Overview
Every Digital Employee has two related layers of state:- Employee status — long-lived badge on the Mesh node and drawer (Idle, Active, Running, etc.)
- Run status — outcome of one execution in the timeline (Running, Success, Failed, Awaiting approval)
Employee status
New hires usually start as Active. Idle often appears after restoring a previously terminated employee.
Run status (timeline)
Each invoke or Work Cycle wake creates a run with its own status:
A run in Awaiting approval blocks that run (and can block the next scheduled wake-up) until you resolve the card — see Approvals & Interactions. There is no auto-approve timeout.
Actions from the drawer
Open an employee on the Mesh, then use drawer actions:Invoke (manual run)
Trigger an immediate run without waiting for the Work Cycle. Status moves to Running until the run completes.Pause
Stops future scheduled wake-ups. A run already in flight is not forcibly interrupted — pause affects next heartbeats.Resume
Re-enables scheduling and returns the employee to Active (or Idle when no cycle is set).Terminate (fire)
Decommissions the employee (Terminated). Use when the role is no longer needed. Restoring a terminated employee (when permitted) returns it toward Idle / Active. Permissions may hide some actions — ask your admin if Invoke or Terminate is missing.Scheduled work (Work Cycle)
Employees with a configured Work Cycle wake automatically on that schedule. See Work Cycle.Typical transitions
Tips
- Resolve Pending approval and Error before scaling headcount
- Pause instead of terminate when work is seasonal — resume when needed
- Use Execution History to confirm whether failures are one-off or recurring