How to use Nodwren Approvals

Send any item for approval, attach the files to review, and keep a record of who decided what.

Before you start

Nodwren works on any board. Approvers need access to the board the item is on.
Optional: add a Status column (for example "Approval") if you want Nodwren to set it, and a Files column for the files approvers should review.
Viewers can read approvals but can't request or decide them.

1. Add the Approvals tab to an item

Open any item and click + next to its tabs (Updates, Files...).
Choose Apps (or "Explore more views") and add Approvals by Nodwren.
Optional: use the tab's menu and Set as board default so every item on the board has it.

2. Request approval

In the Approvals tab click Request approval.
Write what needs approval, then pick approvers. Pick a team to add all its members.
Choose how they decide:
- All at once: everyone must approve. Any rejection rejects the request.
- All at once: the first answer decides. Good for "any manager can sign off".
- One after another. Each approver is notified when it's their turn. Use the arrows to set the order.
Tick the files approvers should look at (or upload one), add a message and an optional "needed by" date, and click Send for approval.

The new request form with three approvers in order, two files ticked and a due date — The request form.

3. Approve or reject

Approvers get a monday notification in the bell. monday also emails it, following each person's own email settings. They open the item's Approvals tab, look at the files (they open in monday's file viewer), and click Approve or Reject. A rejection needs a short reason so the requester knows what to change.

A request where the first approver has approved and it is the second approver's turn — A chain of three approvers: the first has approved, now it's the second person's turn.

The requester can Send a reminder (once an hour) or Withdraw the request. After a rejection, Ask again starts a new round with the same approvers.

4. Track everything on the board

Add the Approvals board view (click + next to Main table, then Apps). It shows what is waiting on you, everything open on the board, what is overdue, recently decided requests and the typical time to decide. Click a row to open the item.

The board view listing open requests, who they are waiting on and an overdue one — The board view.

5. Settings (status column and notifications)

Board owners and admins open Settings in the Approvals tab or board view.

Status column: pick a status column and the labels to use while waiting, when approved, when rejected and (optionally) when withdrawn. Missing labels are created for you.
Notifications: tell approvers when it's their turn; tell the requester about every decision, only the final result, or never.
Updates: post each request and decision to the item's Updates, so the conversation and the decision live together.
Writing help: show or hide the monday AI buttons on this board (see below).

Board settings with a status column and notification choices — Board settings.

Writing help from monday AI (optional)

Three small buttons use monday's own AI, and only when you click them:

Draft with monday AI (new request form): writes the message to approvers from the item, its recent updates and the files you ticked.
Brief me with monday AI (when it's your turn to decide): a short summary of what is being asked and anything still open.
Tidy my reason with monday AI (when rejecting): turns your quick notes into a clear, polite reason.

The result always lands in a box you can edit; nothing is sent until you send it. Each click uses a little of your account's monday AI credits (Nodwren adds no charge). If your account has no monday AI credits left, the button says so and you can simply type. A board owner can switch the buttons off in Settings.

6. Automate it

On the board click Automate and search for approval or Nodwren.
Pick When status changes to something, Request approval from approvers.
Choose the status column and label (for example "Ready for review"), pick the approvers, and click Create automation.

Requests created by an automation work exactly like ones sent by hand and count toward the monthly free requests.

Plans

Plan	Price	What you get
Free	$0	Every feature, 30 new requests per account each month. Decisions on open requests are never limited.
Team	$15/month ($12/month billed yearly)	Unlimited requests, templates, CSV export. For accounts up to 50 seats.
Business	$39/month ($32/month billed yearly)	Everything in Team, for accounts of any size.

Our promise: nothing that is free today will ever move behind a paid plan, and the free allowance won't be lowered for existing accounts.

Questions

Email hello@frontporchpuzzlepress.com with "Nodwren" in the subject. A real person answers within one business day.

monday.com is a trademark of monday.com Ltd. Nodwren Approvals is not affiliated with or endorsed by monday.com.