Approval
Reject or cancel a request
Both outcomes leave WordPress unchanged. The difference is what they say about the request.
- Approvals
- 3 min read
The difference
| Reject | Cancel | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | A decision: this should not happen. | Withdrawal: this no longer needs deciding. |
| Recorded as | An administrator decision, with who and when. | The request being closed without a decision. |
| Use when | You reviewed it and the answer is no. | The request is stale, duplicated, or superseded. |
Both are protected
Approve, reject and cancel are all nonce- and capability-protected. Only someone who could already change the boundary can decide on a request — which is the same standard applied everywhere else in the plugin.
Reject by default when unsure
Rejection costs one retry. The agent can request again, and you will have a record of the request and your decision. Approving something you did not fully understand can cost a great deal more, and the record will show that you approved it.
When you reject the same thing repeatedly
Move the Ability to block for that agent. A request type that is refused every time should be refused at the policy level, where it is visible, rather than by a person clicking reject each week.
Approvals
Keep the boundary while you fix the problem.
A good fix restores intended behaviour without creating a second path around WordPress or the governed request lifecycle.