---
title: "Post status reference"
description: "The six current post statuses in one table, what each one allows, and what moves a post out of it."
updated: "2026-08-24"
verifiedAgainst:
  - packages/shared/src/index.ts
  - apps/web/lib/launch-checklist.ts
---

| Status           | Public | Editable                     | Moves on when                                        |
| ---------------- | ------ | ---------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- |
| `idea`           | No     | Not yet written              | Generation starts                                    |
| `researching`    | No     | No, a run is working         | Research finishes                                    |
| `draft`          | No     | Yes                          | You or Autopilot send it for approval, or publish it |
| `needs_approval` | No     | Yes                          | A reviewer approves it                               |
| `scheduled`      | No     | Yes                          | Its publication slot arrives                         |
| `published`      | Yes    | Yes, changes go live on save | You unpublish it                                     |

## Notes on individual statuses

<PropertyList>
  <Property name="idea and researching">
    Neither has a real draft behind it. A launch checklist that asks for a draft does not count
    these two.
  </Property>
  <Property name="needs_approval">
    Not an error state. It is the Content Direction's gate doing its job. See [review and
    approval](/autopilot/review).
  </Property>
  <Property name="scheduled">
    Approved and waiting for a slot. Editing it before the slot arrives is normal.
  </Property>
  <Property name="published">
    Live. Editing a published post changes what readers see as soon as you save.
  </Property>
</PropertyList>

Content freshness is deliberately independent of public status. A published
Post can have a `needs_update` freshness **assessment** while its Post status
remains `published`, so the renderer never mistakes an editorial review for an
unpublish instruction. See [freshness and conflicts](/knowledge/freshness).

## Author mode

Independent of status:

| Mode        | Meaning                                                                                                                                                               |
| ----------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `Autopilot` | Produced by Autopilot in Full mode                                                                                                                                    |
| `Assisted`  | Produced by Autopilot in Assisted mode                                                                                                                                |
| `Human`     | The words are yours: an import brought in with `polish_preserving`. A custom brief and a rewritten import are both `Assisted`, because the pipeline wrote the article |