Frequently Asked Questions¶

Quick answers to common questions. For detailed information, follow the links to the full documentation. Some features below are only available on certain editions — see Self-Hosted Editions and Cloud Edition for details.

Access and Accounts¶

How do I join an organization?

You need an invitation from someone with Admin or Owner access. They'll send you an email invitation with a link to join. If you don't have a Validibot account yet, you'll create one during the signup process. See Collaboration and Access for details.

Can I belong to multiple organizations?

Yes. Many users belong to several organizations. Use the organization switcher in the header to move between them. Each organization has its own workflows, projects, and member list.

How do I create a new organization?

f your plan allows multiple organizations:

• Cloud: IFrom the organization switcher, click "Create Organization." You'll become the Owner and can then invite others.
• Self-hosted: Same process, but your instance administrator may need to enable organization creation depending on the deployment configuration.

What's the difference between Owner and Admin?

Both can manage members and workflows, but only Owners can delete the organization or transfer ownership. Organizations can have multiple Owners and Admins. See the role comparison table for full details.

Does Validibot support SSO?

Enterprise deployments can integrate with SAML identity providers for single sign-on. LDAP integration is also planned. Contact us at enterprise@mcquilleninteractive.com or see the Enterprise edition documentation for details.

Workflows and Validation¶

What file types does Validibot support?

Common formats include JSON, XML, YAML, CSV, and plain text. The specific formats available depend on what validators are installed and what each workflow is configured to accept. See Running Validations for details.

Why can't I launch my workflow?

The most common reasons:

1. Workflow is inactive: An Author or Admin needs to activate it
2. No steps configured: The workflow needs at least one validation step
3. Insufficient permissions: You need Executor role or higher

How do I add custom validation rules?

Workflow Authors can add CEL-based assertions to individual steps. For completely custom logic, you can create a custom validator. See Workflow Management for details on step assertions.

What's the difference between a workflow being inactive and archived?

• Inactive: The workflow exists and is visible, but won't accept new runs. Use this while editing or temporarily disabling a workflow.
• Archived: The workflow is hidden from the default list, won't accept runs, but all historical data is preserved. Use this for workflows you no longer need but want to keep for audit purposes.

Running Validations¶

Why did my validation fail?

Check the run's findings section. ERROR-level findings indicate what didn't pass. The message and path fields tell you what was wrong and where. See Reviewing Results for guidance on interpreting findings.

Can I retry a failed validation?

Yes. From the run detail page, click "Rerun" to validate the same submission again. This is useful after you've fixed workflow rules or want to confirm the data hasn't changed.

How long do validations take?

Simple validations (schema checks) typically complete in seconds. Advanced validators or FMU simulation can take longer depending on the complexity of your data. The UI may show live progress while runs execute if the workflow's validators support that feature.

What happens if I submit the wrong file?

If the run is still in progress, you can cancel it from the run detail page. Otherwise, let it complete — the results will show that validation failed, but there's no harm done. You can then run a new validation with the correct file.

API Integration¶

Where do I find my API token?

Log into Validibot, click your avatar, and go to Settings or Profile. Look for "API Tokens" or "Access Tokens." You can create new tokens there and copy them for use in your applications.

• Cloud: Log in at app.validibot.com
• Self-hosted: Log in to your instance

Where do I find a workflow's ID or slug?

• In the UI: Open the workflow and look at the URL — the slug is the last part (e.g., /workflows/my-workflow-slug)
• In the API: Call GET /api/v1/orgs/{org_slug}/workflows/ to list all workflows with their IDs and slugs

Should I use the workflow ID or slug in API calls?

Slugs are recommended because they're human-readable and stable. IDs work too, but they're less meaningful. Both are accepted wherever workflow_identifier is required.

How do I monitor long-running validations?

Submit the run, receive a 202 Accepted response, then poll the run detail endpoint until the status is completed, error, or failed. See Webhooks & Notifications for planned webhook support.

What's the API rate limit?

• Cloud: Rate limits are applied per account. If you receive 429 (Too Many Requests) responses, implement exponential backoff.
• Self-hosted: Limits are configurable by your instance administrator.

Data and Privacy¶

How long is submitted data retained?

By default, submitted content is deleted immediately after validation completes successfully. Workflow authors can choose a different retention policy: keep submissions for 1 day, 7 days, 30 days, or permanently. The submission record (filename, checksum, timestamps) is always preserved for audit purposes — only the file content is purged.

Can I delete a submission?

Submitted content is purged automatically based on the workflow's retention policy. By default (DO_NOT_STORE), content is deleted as soon as validation finishes. For workflows with longer retention, content is purged when the retention period expires. The submission record itself is kept for audit trail purposes.

Is my data encrypted?

• Cloud: Data is encrypted at rest and in transit. Validibot Cloud runs on Google Cloud Platform with encryption enabled by default.
• Self-hosted: Encryption depends on your deployment's security configuration. See your administrator or the deployment documentation for specifics.

Who can see my validation results?

Only members of your organization can see detailed results. Access is controlled by roles — Viewers can see results, Executors can run validations, etc. See Collaboration for the full permission model.

Editions and Licensing¶

What editions are available?

• Community (self-hosted, free): Open-source with all core validation features
• Pro (self-hosted, $1,750/year): Up to 10 users, commercial license, team management, guest access, signed certificates, and priority email support
• Enterprise (self-hosted, contact us): Everything in Pro plus dedicated account manager, SSO/SAML integration, multi-org management, unlimited users, and custom onboarding
• Cloud (managed, paid): Fully managed — no infrastructure to maintain

See Self-Hosted Editions and Cloud Edition for details.

How do I upgrade to Pro?

Visit validibot.com/pricing to purchase a Pro license. After purchase, you'll receive credentials to install the Pro package. See Self-Hosted Editions for setup instructions.

What happens when my Pro license expires?

You can continue using the installed version, but you won't be able to download updates or reinstall. Renew your license to restore full access.

Can I switch between Cloud and self-hosted?

The validation logic is identical across all editions. Contact us if you need help migrating between deployment models.

Getting More Help¶

Where can I report a bug?

• Community edition: GitHub Issues
• Pro and Cloud: Email support (included with your plan)

Is there a community forum or chat?

Check the project's GitHub Discussions for community Q&A.

Where can I request a new feature?

Open an issue on GitHub describing your use case and the feature you'd like. Feature requests from Pro and Cloud customers receive priority consideration.