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Aptiwise Documentation

Signatures

Signatures

Section titled “Signatures”

Aptiwise supports digital signatures on workflow approval steps. Approvers can set up a saved signature in their profile, which is then automatically applied when they sign a step. External approvers who don’t have accounts are handled automatically.

How Signatures Work in Workflows

Section titled “How Signatures Work in Workflows”

Use approval_type: needs_to_sign on any decision step to require a signature instead of a plain approve action.

workflow:
  contract_sign:
    name: "Contract Sign-off"
    type: "decision"
    approver: "legal_counsel"
    approval_type: "needs_to_sign"
    on_approve:
      continue_to: "completion"
    on_reject:
      end_workflow: true

When the approver acts on the step, their saved signature is automatically retrieved from their employee record and recorded against the approval step.

Mapping a Signature to a Form Field

Section titled “Mapping a Signature to a Form Field”

Use signature_field to write the captured signature into a specific signature-type form field — useful for contracts requiring signatures in designated locations.

form:
  fields:
    - name: manager_signature
      type: signature
      label: "Manager Signature"
    - name: legal_signature
      type: signature
      label: "Legal Department Signature"


workflow:
  manager_review:
    approver: department_manager
    approval_type: needs_to_sign
    signature_field: manager_signature      # populates this form field


  legal_review:
    approver: legal_team
    approval_type: needs_to_sign
    signature_field: legal_signature        # populates this form field
    on_approve:
      end_workflow: true

Setting Up Your Signature (Registered Employees)

Section titled “Setting Up Your Signature (Registered Employees)”

Registered employees can save a signature through their profile. The saved signature is automatically applied whenever they sign a step — no re-drawing required.

API endpoints (requires login):

Method Endpoint Description
POST /services/v1/signatures/me Upload a drawn signature (base64 PNG)
GET /services/v1/signatures/me Retrieve your current signature info
GET /services/v1/signatures/download Download your signature image

Upload request body:

{
  "data": "data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgo...",
  "signer_name": "Alice Manager",
  "signer_position": "Head of Engineering"
}

The signature is stored in the configured object storage (S3 or local) under signatures/employees/{id}/.

External Approvers (No Account Required)

Section titled “External Approvers (No Account Required)”

External approvers — vendors, clients, contractors — receive a one-time email link. They do not need an Aptiwise account.

This covers signature-specific behaviour. For the full external approver guide — how the email link works, dynamic email from form fields, employee record resolution, and all supported action types — see External Approvers.

Signature endpoints for external approvers (no login required):

Method Endpoint Description
GET /services/v1/signatures/public/{token} Check whether a saved signature exists
POST /services/v1/signatures/public/{token} Save a drawn signature (base64 PNG)

Upload body:

{
  "data": "data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgo..."
}

Storage

Section titled “Storage”

Signatures are saved as PNG files under signatures/employees/{employee_id}/signature_{timestamp}.png using the configured storage backend (S3, GCS, or local filesystem — same backend as form attachments).

The employee record tracks:

Column Description
signature_mode Always drawn for uploaded signatures
signature_path Storage path to the PNG file
signature_updated_at Last time the signature was saved

See also: