# Drafts and activation

> What is a draft and what goes live. How automations, newsletters and the landing page move from draft to live, and what an API key may do on the way.

Last updated: 2026-10-30. Source: https://docs.smartchat.marketing/en/concepts/drafts-and-activation/

## Automations

- An automation that you create through the API without a `status` is a **draft**. A draft does nothing.
- To switch it on, set the status to `active`. This needs the permission `automations:run`; `automations:write` alone only prepares drafts. The same permission is needed to change the trigger, the steps or the rules of an automation that is already active. Steps that call an address need `webhooks:write`, steps in connected apps and vault secrets need `connections:run`.
- An automation that was active cannot go back to `draft` (that would remove waiting messages). Use `paused`.
- You may activate an automation even if a template it uses is not approved yet. The automation is active; messages that need the template **wait** until it is approved. The answer contains a hint about this.
- Starting an automation by hand with data (a live run) needs its own permission, `automations:run`.

## Newsletters

- A newsletter starts as a **draft**. A draft can be changed and previewed. Nothing is sent.
- Sending a newsletter is one step. It needs the permission `newsletters:send` and an `Idempotency-Key`. There is no second confirmation call. See [Send a newsletter](https://docs.smartchat.marketing/en/guides/send-a-newsletter/).
- A newsletter that is scheduled or sent cannot be changed ([`newsletter_locked`](https://docs.smartchat.marketing/en/errors/#newsletter_locked)). Cancel it first.

## Landing page

- You can read the landing page and edit its **draft**.
- Making the draft **live** needs its own permission, `landing:publish`. It takes two calls: a preview without `plan_id`, then the same call with the `plan_id` of the preview. See [Edit the landing page](https://docs.smartchat.marketing/en/guides/build-a-landing-page/).
- The live page is never taken offline. The previous live version is kept and can be restored with [`restore_landing_page`](https://docs.smartchat.marketing/en/api/reference/landing/restore_landing_page/).
- Required parts of a landing page are fixed; an edit that would remove them is rejected ([`landing_ops_rejected`](https://docs.smartchat.marketing/en/errors/#landing_ops_rejected)) and nothing is changed.

## Preview, then confirm

Calls with a large or lasting effect work in two steps. The first call is a **preview** (a dry run): it changes nothing and answers with a `plan_id`. The second call carries the `plan_id` and does the work. A plan is valid for 10 minutes, can be used once, and only for the same request. Each of the two calls has its own `Idempotency-Key`. This is used by publishing the landing page, by submitting templates and by starting an automation by hand.

## Templates

- A template draft can be created and changed with `templates:write`.
- Submitting a template to WhatsApp for approval needs its own permission, `templates:submit`, and uses the preview and plan described above. WhatsApp decides within a few minutes to 24 hours.