Merge Approval

In spaces where a space administrator has turned on Merges require approval, a branch cannot be merged into its original page until it has been approved. Depending on the space settings, either anyone who hasn’t edited the branch or only named approvers may approve it. Everything happens in the Page Branching byline and in the diff view, so there is no separate review tool to learn.

The workflow at a glance

1. Someone edits the branch until it is ready.

2. The branch is submitted for approval, optionally notifying the people who should review it.

3. Someone who may approve opens the diff and approves or requests changes.

4. Once the branch is approved, Merge becomes available again.

Submit a branch for approval

1. Open the branch page in view mode.

2. In the Page Branching byline, find the Merge approval panel.

3. Under Notify, choose who to ask. With named approvers, tick them in the list. Otherwise, search Confluence users by name and tick the people you want. Anyone who has edited the branch is left out, because they cannot approve it.

4. Click Submit for approval.

Everyone who can see a branch may submit it for approval. Only the decision itself is restricted.

A branch whose original page changed after its last update cannot be submitted. The panel then says “The original page changed after this branch was last updated, so the branch cannot be merged yet. Update the branch, then submit it for approval.” Click Update first, then submit the branch.

Each person you pick is mentioned in a comment on the branch page, which notifies them through the bell, email, and the mobile app. Someone who cannot see the branch page is not notified about it either. Everyone watching the branch page or the space sees these comments as well.

Approve or request changes

Who can decide on a branch depends on the space settings:

• Everyone who hasn’t edited the branch can approve – anyone who can open the branch and has not edited it. Everyone who published or co-edited a version of the branch page counts as having edited it, including whoever created it or pressed Update on it. If you edited the branch, the panel says “You edited this branch, so you cannot approve it.”

• Only named approvers can approve – only the approvers named in the space settings.

Either way, the person who created a branch can never approve it.

1. Open the branch page. The Merge approval panel offers Review diff to decide.

2. Read the diff.

3. Optionally add a comment for the branch author.

4. Click Approve or Request changes.

The person who submitted the branch and the branch author are notified of your decision by a comment mention in the same way.

If someone publishes a new version of the branch or the original page while you are still reading the diff, your decision is refused with a note to reload and review the current content. An approval can therefore never cover content that nobody reviewed.

Approval states

The Merge approval panel and the Status column on the space Branches page show where a branch stands:

Why an approval can become outdated

An approval is recorded against the exact branch version and original page version that the approver reviewed, and both version numbers are shown in the panel. Any later edit on either side invalidates the approval and blocks the merge again, so nothing reaches the original page that was not reviewed in the state it is in. Simply submit the branch for approval once more.

Approvers merging their own branches

An approver who created a branch themselves can merge it without asking for a second approval – the panel shows No approval needed. This applies only in spaces with named approvers. They still cannot review their own branch, and the exemption is personal: if anyone else merges that same branch, it needs a real approval first. Merges of this kind are recorded in the space approval log as merged by an approver without a separate approval. In spaces where everyone who hasn’t edited the branch can approve, there is no such exemption: every branch needs an approval from someone who didn’t edit it.

Approval and updating a branch

Only merges into the original page need an approval. Pulling the latest content from the original page into your branch with Update never requires one, and neither does resolving a conflict along the way (see Merge Conflicts).

Updating a branch does change it, though, so an approval the branch already had becomes outdated afterwards. An outdated branch cannot be submitted at all: bring it up to date first and submit it for approval after that, so the approver reviews the content that will actually be published.

In spaces where everyone who hasn’t edited the branch can approve, pressing Update publishes a new version of the branch in your name. You then count as having edited the branch and can no longer approve it.

Approval and the Working Copy agent

The Working Copy Rovo agent respects the approval gate. It does not call a working copy ready to publish while an approval is missing or outdated, and it tells you what is still blocking publication. Submitting for approval and deciding on a working copy works as described above, in the byline and the diff view. See Working Copy with Rovo.

Where to see approval activity

• The Merge approval panel on a branch page lists the most recent activity for that branch: who submitted it, who decided, when, and against which page versions.

• The space Branches page adds a Status column for every branch, and space administrators additionally see an Approval activity log for the whole space – see Space Branches Overview.