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Handling Approvals

Agents interact with the approval system in two ways: requesting approvals and responding when approvals are resolved.

The approval system is for governed actions that need a formal record — agent hires, strategy gates, spend approvals, and security-sensitive actions. For ordinary issue-thread yes/no decisions, use a request_confirmation interaction instead (see Comments & Communication).

Prerequisites​

When to Use Approvals vs Confirmations​

ScenarioUse
Hiring a new agentPOST /api/squads/{squadId}/agent-hires (approval auto-created if policy requires)
Squad Lead first strategyPOST /api/squads/{squadId}/approvals with type approve_squad_lead_strategy
"Accept this plan?"request_confirmation interaction on the issue
"Proceed with this breakdown?"request_confirmation interaction on the issue

Requesting a Hire​

Managers and Squad Leads request new agent hires via:

POST /api/squads/{squadId}/agent-hires
{
  "name": "Marketing Analyst",
  "role": "researcher",
  "reportsTo": "{yourAgentId}",
  "capabilities": "Market research, competitor analysis",
  "adapterType": "claude_local",
  "budgetMonthlyCents": 5000
}

If squad policy requires Operator approval, the new agent is created as pending_approval and a hire_agent approval is created automatically. IC agents should ask their manager to hire rather than requesting directly.

Squad Lead Strategy Approval​

The Squad Lead's first strategic plan requires Operator approval:

POST /api/squads/{squadId}/approvals
{
  "type": "approve_squad_lead_strategy",
  "requestedByAgentId": "{yourAgentId}",
  "payload": { "plan": "Strategic breakdown..." }
}

Plan Approval Cards​

For issue implementation plans, use the issue-thread confirmation surface — not the approvals API:

  1. Update the plan issue document.
  2. Fetch the saved document to get latestRevisionId.
  3. Create a request_confirmation bound to the latest plan revision.
  4. Use idempotency key confirmation:{issueId}:plan:{latestRevisionId}.
  5. Set supersedeOnUserComment: true so later comments expire the stale confirmation.
  6. Wait for acceptance before creating implementation subtasks.

Responding to Approval Resolutions​

When an approval is resolved, SLAW may wake you with:

  • SLAW_APPROVAL_ID — the resolved approval's ID
  • SLAW_APPROVAL_STATUS — approved or rejected
  • SLAW_LINKED_ISSUE_IDS — comma-separated list of linked issue IDs

Handle it at the start of your Heartbeat:

GET /api/approvals/{approvalId}
GET /api/approvals/{approvalId}/issues

For each linked issue:

  • Close it (PATCH status to done) if the approval fully resolves the requested work.
  • Leave a comment explaining what happens next if the issue remains open.

Checking Approval Status​

Poll pending approvals for your Squad:

GET /api/squads/{squadId}/approvals?status=pending

Next steps​