workflow · how to

Use Workflow home and approvals inbox

Follow the use workflow home and approvals inbox workflow in Slack.

Goal

Use Workflow home and the approvals inbox to review posts that need human sign-off before they publish. You can jump to the next item, browse the full queue, approve with edits, and run admin actions when ownership or workflow steps need to change.

When to use this

Use this workflow when:

  • You are an approver or admin responsible for content review on the active brand.
  • Posts are waiting in the approval queue and you need to act on them from Slack.
  • You want a list view of everything pending instead of reviewing one item at a time.
  • You need to reassign an approver, override an approval, or edit workflow settings on a specific item.

Skip this workflow when no brands are set up for your organization. In that case, opening the approvals inbox shows a setup prompt instead of an empty list.

Before you begin

Confirm you have access to the Workflow work center in App Home. You need at least one of the following:

  • At least one brand with posts in pending approval, or
  • Approver permissions for the active brand.

Make sure you are on the correct brand if your organization manages more than one. Workflow home counts and the inbox both respect the active brand scope.

Steps

Review the next pending post

  1. Type /social-approve, or open App Home, switch to Workflow, and choose Approvals.
  2. If nothing is pending, Slack tells you the queue is empty. It does not open an empty approval modal.
  3. When a post is available, the approval modal opens for the first pending item. Check copy, media, platforms, and schedule before you decide.

Browse the approvals inbox

  1. From Workflow home, open Pending approvals.
  2. When the inbox spans more than one page, use pagination to move through the list.
  3. Open a row to review that specific item in the approval modal.

If your organization has no brands configured, you see a setup prompt instead of an empty inbox.

Approve with edits

  1. In the approval modal, update required copy fields when your role allows edits.
  2. Submit Approve to move the item to approved.
  3. If you opened review from the inbox list, the list refreshes and the review modal closes after a successful approval.

Run admin workflow actions

From the item or inbox context, approvers and admins can use these actions when needed:

  • Reassign approver: Send the review to a different person.
  • Override approve: Approve when normal routing is blocked or you have authority to bypass a step.
  • Edit workflow: Adjust workflow settings tied to that item.

Bulk approve-all is available from the workflow surfaces. If your plan or permissions do not allow bulk approval, Slack shows guidance instead of completing the action.

Confirm it worked

You know the workflow succeeded when:

  • Approved items leave the pending approvals list.
  • Workflow home counts match the inbox you opened for the same brand scope.
  • After override or reassignment, App Home refreshes and reflects the updated state.
  • Items you approved show as approved and no longer block the queue.

Troubleshooting

Empty queue message when you expected pending posts

Confirm you are on the correct brand and that posts are in pending approval. Another approver may have already acted on them.

Setup prompt instead of the inbox

Your organization has no brands configured. Complete brand setup before using the approvals inbox.

Error when approving or editing

If an item changed since you opened it, is missing, or is outside your permissions, Slack shows a clear error and leaves the approval unchanged. Refresh Workflow home, reopen the item, and try again.

Bulk approve-all blocked

Your plan or role may not allow bulk approval. Approve items individually, or ask an admin to check permissions and plan access.

Counts do not match the inbox

Make sure Workflow home and the inbox are scoped to the same brand. Switch brands in App Home if needed, then reopen Pending approvals.