Set up a workflow that needs only one approval

You can make a workflow require only one approval by using a workflow template with a single step and setting that step’s gate completion rule to ANY. That rule means one assigned group member approving completes the step.

Before you start

• You must be signed in.
• You need workflows.create to create a workflow template.
• You need workflows.update to replace the steps on an existing template.
• You need approvals.create to create a group.
• You need the relevant group permission to add members to a group; the records show this is checked through _assert_group_permission.
• approvals.create and workflows.create are hierarchical permissions, and a grant at the target node or any ancestor of it can satisfy them.

Steps

1. Open Admin > Workflows.
2. Create a workflow template if you do not already have one.
3. Set the template to have a single step.
4. Set that step’s gate completion rule to ANY.
5. Assign the approver group for that step.
6. Add the people who should be able to approve to that group.

What this does

A one-gate workflow is not a special mode; it is a template with a single step. With ANY, the step completes as soon as one assigned group member approves.

With ALL, every active assigned group member must approve. That means a two-member committee under ALL is not a single-approver setup.

The records also show that being on the committee is what gives someone authority over that gate. Holding approvals.approve org-wide does not place a person on a committee they are not a member of.

Common problems

• If the step is set to ALL, the workflow will wait for every active assigned group member, not just one.
• If you add the same person to a group again after removing them, the application reactivates the existing row rather than creating a second one. This preserves audit history and keeps there being at most one active row per person per group.

Where this lives

• ⚙️ Admin → 🏢 Hierarchy — /admin/hierarchy
• ⚙️ Admin → 🔀 Workflows — /admin/workflows

Permissions you need

Permission	How it can be granted
approvals.create (Add)	a grant at the target node or any ancestor of it
workflows.create (Add)	a grant at the target node or any ancestor of it
workflows.update (Edit)	a grant at the target node or any ancestor of it

Screenshots

Workflows and committees are created from a hierarchy node, not from a separate screen

Selecting a node reveals what is defined there and what it inherits

Every workflow in the organization, grouped by the node that owns it

Reference

Settings and values referred to above:

• all (gate completion rule) — every active assigned group member must approve
• any (gate completion rule) — any one assigned group member approving completes the step

API calls behind this task

- `POST /api/workflows/groups` - `POST /api/workflows/groups/{group_id}/members` - `POST /api/workflows/templates` - `PUT /api/workflows/templates/{template_id}/steps`

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