Human in Loop (HITL) – Pabbly Connect

What is Human in Loop?

Human in Loop (HITL) is an action step in Pabbly Connect that allows you to pause your workflow and request approval via email before continuing.

This is useful when you want a human to review or approve a step before the automation proceeds.

How Human in Loop Works
1. Add the Human in Loop action step anywhere in your workflow
2. When the workflow runs:
- It executes all steps normally
- When it reaches the HITL step, the workflow pauses
- An email is sent to the specified recipient for approval

Approval Process

The recipient receives an email containing:

• Your custom message​
• Two options:
  Approve
  Reject
  
  

  

  
  ​

What Happens After Action?

- If Approved:
Workflow resumes
Continues to the next steps
- If Rejected:
Workflow stops at that step
No further steps are executed


Fields in HITL Step

The Human in Loop step has 2 fields:

1. Recipient Email
   Enter the email address of the approver
   Approval request will be sent to this email​
2. Approval Message
   Enter the message you want to show in the email
   This message will be visible to the approver
   

   

   
   ​

Approval Status Messages
Based on user action, the following messages are shown:

Pending (No action taken)
Pending
Waiting for approval

Approved
Approved
Approved at {{time}}

Rejected
Rejected
Rejected at {{time}}

Manual Stop from Task History​

The workflow owner can manually stop the workflow from Task History using the “Stop Execution” button.

What Happens If Workflow is Stopped?​

If the workflow is stopped by the owner before approval:

• When the approver clicks the email link, they will see:​

Example Use Case

Workflow:

• Create Invoice​
• Human in Loop (Send approval email)​
• Send Email to Customer​

Flow:

• Workflow pauses at Step 2
• Email is sent to manager
• Manager reviews and:
  Approves → Email is sent to customer
  Rejects → Workflow stops

Important Notes

HITL step pauses the workflow until action is taken
If no action is taken, the workflow remains in Pending state
Approval is done via email link

Limitations & Rules

- HITL step is not allowed inside loop branches or iterators
- It can only be used in the main branch
- HITL step can be used inside a router
- Only one approver is supported currently
- The approval link expires after 14 days
- Works only in the new workflow builder
- HITL step cannot be copied and pasted inside loop branches


Summary
Add HITL step to pause workflow
Sends email for approval
Approve → workflow continues
Reject → workflow stops
Simple and effective way to add human control to automation