What is publish status?
Quick definition
A state indicating whether content, documentation, or resources are publicly visible, draft, scheduled, or retired from distribution.
Publish status is a metadata field that controls the visibility and availability of content across systems. In content management contexts, it determines whether items are live (published), hidden (draft), scheduled for future release, or completely retired. For developers building systems with content APIs, publish status is often a required field in data models to manage content lifecycle and visibility rules.
In MCP (Model Context Protocol) systems and AI agent workflows, publish status helps control which resources agents can access and which content is safe to expose. This is particularly important for documentation, knowledge bases, and tool registries where different versions or states of information need careful management. Status values typically include 'published' (live and discoverable), 'draft' (in development, not visible), 'scheduled' (set for future publication), and 'retired' (archived, no longer active).
Implementing publish status requires checks at query, retrieval, and rendering layers. Most REST APIs filter results based on publish status, allowing only published content to be returned unless explicitly requesting drafts with appropriate permissions. This pattern ensures data consistency and prevents accidental exposure of incomplete or obsolete information.
Example
How it shows up in practice
A Kanban board task has publish_status: 'draft' until marked as 'published', controlling visibility in team dashboards and external APIs.
Frequently asked questions
What are the common publish status values?
Common values are: published (live and visible), draft (in progress, hidden), scheduled (set for future release), and retired (archived, no longer active).
How does publish status affect API responses?
APIs typically filter results to return only 'published' items by default. Draft and retired items require explicit requests and proper authentication.
Why is publish status important for AI agents?
It prevents agents from accessing incomplete, outdated, or sensitive draft content, ensuring they work with validated, production-ready information.
Can publish status be changed programmatically?
Yes, through API endpoints with proper permissions. Status transitions usually follow defined workflows like draft → scheduled → published → retired.