# Pause an Automation Until Someone Approves

> The Wait for approval step pauses an automation run until a teammate approves or rejects. Approve continues the run. Reject stops it. If no one answers in time, the **Then** setting decides.

- Source: https://www.taskade.com/learn/automation/approval-step
- Section: Automation
- Updated: 2026-11-07
- Index of all pages: https://www.taskade.com/learn/llms.txt

## Overview

The **Wait for approval** step pauses an automation run until a person approves or rejects it. Use it before a step that sends mail, posts a message, or pays an invoice, so a person signs off first.

Use it also when an AI step reaches a trade-off. Ask the AI step to lay out the choice and its cost, and insert its answer in **Details**. Then you decide if the next step is worth it.

> **TL;DR:** Add the **Wait for approval** step from the **Approvals** tab of the step picker. Pick the teammates who approve. The run pauses until one of them clicks **Approve** or **Reject**. Approve continues the run. Reject stops it. If no one answers in time, the **Then** setting decides. See [how automations run](https://www.taskade.com/learn/automation/automations-execution).

```mermaid
flowchart TD
  T[Trigger fires] --> P[Steps before the approval]
  P --> W[Wait for approval]
  W -->|Approve| N[Next step runs]
  W -->|Reject| S[Run stops]
  W -->|No answer| H[Then setting]
  H -->|Approve| N
  H -->|Reject| S
  style T fill:#0d1b2a,color:#7dd3fc,stroke:#38bdf8,stroke-width:1.5px
  style P fill:#1a0d24,color:#ce93d8,stroke:#6a1b9a,stroke-width:1.5px
  style W fill:#2a1225,color:#ff8fa3,stroke:#ff2d60,stroke-width:2px
  style N fill:#0d1a0e,color:#86efac,stroke:#22c55e,stroke-width:1.5px
  style S fill:#1a140a,color:#ffb74d,stroke:#e65100,stroke-width:1.5px
  style H fill:#1e1e2e,color:#94a3b8,stroke:#475569
```

## Before You Start

- **What you need**: An automation, and the teammates who approve. Each approver must be a member of the workspace. See [Invite Members](https://www.taskade.com/learn/account/invite-members).
- **Plan**: The **Wait for approval** step is a built-in step. The approval actions of Gmail, Outlook, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Telegram, Discord, SMS and WhatsApp are premium integrations, available on paid plans.
- **Time**: About 5 minutes.

## Add the Wait for Approval Step

1. Open the automation and click ➕ **Add Step** at the place where the run must pause.
2. Open the **Approvals** tab and pick **Wait for approval**.
3. In **Who approves**, pick one or more teammates. You are the approver until you pick someone else.
4. In **What they see**, write one short line, for example "Pay invoice from Acme".
5. In **Details**, add the facts that the approver needs. Insert values from earlier steps.
6. Under **If no one answers**, pick how long to wait in **Wait for**: 1 day, 3 days, or 7 days.
7. In **Then**, pick **Reject** or **Approve**. This decision applies when the wait ends with no answer.
8. Add the step that must wait for the sign-off below the approval, then turn the automation on.

Keep **Then** on **Reject** before a step that sends mail, posts a message, or moves money. Then no action runs without a person.

Put each AI step before the approval. The approver then reads the exact text that the next step will send.

## Approve or Reject a Request

When a run reaches the step, each approver gets a Taskade notification and an email. Each one has a **Review** link. The run shows **Waiting for approval** in the **Runs** tab of the automation.

1. Open the **Review** link, or open the **Runs** tab of the automation.
2. Read the title and the details.
3. Click **Approve** or **Reject**.

The first answer counts. When one approver decides, the request closes for all the others.

A listed approver who can see the automation can decide in the **Runs** tab. A workspace member who can edit the automation can also decide there. An approver with view-only access to the workspace decides through the **Review** link.

## Use the Decision in Later Steps

The step gives its result to the steps after it. Later steps can read these fields:

| Field | What it holds |
| --- | --- |
| `approved` | `true` when the request was approved |
| `decision` | `approved`, `rejected` or `timed_out` |
| `decidedBy` | The person who decided |
| `decidedAt` | The date and time of the decision |
| `comment` | The comment of the approver, if any |

A rejected request stops the run at the approval step. Taskade does not mark that run as failed, so a rejection does not count toward the [automatic pause after repeated failures](https://www.taskade.com/learn/automation/automations-execution).

To keep a record of each decision, add an **Add a task** step after the approval that writes the fields above to a log project.

## Request Approval in Slack, Teams, Email, or Chat

You can also send the request from a connected app. Each of these actions sends its own message with **Approve** and **Reject** links, then pauses the run in the same way:

| App | Action |
| --- | --- |
| Gmail | Request approval with Gmail |
| Outlook | Request approval with Outlook |
| Slack | Request approval in a Slack channel, or in a Slack DM |
| Microsoft Teams | Request approval in a Teams channel, or in a Teams chat |
| Telegram | Request approval in Telegram |
| Discord | Request approval in Discord |
| SMS | Request approval by SMS |
| WhatsApp | Request approval in WhatsApp |

Find them in the **Approvals** tab, or under the app in **Connected Apps**. These requests wait 3 days, then reject.

A link in one of these messages is not tied to one person. Anyone who has the message can decide. Send it only to the person or the channel that approves.

## Ask Taskade EVE to Add an Approval

Taskade EVE can add the approval step for you. Paste this prompt in the chat of your app or workspace, and change the names:

```text
Add an approval to my invoice automation. Before the step that pays the invoice,
pause the run until Maria approves. Show her the vendor name and the amount.
If she does not answer in 3 days, reject the request.
Do not change the trigger or the other steps.
```

*Why this works:* The prompt names the approver, the step that must wait, and the outcome when no one answers. The last line keeps the rest of the automation as it is.

## You Are Done When

A test run shows **Waiting for approval** in the **Runs** tab, the approver gets the email, and the next step runs only after the approver clicks **Approve**, or after the wait ends with **Then** set to **Approve**.

## Frequently Asked Questions

**Can I retry a run that waits for an approval?**

No. A run that waits for an approval has no **Retry** button. Approve or reject the request first.

**Can someone outside my workspace approve?**

The **Wait for approval** step sends requests to workspace members only. To ask a person outside the workspace, use one of the connected app actions, such as **Request approval with Gmail** or **Request approval by SMS**.

**Is a Wait for approval step the same as tool approval for an agent?**

No. Tool approval belongs to an AI agent: the agent pauses before it uses a tool. The **Wait for approval** step belongs to an automation and pauses the run. See [Agent Tools](https://www.taskade.com/learn/automation/agent-tool).

## Related guides

- [How Automations Work](https://www.taskade.com/learn/automation/automations-execution): run history, retries and the automatic pause.
- [Delay](https://www.taskade.com/learn/automation/delay-action): pause a run for a set time instead of a decision.
- [Branch](https://www.taskade.com/learn/automation/branch-action): send a request down a different path, for example by amount.
- [Filter](https://www.taskade.com/learn/automation/filter-data): stop a run when a rule does not match, with no person involved.
- [Build an Approval Workflow](https://www.taskade.com/learn/genesis/approval-workflow): an approval app with stages, a decision log and daily reminders.
- [Browse automation templates](https://www.taskade.com/automate) and [integrations](https://www.taskade.com/integrations).