Approval Chains

Approval Chains let you configure multi-level approval workflows for high-risk actions, ensuring that critical operations receive sign-off from the right people in the right order.

Overview

For actions that require more than a single human review, Approval Chains define a sequence of approvers that must each sign off before the action can execute. This adds structured, multi-layered oversight to your most sensitive operations.

How Approval Chains Work

1. An action is submitted and the governance pipeline assigns a HELD verdict
2. Instead of going to the standard escrow queue for a single reviewer, the action enters an approval chain
3. The first approver in the chain receives the action for review
4. If the first approver approves, the action advances to the next approver
5. This continues until all approvers in the chain have approved
6. If any approver rejects, the action is blocked immediately
7. The action only executes after every approver in the chain has signed off

TIP

Approval chains are ideal for actions like production deployments, financial transactions above a threshold, or changes to access controls -- operations where a single reviewer is not sufficient.

Creating an Approval Chain

To create a new approval chain:

1. Navigate to Approval Chains in the sidebar
2. Click Create Chain
3. Give the chain a descriptive name (e.g., "Production Deployment Approval")
4. Add approvers in sequence -- the order matters, as each approver reviews after the previous one approves
5. Save the chain

Chain Configuration

Field	Description
Chain Name	A descriptive name for the approval workflow
Approvers	Ordered list of users or roles that must approve, evaluated sequentially
Timeout	How long each approver has to respond before the action times out

Linking Chains to Actions

Approval chains can be linked to governance in two ways:

By Action Type

Assign a chain to a specific action type. Any time that action type is governed, it flows through the specified approval chain instead of the standard escrow queue.

By Tier

Assign a chain to a governance tier. All actions mapped to that tier go through the approval chain. This is useful for applying multi-level approval to all Tier C (controlled) actions.

WARNING

If an action matches both an action-type chain and a tier-level chain, the action-type chain takes precedence. Be mindful of overlapping assignments to avoid confusion.

Approval Chain Status

While an action is moving through an approval chain, you can track its progress:

• Which approvers have signed off
• Which approver currently has the action
• How much time remains before timeout at the current stage
• Whether the chain completed successfully or was rejected

Audit Integration

Every approval and rejection within a chain is recorded in the Audit Trail. The audit record includes which approver acted, when, and what decision they made at each stage of the chain.

Related Features

• Escrow Queue -- Single-reviewer workflow for standard held actions
• Tier Mapping -- Link approval chains to specific tiers
• Governance Policies -- Policies determine which actions get held