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Article Lifecycle Quick Reference

When to use this page

Use this reference when you need to:

  • confirm article states and transitions,
  • choose the right operation for publish/unpublish/delete/trash,
  • verify expected behavior during common editorial workflows.

State Diagram

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      ARTICLE LIFECYCLE                          │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

CREATE
  │
  ├─ Draft (Published = empty)
  │    │
  │    ├───→ Publish ──────────→ Published (live)
  │    │                           │
  │    │                           ├─→ Update ────→ (published version updates)
  │    │                           │
  │    │                           ├─→ Unpublish ──→ Draft (hidden from live)
  │    │                           │
  │    │                           └─→ Delete ─────→ Deleted (soft-delete)
  │    │
  │    ├─→ Update ────→ (draft version updates)
  │    │
  │    └─→ Delete ────→ Deleted (soft-delete, unpublished)
  │
  └─ Published (Published = now/future)
       │ (lifecycle continues as above)
       └─ See Published branch above

DELETED (Soft-Delete State)
  │
  └─→ Trash ────→ Permanently Removed (irreversible)

Quick State Reference

  • Draft: Content saved, not scheduled. User sees editable content. Public sees nothing.
  • Published: Content scheduled or live now. User sees version history and can edit a new version. Public sees live page.
  • Unpublished: Published content hidden (soft-unpublish). User sees editable content. Public sees nothing.
  • Deleted: Soft-deleted and recoverable. User sees it outside active lists. Public sees nothing.
  • Trashed: Permanently removed and unrecoverable. Public sees nothing.

Operations by State

From Draft

  • Publish → Becomes Published
  • Update → Saves new draft version
  • Delete → Moves to Deleted
  • Unpublish → (N/A – already unpublished)

From Published

  • Update → Saves new version; current published remains live until republish
  • Unpublish → Moves to Unpublished (hidden from public; editable)
  • Delete → Moves to Deleted; removes from public immediately
  • Publish → (N/A – already published)

From Unpublished

  • Publish → Becomes Published again (with current version)
  • Update → Saves new version while remaining unpublished
  • Delete → Moves to Deleted
  • Unpublish → (N/A – already unpublished)

From Deleted (Soft-Delete)

  • Trash → Permanently removed (point of no return)
  • (Recover via admin restore if available)

From Trashed

  • (No operations – data is gone)

Common Workflows

Content Creation & Publication

  1. Create article (as Draft)
  2. Edit and save updates (stays Draft)
  3. Preview in page editor
  4. Publish → Published (goes live now or at scheduled time)

Content Revision (Published)

  1. Article is Published (live)
  2. Edit content (creates new draft version)
  3. Review changes
  4. Republish → replaces public version

Retire Content

  1. Article is Published (live)
  2. Unpublish → Unpublished (hidden; data retained)
  3. Later, Delete → Deleted (soft-delete; in trash)
  4. After retention period, Trash → Permanently removed

Accidental Create / Wrong Content

  1. Article is Draft (never published)
  2. Delete → Deleted (soft-delete; recoverable)
  3. Trash → Permanently removed (if certain)

Key Distinctions

  • Unpublish: Hides from public and keeps content editable. Reversible by republish.
  • Delete: Soft-deletes content into trash. Reversible if restore is supported.
  • Trash: Permanent removal. Not reversible.