Approvals

Overview

This topic explains how to use LaunchDarkly's approvals feature to request review for changes you plan to make to a flag. It also explains how to review an approval request when you are asked to.

You can customize an environment's approval settings in the Projects tab of the Account settings page. To learn more, read Configuring approvals by environment.

Approvals let more people have input on planned changes to a flag. These review-style approvals mimic common code review workflows, such as PR reviews in GitHub.

Understanding approvals

When an account member plans a flag change, they have the option to request approval for that change from anyone in their LaunchDarkly project.

Anyone with a writer, owner / admin, or custom role can approve a flag change, regardless of whether or not their review has been requested. Account members who the requester chooses receive an email notifying them that their review has been requested, and, if applicable, a notification in the LaunchDarkly Slack app.

Here is an image of the approvals email notification from LaunchDarkly:

From that email, a requested approver can access a summary page of the flag changes and approve or decline the changes proposed.

To learn more about the Slack app, read Slack.

Requesting approval for a flag change

You can request approval on changes to a flag's targeting at any point after creation. You can also delete your own approval requests. To learn more, read Deleting an approval request.

The only people you can request approval from are other members of your LaunchDarkly project. You can request approval from anyone in your project with approval permissions, up to a maximum of ten people.

Here's how:

1. Make the changes you wish to make to any flag.

2. Click the dropdown icon in the Save Changes button. The additional actions menu opens:

   

3. Click Request approval. The approval request screen appears. Members on an Enterprise plan also see the Schedule option.

   

4. Enter a Description to add context that helps your reviewers understand the changes you made.

5. (Optional) If necessary, you can edit your flag changes by clicking the Edit button.

6. Choose one or more reviewers from the Reviewers dropdown.

7. Click Request approval. The approval request appears.

The Reviewers dropdown automatically excludes members with a Reader role, since Readers cannot approve requests. The people you chose from the dropdown each receive an email and, if applicable, a Slack notification, asking them to approve your flag changes.

The flag's Targeting page also updates with a number next to the pending changes icon to indicate that there are pending changes waiting for review.

Reviewing flag approval requests

If someone requests your approval on a flag change, you receive an email and, if applicable, a Slack notification. From the notification email, you can click through to the approval request and review the request.

To approve or decline a change:

1. Find the email from "The Team at LaunchDarkly" in your email client. The email subject includes name of the project, environment, and flag you're being asked to review and the phrase "Review request":

2. In the email body, click Review request. A new tab with the approval request appears.

3. Review the flag changes and choose to approve or decline the changes. Optionally, you can leave a comment summarizing your decision.

   a. (Optional) Click Approve and Apply. The "Review history" section updates to indicate that you reviewed the change request, and the requestor receives an email notification.

   b. (Optional) Click into the dropdown and choose Approve changes. If you approve an approval request but do not apply it, the original requester, or any account member with a writer, owner / admin, or custom role can apply the changes you approved.

In addition to using the link in the email to access the approval request, you can see pending flag changes and approval requests on the "Pending changes" screen.

To access this screen, click the icon on the flag's Targeting page:

Deleting an approval request

You may delete a request for changes to a flag at any point before the changes are applied. You can do this in two ways:

• from the "Pending changes" screen, or
• from the approval request.

Deleting an approval request from the "Pending changes" screen

To delete approval requests from a flag's "Pending changes" screen:

1. Navigate to the flag's Targeting page and click the Pending Changes icon. The "Pending Changes" screen appears.
2. Find the change you wish to delete and click the overflow menu. Additional options appear:

3. Choose Delete. A confirmation screen appears.
4. Type the flag's name or key to confirm.
5. Click Delete. The request is deleted.

Deleting an approval request from its page

To delete an approval request from the request's page:

1. Navigate to the flag's Targeting page and click the Pending Changes icon. The "Pending Changes" screen appears.
2. Click View. The approval request appears.
3. Click the overflow menu. The menu expands.
4. Click Delete request. A confirmation screen appears.
5. Type the flag's name or key to confirm.
6. Click Delete request. The request is deleted: