Publishing workflows
Configure and use explicit publish, unpublish, and archive actions without hiding workflow changes inside Save.
Workflow actions are explicit
BaseBuddy treats Publish, Unpublish, and Archive as standalone actions. They are not side effects of normal editing.
This keeps editorial state predictable. You can update body copy without accidentally publishing, and you can publish without guessing which status value your schema expects.
Safe editing model covers the normal save boundary; this page covers the workflow boundary.
Workflow mapping
Workflow behavior depends on your mapped status and publish-related fields.
| Field | Common purpose |
|---|---|
| Status | Stores draft, published, archived, or custom state |
| Published date | Stores when content became public |
| Updated date | Stores editorial update time when mapped and writable |
| Archived flag/date | Stores archive state when the schema supports it |
The actual storage may be text, enum, boolean, timestamp, JSON, or helper-row based. The mapping tells BaseBuddy how to write it.
Use How to map a posts table when you are connecting status fields for the first time, and Storage contract and UI when the status lives somewhere other than a direct column.
Permission rules
Publishing requires publish permission. This applies to Publish, Unpublish, Archive, and any normal save that changes a mapped workflow status.
Author-scoped publishing requires both authored publish permission and access to the assigned author scope.
Permissions and teams explains how role permissions, explicit overrides, and author scopes combine.
Basic flow
What to test
Before production, test workflow with at least two roles:
- A user who can edit but cannot publish.
- A user who can publish.
- A published post that can be unpublished.
- An archived post that no longer appears where your app expects active content.
- A normal save that changes status and correctly requires publish permission.
If a workflow action writes the wrong status value, fix the mapping before editors start using it.
Use How to publish, unpublish, and archive content for the button-level workflow, and How to fix owner or admin permission errors if the right person cannot grant publish access.