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Manage requests

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Use client.requests in the Atlan Python SDK to programmatically list, create, approve, and reject requests from the (classic) Requests module—the requests you see under Governance Center → Requests.

Two request systems exist in Atlan

Atlan has two coexisting approval systems. This page covers the classic Requests module. If your tenant has the Governance Workflows and Inbox feature enabled (Admin → Labs), new requests are routed through governance workflows and appear in the Inbox instead—see Manage governance workflow approvals for those. A tenant can have requests in both systems at the same time.

Use OAuth client credentials to approve or reject

Requests can only be approved or rejected by an eligible approver, and a token authenticates as its own identity, not as the human who created it. An API key is a service-account identity that isn't an eligible approver, so approve and reject calls fail with user unauthorized to perform action (error 1000) even when the requests are visible. Authenticate instead with OAuth client credentials whose identity is an eligible approver, such as an admin; see set up the SDK for how to initialize the client. Listing works with any token, but list_actionable() returns 0 for an identity that can't approve.

List requests​

To list requests, use typed filters—no knowledge of the underlying filter grammar is needed:

List active requests
from pyatlan.client.atlan import AtlanClient
from pyatlan.model.enums import AtlanRequestStatus, AtlanRequestType

client = AtlanClient()

response = client.requests.list(  # (1)
    status=AtlanRequestStatus.ACTIVE,  # (2)
    request_type=AtlanRequestType.ATTRIBUTE,  # (3)
)
for request in response:  # (4)
    print(request.id, request.destination_qualified_name, request.destination_value)
  1. list() returns requests visible to your token's identity. Use list_actionable() with the same arguments to see only the requests your identity can approve or reject.
  2. Filter by status: ACTIVE, APPROVED, or REJECTED. All typed filters combine with AND.
  3. Filter by type: ATTRIBUTE, ATLAN_TAG, TERM_LINK, CUSTOM_METADATA, and others. You can also filter by destination_guid, destination_qualified_name, entity_type, and created_by.
  4. Iterating the response lazily pages through all matches. You don't need to manage offset/limit yourself. Use response.records if you only want the current page.

Create request​

To raise a request programmatically (for example, suggesting an attribute change for someone else to approve):

Create an attribute change request
from pyatlan.model.atlan_request import AttributeRequest

request = AttributeRequest.creator(  # (1)
    destination_guid="b4113341-251b-4adc-81fb-2420501c30e6",  # (2)
    destination_qualified_name="default/snowflake/1657037873/DB/SCHEMA/TABLE",
    destination_attribute="userDescription",  # (3)
    destination_value="Proposed description",
    entity_type="Table",
)
created = client.requests.create(request)
print(created.id, created.status)  # (4)
  1. Always use the creator() helper—it populates all fields the API requires on the wire (requestType, approvalType, sourceType).
  2. Both the GUID and qualifiedName of the target asset are required.
  3. The attribute to change, in its API (camelCase) form.
  4. The created request comes back with its server-assigned id and status of active.

Approve or reject requests​

Approval applies the change immediately

Approving a request executes the requested change—for example, an approved attribute request writes the proposed value onto the asset, and an approved tag request attaches the tag. Rejection discards the change. There is no separate "apply" step.

Approving and rejecting run as your token's identity, so authenticate with OAuth client credentials for an eligible approver. An API key is a service account and returns user unauthorized to perform action.

Approve and reject requests
import os

from pyatlan.client.atlan import AtlanClient

# Approving and rejecting must run as an eligible approver, so authenticate
# with OAuth client credentials (an API key won't work). See "Set up the SDK".
client = AtlanClient(
    base_url=os.getenv("ATLAN_BASE_URL"),
    oauth_client_id=os.getenv("ATLAN_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID"),
    oauth_client_secret=os.getenv("ATLAN_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET"),
)

assert client.requests.approve(  # (1)
    guid="ee32c52b-fb1e-4c6a-905d-1ebefddfbed3",
    message="Looks good!",  # (2)
)

assert client.requests.reject(
    guid="45cd6f9b-9c6f-4b21-8d34-183f7ddccf1e",
    message="Duplicate of an earlier change",
)
  1. Returns True when the action succeeds. Actioning a request that's no longer active (already approved or rejected—for example, by someone in the UI) raises an InvalidRequestError.
  2. The message is optional and appears in the request's history.

Bulk-approve all active requests​

Combining listing and actioning gives you a bulk-approval script:

Approve every active request
from pyatlan.client.atlan import AtlanClient
from pyatlan.model.enums import AtlanRequestStatus

client = AtlanClient()

for request in client.requests.list(status=AtlanRequestStatus.ACTIVE):  # (1)
    ok = client.requests.approve(guid=request.id, message="Bulk approved")
    print(f"{request.id}: {'approved' if ok else 'FAILED'}")
  1. Iteration pages through all active requests, not just the first page.

Good to know​

  • Retrieving one request: client.requests.get(guid) returns the request, or None if it doesn't exist.
  • Who approved/rejected: the approved_by / rejected_by fields vary in shape across Atlan versions—a username string, a list of usernames, or a list of approver-detail objects. Handle them as untyped values.
  • Async client: every method here is also available on AsyncAtlanClient. Use await client.requests.list(...), with async for pagination.
  • totalRecord vs filterRecord: in list responses, total_record counts all requests while filter_record counts those matching your filter.
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