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 Environments tab of a project under 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 a member or team in their LaunchDarkly project.

Anyone with a Writer, Admin, Owner, or custom role with reviewApprovalRequest permission can approve a flag change, regardless of whether or not their review has been requested. Account members and team 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 and teams of your LaunchDarkly project.

Here's how:

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

2. Click the dropdown icon in the Review and save button. The additional actions menu appears:

   

3. Click "Request approval." The "Request approval" dialog appears.

   

4. Review and confirm the changes displayed in the dialog. If you need to make changes, click Edit next to the pencil icon.

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

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

7. Click Request approval. The approval request appears.

You can choose reviewers to approve your request, as well as members with a role that only allows them to view requests. The people you chose from the menu each receive an email, an inbox notification, and a Slack notification, if applicable, asking them to approve your flag changes.

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

Requesting approval for copying flags

When you copy flag settings between environments, if the environment you're copying changes to requires approval, then Review and request approval is the default option. To learn more, read Configuring approvals by environment.

Reviewing flag approval requests

If someone requests your approval on a flag change, an in-app notification appears and you receive notifications in email and, if applicable, Slack. You can click through to view and approve or decline the request from any of these notifications.

To approve or decline a change from within the LaunchDarkly app:

1. Click the bell icon in the top menu bar. The approval notification inbox appears:

2. Click View Details. The approvals request screen opens:

3. Review the flag changes and choose to approve or decline the changes. You may optionally enter a comment in the Add comment box summarizing your decision.

• If you want to approve and apply the changes right away, click Approve and apply. The "Review history" section updates to indicate that you reviewed the change request, and the requestor receives an email notification.

• If you want to approve the changes but not apply them, click into the dropdown and choose Approve changes. The original requester, or any account member with a Writer, Admin, Owner, or appropriate custom role can apply the changes you approved.

• If you want to decline the changes, click Decline changes.

To approve or decline a change from an email notification:

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 message body, click Review request to open the approval request details.

3. Review the flag changes and choose to approve or decline the changes. Optionally, you may enter a comment that gives context for your decision in the Add comment box.

• If you want to approve and apply the changes right away, click Approve and apply. The "Review history" section updates to indicate that you reviewed the change request, and the requestor receives an email notification.

• If you want to approve the changes but not apply them, click into the dropdown and choose Approve changes. The original requester, or any account member with a Writer, Admin, Owner, or appropriate custom role can apply the changes you approved.

• If you want to deny the changes, click Decline changes.

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

To access this panel, click the Pending changes icon on the flag's Targeting tab:

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" panel, or
• from the approval request.

Deleting an approval request from the "Pending changes" panel

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

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

3. Choose "Delete." A confirmation dialog 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 tab and click the Pending changes icon. The "Pending changes" panel appears.
2. Click View. The approval request appears.
3. Click the overflow menu and choose "Delete request." A confirmation dialog appears.
4. Enter the flag's name or key to confirm.
5. Click Delete request. The request is deleted: