# The activity lifecycle

> How a ticket moves from app install to open, pending and closed, which trigger event fires on each step, and how reopening works.

Canonical HTML page: https://conclude.io/doc/apps/lifecycle/
Last updated: 2026-11-02

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This page describes the states a ticket passes through, from app install to closing and reopening. It also says which trigger event fires at each step. Read it before you write [automation](https://conclude.io/doc/apps/automation/) or map statuses to Jira or Zendesk.

## From install to closed

![Install, create, open, pending, closed and reopen as boxes with arrows, each arrow labeled with the trigger event it fires](https://conclude.io/images/doc/figures/f08-lifecycle.svg)

*Figure: A ticket is created open, or pending when the app has a review step, and it ends closed. Reopen leads back to open.*

1. **Install.** You install an app in a channel once. Conclude then replaces the [install-time macros](https://conclude.io/doc/reference/macros-and-roles/#install-time-macros) `${__installer}`, `${__channel}` and `${__blank}` with real users and channels. These macros can appear in the app's roles, alert and review fields.
2. **Create.** A ticket starts from a reaction, a `/c` command, Conclude Home, the Dashboard, a [web form](https://conclude.io/doc/apps/integrations/web-form/) or an [email](https://conclude.io/doc/apps/integrations/email/). The ticket becomes **open**. Conclude invites its members, notifies `settings.alert` and fires `onCreate`.
3. **Pending.** When the app has `review.members`, a new ticket becomes **pending** instead of open. This happens for every initiator who is not excluded. See [The review step](#review).
4. **Open.** Members comment and edit. `onComment` fires on every comment or file. `onEdit` fires on attribute changes.
5. **Closed.** Someone concludes the ticket. They can use the conclude dialog, `/c conclude`, a trigger action `conclude: true`, or a status option whose state is `closed`. Conclude archives the ticket, fills an empty conclusion with the default, and fires `onConclude` once.

## States and statuses

A ticket has a **state** and a **status**. The state is its position in the lifecycle. It is `open`, `closed` or `pending`. There is a fourth state, `ejected`. `/c eject` sets it when a ticket channel becomes a regular channel again. That state is internal, you can't select it as a status, and you can't undo it.

The status is the finer value that the app defines and the ticket shows, such as `open`, `in_progress`, `on_hold`, `closed` or `duplicate`. Every status maps to one state. Select a status that maps to `closed`, and the ticket is concluded. When the state changes and the current status no longer fits, the status resets to that state's default. [Statuses](https://conclude.io/doc/reference/statuses/#built-in-statuses) lists the built-in statuses and the `state:` binding for custom options. You edit the status attribute on the [Attributes](https://conclude.io/doc/apps/editor/attributes/) tab.

Jira and Zendesk sync against the state, not the status. They keep the status where a mapping exists. The mapping tables are in [Statuses](https://conclude.io/doc/reference/statuses/#zendesk-mapping).

## Which event fires when

| Transition | Event |
|---|---|
| Ticket created open | `onCreate`, once |
| Ticket created pending | None. `review.alert` is notified. |
| Pending accepted | None. `settings.alert` is notified. |
| Comment or file posted | `onComment`, every time |
| Attribute changed | `onEdit`, every time. A trigger with an `attribute:` fires only for that attribute. |
| Ticket concluded | `onConclude`, once |
| Ticket reopened | None. `settings.alert` is notified. |

There is no `onReopen` or `onAccept` event, and `onCreate` doesn't fire when a ticket is accepted or reopened. An edit to `owner` or `deadline` is notified as an owner or deadline change, not as `onEdit`. [Triggers](https://conclude.io/doc/reference/triggers/#events) lists the conditions and actions.

## The review step

You configure the review step in YAML only, under the top-level `review:` key on the [Expert](https://conclude.io/doc/apps/editor/expert/) tab. No editor tab has controls for it.

```yaml
review:
  members: "@paul, @sarah"
  alert: "#incoming"
  include: external
```

While a ticket is pending, its only members are the reviewers, and `review.alert` is notified. `ignore` lists initiators whose tickets skip review, and Conclude checks it first. `include` lists initiators whose tickets are always reviewed. If you set `include` alone, everyone else skips review. The keyword `external` covers tickets created by web forms and email.

When a reviewer accepts, the ticket becomes open. The app's normal member list replaces the reviewers, and the ticket's channel is created. With `createChannel: true`, or when the app has an email connector, the channel is created while the ticket is still pending. Rejecting deletes the ticket. The [YAML reference](https://conclude.io/doc/reference/yaml/#review) lists the fields.

## Reopening

A closed ticket shows a **Reopen** button on its ticket message in Slack or Microsoft Teams. The same button says **Re-open** in the Slack Home tab and in the ticket's menu in the Dashboard. A new email on a concluded email ticket reopens it automatically.

Reopening un-archives the ticket and sets the state back to `open`. It clears a conclusion that was filled in with the default. It also posts a reopen message and notifies `settings.alert`. No trigger fires.

[Ticket commands](https://conclude.io/doc/commands/activity/) lists the commands for concluding, ejecting and deleting a ticket.