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​Automate ​Manual ​Approval ​Processes

Modern automation requires human oversight for critical decisions. Kestra enables integration of manual approval steps within workflows while maintaining audit trails and process consistency.

What is Human-in-the-Loop Automation?

Human-in-the-loop (HITL) automation combines automated tasks with human decision points. Kestra implements this through:

  • Pause/Resume – Pause workflows for manual inspection before resuming
  • Dynamic Inputs – Collect user decisions during execution
  • Approval Chains – Route decisions to specific users or teams
  • Audit Logs – Track who approved/rejected each request and why.

Why Use Kestra for Human-in-the-Loop Workflows?

  1. Flexible Integration – Add approval steps to existing workflows in a few lines of YAML
  2. Enterprise Security – Manage permissions via namespace-level RBAC
  3. Cross-Platform Notifications – Send approval requests to Slack, Teams, or Email
  4. Input Validation – Enforce structured responses (Numeric, Boolean, Dates, Dropdowns)
  5. Bulk Actions – Bulk-resume multiple paused workflows when needed.
  6. Audit Trails – Track approvals, rejections, and reasons for each decision.

Example: Vacation Approval Workflow

This workflow demonstrates a complete approval process with Slack notifications and audit logging:

yaml
id: vacation_approval
namespace: hr.operations

inputs:
  - id: employee
    type: STRING
  - id: start_date
    type: DATE
  - id: end_date
    type: DATE

tasks:
  - id: notify_manager
    type: io.kestra.plugin.notifications.slack.SlackIncomingWebhook
    url: "{{ secret('SLACK_HR_WEBHOOK') }}"
    payload: |
      {
        "channel": "#vacation-approvals",
        "text": "Review request from {{ inputs.employee }}\n*Dates*: {{ inputs.start_date }} → {{ inputs.end_date }}\nApprove: {{ appLink('appId') }}"
      }

  - id: await_decision
    type: io.kestra.plugin.core.flow.Pause
    onResume:
      - id: approved
        type: BOOLEAN
        description: Approve this request?
      - id: reason
        type: STRING
        description: Decision notes

  - id: update_hr_system
    type: io.kestra.plugin.core.http.Request
    uri: "{{ kv('HR_API_ENDPOINT') }}/approvals"
    method: POST
    contentType: multipart/form-data
    formData:
      employee: "{{ inputs.employee }}"
      status: "{{ outputs.await_decision.onResume.approved ? 'APPROVED' : 'REJECTED' }}"
      notes: "{{ outputs.await_decision.onResume.reason }}"

  - id: log_result
    type: io.kestra.plugin.core.log.Log
    message: |
      Decision: {{ outputs.await_decision.onResume }}

Kestra Features for Human-in-the-Loop Automation

Structured Inputs for Human Decisions

Add approval steps with structured inputs to any workflow:

yaml
  - id: await_decision
    type: io.kestra.plugin.core.flow.Pause
    onResume:
      - id: approved
        type: BOOLEAN
        displayName: Approve this request?
      - id: reason
        type: STRING
        displayName: Decision notes
      - id: team
        type: SELECT
        displayName: Team to review
        values:
          - HR
          - Finance
          - IT

Bulk Actions

Approve multiple paused workflows simultaneously: Bulk Resume

Audit Trails

Audit Logs capture who approved or rejected each request, and the Pause task's outputs contain the user's decision:

json
{
  "approved": true,
  "reason": "Within policy limits"
}

Conditional Branching

Route next automated tasks based on human decisions:

yaml
  - id: handle_rejection
    type: io.kestra.plugin.core.flow.If
    condition: "{{ outputs.await_decision.onResume.approved is false }}"
    then:
      - id: notify_employee
        type: io.kestra.plugin.notifications.mail.MailSend
        to: "{{ inputs.employee_email }}"
        subject: "Request Denied"
        htmlTextContent: "Reason: {{ outputs.await_decision.onResume.reason }}"

Getting Started with Human-in-the-Loop Automation

  1. Install Kestra – Follow the quick start guide or the full installation instructions for production environments.
  2. Write Your Workflows – Configure your flow in YAML. Each automated task can invoke an API, run scripts, or call any existing service. Then, add Pause tasks for manual approvals:
    yaml
    - id: approval_gate
  type: io.kestra.plugin.core.flow.Pause
  onResume:
    - id: signoff
      type: BOOLEAN
      required: true
  3. Configure Notifications – Use Slack, Teams, or Email plugins to notify users about pending approvals:
    yaml
    - id: alert
  type: io.kestra.plugin.notifications.teams.TeamsIncomingWebhook
  url: "{{ secret('TEAMS_WEBHOOK') }}"
  payload: |
    {
      "text": "The process {{ flow.id }} is pending approval {{ appLink() }}"
    }
  4. Add Triggers – Use scheduled or event-based triggers to launch workflows.
  5. Observe and Manage – Use Kestra’s UI to monitor states, logs, outputs, and metrics. Correct and replay failed workflow executions or roll back to a previous revision when needed.

Next Steps

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