately and does not clear or overwrite any existing draft or proposal.
What happens after approval or decline
When a proposal is approved
The proposal version becomes the approved version.
The live card content is updated to match.
The card's published or unpublished state does not change. Approval updates content, not publication status.
The proposal assignment is closed.
If someone other than you approved the proposal, you receive an approved assignment as a notification.
When a proposal is declined
The proposal returns to draft. It is not deleted.
If the writer provided a decline reason, that text is saved as a version comment on the returned draft.
If someone other than you declined the proposal, you receive a declined assignment as a notification.
You can edit the draft again, resubmit it, or delete it.
Draft-only cards
A draft-only card is a card that has a draft or proposal but no approved version yet.
Draft-only cards are not visible to readers. They do not appear in playbook or list views for readers, are excluded from card counts, and do not appear in search or card autocomplete for readers. They are also not used as source material for AI responses in the workspace.
Contributors and writers with the right playbook access can still see and work on draft-only cards.
If the draft for a draft-only card is deleted, the card is removed entirely. Deleting a draft for a draft-only card does not grant contributors any permission to delete live cards.
Where approval assignments appear
All approval-flow assignments appear in the approvals area of the dashboard. This is separate from the review assignments used for periodic content upkeep.
Proposal assignments are for writers and experts. They are actionable items that require a decision.
Approved assignments are passive notifications that tell the contributor their proposal was approved.
Declined assignments are passive notifications that tell the contributor their proposal was declined.
Passive outcome assignments can be dismissed once you have seen them. Open proposal assignments are closed automatically when a proposal is approved, declined, withdrawn, or deleted.
If playbook ownership changes while a proposal is open, the proposal assignment moves to the new expert.
Permission reference
Role | What they can do in the approval flow |
Reader | View approved live card content only. Cannot see draft-only cards or edit drafts. |
Contributor | Create and edit drafts in playbooks where they have contribute access. Submit drafts as proposals. Cannot approve, decline, or revert versions. |
Writer | Edit content and approve or decline proposals where they have write access. Can make direct live edits. |
Playbook Expert | Default recipient of proposal assignments as the playbook owner. Can approve or decline proposals. |
Admin | Can act where policy allows at the project level. |
Full Explanatory Video