Workflow in the Content Management System
Liferay DXP 2026.Q3+
In the Liferay Content Management System (Liferay CMS), workflow is a property of the content structure rather than of the space its entries live in. Each structure carries a default workflow for every space where it is available, and you can override that default one space at a time. This differs from the classic CMS, where a web content folder governs both which structures it accepts and which workflow its content follows.
CMS Workflow Configuration
Open the Global Menu (
) → CMS → Content Structures, then click a structure to open it in the structure builder. Every content structure, whether it holds content or files, has a Workflow tab beside its General tab, and that tab holds both workflow settings:
-
Default Workflow: The workflow for entries created with this structure. New structures start with No Workflow, so their entries publish without review until you assign one. Choose from the workflow definitions in your instance; see Designing and Managing Workflows. The menu also lists No Workflow. The default applies to all spaces that use it, including spaces created later.
-
Workflow per Space: A table with one row per space where the structure is available, with a Search Space box above it. Each row’s drop-down menu assigns a specific workflow to that space for entries created with this structure.
Assigning a workflow doesn’t change entries that already exist. Each keeps its current status unless someone submits it for workflow again.
Click Publish, or Save before the first publish, to store the workflow assignments with the structure. A referenced content structure, one embedded in another structure, shows no workflow settings there. Open the referenced structure itself to change its workflow.
There is no workflow setting inside a space. Space Settings holds general properties, sharing, the recycle bin, and languages. The workflow a space follows for a given structure is assigned from that structure’s Workflow tab.
You can also set the structure default for one or several structures at once from the Content Structures list without opening them; see Managing Workflows in Bulk. A per-space assignment already in place takes precedence over a default assigned this way.
When the structure assigns a workflow for the entry’s space, the Publish button in the content editor is replaced with a Submit for Workflow button. See Introduction to Workflow for what happens to an entry once it’s submitted.
For the step-by-step procedure, see Assigning Workflows to Content Structures.
How Spaces Inherit the Default Workflow
Each row in the Workflow per Space table offers Default: [structure default] as its first option (e.g., Default: No Workflow or Default: Single Approver), followed by the workflow definitions in your instance. The Default option means the space inherits the structure’s Default Workflow. The label updates as soon as you change the structure default, so the table always shows the effective workflow for every space.
A space left on the Default option follows the structure default at all times. If you change the default later, all spaces following the default change with it. Spaces created after the structure was published inherit the default too. Selecting a specific workflow for a space overrides the default for that space alone. A space can override the default with another workflow, but it can’t be set to No Workflow while the structure default is a workflow.
For example, a structure whose Default Workflow is No Workflow publishes entries immediately in every space, while its Marketing space row set to Single Approver sends only Marketing entries through review.
Only the spaces where the structure is available are listed. Space Availability is set on the General tab, either with the Make this content structure available in all spaces, including those yet to be created checkbox or with a chosen list of spaces. See Spaces for how spaces organize content in Liferay CMS.
Removing a space from Space Availability removes its row from the Workflow per Space table, and that space’s workflow assignment is discarded when you publish the structure. You can only remove a space that holds no content created from the structure; see the Space Removal Safeguard.
What Changed from Folder-Based Configuration
In the classic CMS, workflow is configured per folder. In Site Administration, go to Content & Data → Web Content and open a folder’s Edit screen. Its Structure Restrictions and Workflow menu offers radio options that either restrict the folder to chosen structures and give each one a workflow, or set one default workflow for the folder’s content. That one menu governs both decisions: which structures the folder accepts and which workflow its content follows. Documents and Media folders have the equivalent Document Type Restrictions and Workflow menu. See Activating Workflow for the classic procedure.
Liferay CMS separates those two decisions and moves both to the content structure:
| Setting | Classic CMS | Liferay CMS |
|---|---|---|
| Where workflow is set | The web content folder’s Structure Restrictions and Workflow menu | The content structure’s Workflow tab, as a default with per-space overrides |
| How structure availability is restricted | The same Structure Restrictions and Workflow menu on the folder | Space Availability on the content structure’s General tab |
| The folder’s role in workflow | The workflow for the folder’s content | None |
Folders in Liferay CMS carry no workflow configuration. Workflow follows the structure, so you choose a review process by content type first, then override it in the spaces that need a different one.
The classic CMS is in maintenance mode as of Liferay DXP 2026.Q1 and remains supported, so the two systems can run in parallel, each with its own workflow configuration.