Workflows and Approvals

Overview

Workflows in Openlane let you automate governance decisions around object changes by defining triggers, conditions, and actions. Typical actions include approvals, notifications, and follow-up automation.

From a user perspective, you configure workflow definitions. The workflow engine then evaluates changes, creates the required workflow records, and manages approval routing and state transitions.

For approval-based workflows, Openlane supports pre-commit and post-commit behavior:

• PRE_COMMIT: approval-eligible changes are staged before applying
• POST_COMMIT: changes commit first and approval/review activity runs afterward

How It Works

What You Configure vs. What the Engine Manages

You configure:

• WorkflowDefinition content (triggers, conditions, actions)
• Scope and targeting choices (schema type, selectors, target groups/users/resolvers)
• Operational state (active, revisioning, lifecycle updates)

The engine manages automatically:

• Workflow instance creation and progression
• Proposal staging for approval-gated changes
• Assignment generation, quorum checks, and completion logic
• Event timeline updates and workflow state transitions

Current implementation detail from the workflow package docs:

• AUTO_SUBMIT is the effective submission mode for approval workflows today
• draft proposal submission is not currently exposed as a user-facing flow

Compliance Significance

• SOC 2: CC2 and CC5 (governance and controlled change)
• ISO 27001: change management and approval traceability

Practical Examples

• Require approval before changing high-impact fields on compliance-critical records.
• Route different approval actions to different groups based on workflow conditions.
• Trigger notifications after approvals complete to keep owners informed.

Examples

CSV

Operation	API
Create	createBulkCSVWorkflowDefinition
Update	updateWorkflowDefinition

# Create
Name,WorkflowKind,SchemaType,Draft,Active,CooldownSeconds
Control Status Governance Workflow,APPROVAL,Control,false,true,60
Evidence Review Workflow,APPROVAL,Evidence,false,true,60

# Update
ID,Revision,Active,Draft
WFD01J9WFLOW1111111111111,2,true,false
WFD01J9WFLOW2222222222222,2,true,false

GraphQL

Operation	GraphQL
Create definition	createWorkflowDefinition
Update definition	updateWorkflowDefinition
Review assignments	myWorkflowAssignments, approveWorkflowAssignment, rejectWorkflowAssignment

mutation {
  createWorkflowDefinition(
    input: {
      name: "Control Status Governance Workflow"
      workflowKind: APPROVAL
      schemaType: "Control"
      draft: false
      active: true
      cooldownSeconds: 60
    }
  ) {
    workflowDefinition {
      id
      name
      active
    }
  }
}

mutation {
  updateWorkflowDefinition(
    id: "WFD01J9WFLOW1111111111111"
    input: {
      revision: 2
      active: true
    }
  ) {
    workflowDefinition {
      id
      revision
      active
    }
  }
}

query {
  myWorkflowAssignments(first: 20) {
    edges {
      node {
        id
        status
        dueAt
      }
    }
  }
}

mutation {
  approveWorkflowAssignment(id: "WFA01J9ASSIGN111111111111") {
    workflowAssignment {
      id
      status
    }
  }
}

mutation {
  rejectWorkflowAssignment(
    id: "WFA01J9ASSIGN111111111111"
    reason: "Needs additional evidence"
  ) {
    workflowAssignment {
      id
      status
    }
  }
}

Go Client

Operation	Method
Create definition	client.CreateWorkflowDefinition(ctx, input)
Update definition	client.UpdateWorkflowDefinition(ctx, id, input)
Approvals	client.GetMyWorkflowAssignments, client.ApproveWorkflowAssignment, client.RejectWorkflowAssignment

ctx := context.Background()

active := true
draft := false

_, err := client.CreateWorkflowDefinition(ctx, graphclient.CreateWorkflowDefinitionInput{
	Name:         "Control Status Governance Workflow",
	WorkflowKind: "APPROVAL",
	SchemaType:   "Control",
	Active:       &active,
	Draft:        &draft,
})
if err != nil {
	return err
}

revision := int64(2)
_, err = client.UpdateWorkflowDefinition(ctx, "WFD01J9WFLOW1111111111111", graphclient.UpdateWorkflowDefinitionInput{
	Revision: &revision,
	Active:   &active,
})
if err != nil {
	return err
}

first := int64(20)
_, err = client.GetMyWorkflowAssignments(ctx, &first, nil, nil, nil, nil, nil)
if err != nil {
	return err
}

_, err = client.ApproveWorkflowAssignment(ctx, "WFA01J9ASSIGN111111111111")
if err != nil {
	return err
}

reason := "Needs additional evidence"
_, err = client.RejectWorkflowAssignment(ctx, "WFA01J9ASSIGN111111111111", &reason)
if err != nil {
	return err
}

CLI

Operation	Command
List workflow instances	openlane workflowInstance get
List workflow assignments	openlane workflowAssignment get
Get assignment details	openlane workflowAssignment get --id ... --show-targets

openlane workflowInstance get --first 20
openlane workflowAssignment get --first 20
openlane workflowAssignment get --id "WFA01J9ASSIGN111111111111" --show-targets

Definition create/update is currently documented through GraphQL and Go client operations.