Content Workflow Skill | Agent Skills

Content Workflow

Guidance for implementing editorial workflows, approval processes, and scheduled publishing in headless CMS systems.

When to Use This Skill

Implementing multi-stage approval workflows
Adding scheduled/embargo publishing
Building content moderation systems
Defining role-based publishing permissions
Automating workflow notifications

Workflow States

Basic Workflow States

public enum WorkflowState
{
    Draft,          // Initial creation, author editing
    InReview,       // Submitted for review
    Approved,       // Approved, ready to publish
    Published,      // Live content
    Unpublished,    // Removed from live
    Archived,       // Long-term storage
    Rejected        // Review rejected, needs revision
}

Extended Workflow States

public enum ExtendedWorkflowState
{
    // Creation
    Draft,

    // Review stages
    PendingEditorialReview,
    EditorialApproved,
    PendingLegalReview,
    LegalApproved,
    PendingFinalApproval,

    // Publication
    Scheduled,
    Published,

    // Post-publication
    Unpublished,
    Expired,
    Archived
}

State Machine Implementation

Workflow Definition

public class WorkflowDefinition
{
    public string Name { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    public List<WorkflowStateDefinition> States { get; set; } = new();
    public List<WorkflowTransition> Transitions { get; set; } = new();
}

public class WorkflowStateDefinition
{
    public string Name { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    public bool IsInitial { get; set; }
    public bool IsFinal { get; set; }
    public List<string> AllowedRoles { get; set; } = new();
    public List<string> RequiredFields { get; set; } = new();
}

public class WorkflowTransition
{
    public string Name { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    public string FromState { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    public string ToState { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    public List<string> AllowedRoles { get; set; } = new();
    public bool RequiresComment { get; set; }
    public List<string> Notifications { get; set; } = new();
}

State Machine Service

public class WorkflowService
{
    public async Task<bool> CanTransitionAsync(
        ContentItem content,
        string transition,
        ClaimsPrincipal user)
    {
        var workflow = await GetWorkflowAsync(content.ContentType);
        var transitionDef = workflow.Transitions
            .FirstOrDefault(t => t.Name == transition
                && t.FromState == content.WorkflowState);

        if (transitionDef == null)
            return false;

        // Check role permissions
        var userRoles = user.Claims
            .Where(c => c.Type == ClaimTypes.Role)
            .Select(c => c.Value);

        return transitionDef.AllowedRoles
            .Any(r => userRoles.Contains(r));
    }

    public async Task TransitionAsync(
        Guid contentId,
        string transition,
        string? comment,
        ClaimsPrincipal user)
    {
        var content = await _repository.GetAsync(contentId);
        if (!await CanTransitionAsync(content!, transition, user))
            throw new WorkflowException("Transition not allowed");

        var workflow = await GetWorkflowAsync(content!.ContentType);
        var transitionDef = workflow.Transitions
            .First(t => t.Name == transition);

        // Validate required fields for target state
        var targetState = workflow.States
            .First(s => s.Name == transitionDef.ToState);
        await ValidateRequiredFieldsAsync(content, targetState);

        // Record transition
        var history = new WorkflowHistory
        {
            Id = Guid.NewGuid(),
            ContentItemId = contentId,
            FromState = content.WorkflowState,
            ToState = transitionDef.ToState,
            Transition = transition,
            Comment = comment,
            UserId = user.GetUserId(),
            OccurredUtc = DateTime.UtcNow
        };

        content.WorkflowState = transitionDef.ToState;
        content.ModifiedUtc = DateTime.UtcNow;

        await _repository.UpdateAsync(content);
        await _historyRepository.AddAsync(history);

        // Send notifications
        await SendNotificationsAsync(content, transitionDef);
    }
}

Scheduled Publishing

Schedule Model

public class PublishSchedule
{
    public Guid ContentItemId { get; set; }

    // Publishing window
    public DateTime? PublishAtUtc { get; set; }
    public DateTime? UnpublishAtUtc { get; set; }

    // Recurrence (optional)
    public bool IsRecurring { get; set; }
    public string? CronExpression { get; set; }

    // Status
    public ScheduleStatus Status { get; set; }
    public DateTime? LastExecutedUtc { get; set; }
}

public enum ScheduleStatus
{
    Pending,
    Published,
    Completed,
    Failed,
    Cancelled
}

Scheduled Publishing Service

public class ScheduledPublishingService
{
    public async Task SchedulePublishAsync(
        Guid contentId,
        DateTime publishAtUtc,
        DateTime? unpublishAtUtc = null)
    {
        var content = await _repository.GetAsync(contentId);
        if (content == null)
            throw new NotFoundException();

        // Validate content is ready to publish
        await ValidateForPublishAsync(content);

        var schedule = new PublishSchedule
        {
            ContentItemId = contentId,
            PublishAtUtc = publishAtUtc,
            UnpublishAtUtc = unpublishAtUtc,
            Status = ScheduleStatus.Pending
        };

        await _scheduleRepository.AddAsync(schedule);

        // Update content state
        content.WorkflowState = "Scheduled";
        content.ScheduledPublishUtc = publishAtUtc;
        await _repository.UpdateAsync(content);
    }

    // Called by background job
    public async Task ProcessScheduledItemsAsync()
    {
        var now = DateTime.UtcNow;

        // Items to publish
        var toPublish = await _scheduleRepository
            .GetPendingPublishAsync(now);

        foreach (var schedule in toPublish)
        {
            try
            {
                await PublishContentAsync(schedule.ContentItemId);
                schedule.Status = ScheduleStatus.Published;
                schedule.LastExecutedUtc = now;
            }
            catch (Exception ex)
            {
                schedule.Status = ScheduleStatus.Failed;
                _logger.LogError(ex, "Failed to publish {ContentId}",
                    schedule.ContentItemId);
            }

            await _scheduleRepository.UpdateAsync(schedule);
        }

        // Items to unpublish
        var toUnpublish = await _scheduleRepository
            .GetPendingUnpublishAsync(now);

        foreach (var schedule in toUnpublish)
        {
            await UnpublishContentAsync(schedule.ContentItemId);
            schedule.Status = ScheduleStatus.Completed;
            await _scheduleRepository.UpdateAsync(schedule);
        }
    }
}

Background Job Configuration

// Using Hangfire or similar
public class ScheduledPublishingJob
{
    private readonly ScheduledPublishingService _service;

    [AutomaticRetry(Attempts = 3)]
    public async Task Execute()
    {
        await _service.ProcessScheduledItemsAsync();
    }
}

// Registration
RecurringJob.AddOrUpdate<ScheduledPublishingJob>(
    "scheduled-publishing",
    job => job.Execute(),
    "*/5 * * * *"); // Every 5 minutes

Approval Chains

Multi-Stage Approval

public class ApprovalChain
{
    public Guid Id { get; set; }
    public string Name { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    public List<ApprovalStage> Stages { get; set; } = new();
}

public class ApprovalStage
{
    public int Order { get; set; }
    public string Name { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    public ApprovalType Type { get; set; }
    public List<string> ApproverRoles { get; set; } = new();
    public List<Guid>? SpecificApproverIds { get; set; }
    public int RequiredApprovals { get; set; } = 1;
    public TimeSpan? Timeout { get; set; }
}

public enum ApprovalType
{
    AnyApprover,      // Any one from the list
    AllApprovers,     // Everyone must approve
    MajorityApprovers // Majority rule
}

Approval Tracking

public class ApprovalRequest
{
    public Guid Id { get; set; }
    public Guid ContentItemId { get; set; }
    public Guid ApprovalChainId { get; set; }
    public int CurrentStage { get; set; }
    public ApprovalStatus Status { get; set; }
    public DateTime RequestedUtc { get; set; }
    public DateTime? CompletedUtc { get; set; }

    public List<ApprovalDecision> Decisions { get; set; } = new();
}

public class ApprovalDecision
{
    public Guid Id { get; set; }
    public Guid ApprovalRequestId { get; set; }
    public int Stage { get; set; }
    public string ApproverId { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    public ApprovalDecisionType Decision { get; set; }
    public string? Comment { get; set; }
    public DateTime DecidedUtc { get; set; }
}

public enum ApprovalDecisionType
{
    Pending,
    Approved,
    Rejected,
    Delegated
}

Notifications

Notification Types

public enum WorkflowNotificationType
{
    // Review requests
    ReviewRequested,
    ApprovalRequired,

    // Decisions
    ContentApproved,
    ContentRejected,

    // Publishing
    ContentPublished,
    ContentScheduled,
    ContentExpiring,

    // Reminders
    ReviewOverdue,
    ApprovalOverdue
}

Notification Service

public class WorkflowNotificationService
{
    public async Task SendNotificationAsync(
        WorkflowNotificationType type,
        ContentItem content,
        IEnumerable<string> recipientIds,
        Dictionary<string, string>? extraData = null)
    {
        var template = await _templateService.GetAsync(type.ToString());

        foreach (var recipientId in recipientIds)
        {
            var recipient = await _userService.GetAsync(recipientId);

            var notification = new Notification
            {
                Id = Guid.NewGuid(),
                Type = type.ToString(),
                RecipientId = recipientId,
                Subject = template.RenderSubject(content, extraData),
                Body = template.RenderBody(content, extraData),
                ContentItemId = content.Id,
                CreatedUtc = DateTime.UtcNow
            };

            await _notificationRepository.AddAsync(notification);

            // Send via configured channels
            if (recipient.EmailNotifications)
                await _emailService.SendAsync(recipient.Email, notification);

            if (recipient.SlackNotifications)
                await _slackService.SendAsync(recipient.SlackId, notification);
        }
    }
}

Role-Based Permissions

Content Permissions

public class ContentPermission
{
    public string ContentType { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    public string Role { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    public ContentPermissionLevel Level { get; set; }
}

[Flags]
public enum ContentPermissionLevel
{
    None = 0,
    Read = 1,
    Create = 2,
    Edit = 4,
    Delete = 8,
    Publish = 16,
    Unpublish = 32,
    Archive = 64,
    ManageWorkflow = 128,
    Full = Read | Create | Edit | Delete | Publish | Unpublish | Archive | ManageWorkflow
}

Permission Checking

public class ContentAuthorizationService
{
    public async Task<bool> CanPerformActionAsync(
        ClaimsPrincipal user,
        ContentItem content,
        ContentPermissionLevel action)
    {
        var userRoles = user.Claims
            .Where(c => c.Type == ClaimTypes.Role)
            .Select(c => c.Value);

        var permissions = await _permissionRepository
            .GetByContentTypeAsync(content.ContentType);

        foreach (var role in userRoles)
        {
            var permission = permissions.FirstOrDefault(p => p.Role == role);
            if (permission != null && permission.Level.HasFlag(action))
                return true;
        }

        return false;
    }
}

API Design

Workflow Endpoints

GET    /api/content/{id}/workflow              # Get workflow state
POST   /api/content/{id}/workflow/transition   # Execute transition
GET    /api/content/{id}/workflow/history      # Transition history
GET    /api/content/{id}/workflow/available    # Available transitions

# Scheduling
POST   /api/content/{id}/schedule              # Schedule publish
DELETE /api/content/{id}/schedule              # Cancel schedule
GET    /api/scheduled                          # List scheduled items

# Approvals
POST   /api/content/{id}/submit-for-review     # Start approval
POST   /api/approvals/{id}/approve             # Approve
POST   /api/approvals/{id}/reject              # Reject
GET    /api/approvals/pending                  # My pending approvals

Related Skills

content-versioning - Version control with workflows
content-type-modeling - Workflow-enabled content types
headless-api-design - Workflow API endpoints

Agent Skills: Content Workflow

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Skill Files

Content Workflow

When to Use This Skill

Workflow States

Basic Workflow States

Extended Workflow States

State Machine Implementation

Workflow Definition

State Machine Service

Scheduled Publishing

Schedule Model

Scheduled Publishing Service

Background Job Configuration

Approval Chains

Multi-Stage Approval

Approval Tracking

Notifications

Notification Types

Notification Service

Role-Based Permissions

Content Permissions

Permission Checking

API Design

Workflow Endpoints

Related Skills