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Approval activity in Fabric Data Factory pipelines

The approval activity pauses a pipeline and sends an approval request to one or more reviewers. The pipeline waits for a response, then continues down different paths depending on whether the request is approved or rejected.

This is useful when your workflow needs a human decision before moving forward, for example, signing off on a data load, approving a report for publication, or enforcing separation of duties.

The approval activity

When the pipeline reaches an approval activity, it:

  1. Sends an approval request to the reviewers you specified.
  2. Pauses and waits for a response.
  3. Continues along the success or failure path based on the reviewer's decision. For details, see Pipeline outcomes.

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have:

Add an approval activity to a pipeline

  1. Create a new pipeline or open an existing one.

  2. Search for Approval in the Activities pane and select it to add it to the canvas.

    Screenshot of the pipeline Activities pane with the approval activity highlighted.

  3. Select the approval activity on the canvas.

    Screenshot of the approval activity on the pipeline canvas.

  4. On the General tab, configure the activity name and other general settings. For guidance, see General settings.

Select the approval type

On the Settings tab, choose the Type of approval request:

  • Outlook 365
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Custom endpoint

Note

Outlook 365 and Microsoft Teams don't support role-based access control (RBAC) for approvals. If you need RBAC support, use the Custom endpoint type.

Configure settings for Outlook 365

Screenshot of the approval activity settings for Outlook 365.

  1. Select an existing Connection from the dropdown, or create a new one.
  2. Enter a Request title. This appears in the subject line of the email. Keep it short and descriptive.
  3. (Optional) Enter a Description. This appears in the email body. Include enough context so the reviewer understands what they're approving and why.
  4. Enter the Approver email address. This can be an individual user or a group.

For more information about email connections, see Office 365 Outlook activity.

Configure settings for Microsoft Teams

Screenshot of the approval activity settings for Microsoft Teams.

  1. Select an existing Connection from the dropdown, or create a new one.
  2. Enter a Request title. This appears as the first line of the Teams message.
  3. (Optional) Enter a Description. This appears in the message body.
  4. In the Post in setting, choose whether to post in a Channel or a Group chat.
  5. Configure the remaining settings to specify the approver.

For more information about Teams connections, see Teams activity.

Configure settings for a custom endpoint

  1. Select an existing Connection from the dropdown, or create a new one.
  2. Enter the Body payload to send to the endpoint.

Configure timeout behavior

To set a time limit for the approval, use the Timeout value on the General tab. If no response is received before the timeout, the activity fails and follows the rejection path.

Note

The requestor (the person sending the approval request) is automatically the last person to modify the pipeline.

Approver experience

When the pipeline reaches an approval activity, reviewers get a notification based on the approval type:

  • Outlook 365 - an email with Approve and Reject buttons.
  • Microsoft Teams - a Teams message with approval action links.
  • Custom endpoint - an HTTP request to your configured endpoint.

Screenshot of the approval request email received by a reviewer.

The notification includes a link to the Monitoring Hub for the pipeline.

Respond to an approval request

  1. Select the link in the notification to open the Monitoring Hub.

  2. Go to the Review tab and submit your decision.

    Screenshot of the Review tab in the Monitoring Hub for an approval activity.

If the pipeline has multiple Approval activities and you're the approver for more than one, you can bulk approve or reject them all from the Review tab.

After you submit a decision, the pipeline resumes automatically.

Pipeline outcomes

The approval activity has two outcomes:

  • Approved - the pipeline continues along the success path.

    Screenshot of a successfully approved pipeline run.

  • Rejected - the approver rejected the request, or the activity timed out. The pipeline continues along the failure path.

    Screenshot of a rejected pipeline run.

Connect downstream activities to the success or failure paths to control what happens next.

Monitor approval runs

Approval activity runs appear in your pipeline run history. You can see:

  • When approval requests were created and resolved.
  • Who approved or rejected each request.
  • Approval outcomes alongside overall pipeline status.

To view pending and completed approvals, go to the Monitoring page and open the Review tab.

Screenshot of the Review tab showing pending and completed approval requests.

Best practices for approval activities

  • Include clear context - give reviewers enough detail so they don't need to ask follow-up questions.
  • Keep approval scopes narrow - only gate steps that need a human decision.
  • Design clear rejection paths - handle rejections with notifications or remediation steps.
  • Reflect real business processes - avoid using approvals as generic delays or pauses.

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