Skip to main content

Configure draft app permissions

Learn how to control which groups can create draft apps in Retool, and how to disable drafts organization-wide.

The Drafts tab in a user's Apps landing page is a personal workspace where they can build and test apps without affecting published content. Drafts are private to each user and are not visible to other members of the organization unless explicitly shared.

How drafts work​

Each user with draft access gets their own Drafts folder in the Apps landing page. Apps created here are personal: they aren't visible to other users, don't appear in the main app list, and aren't subject to the same release workflow as shared apps. Drafts are useful for experimenting, prototyping, or building apps before moving them into a shared folder.

For more on the broader drafts feature, see the Administration quickstart.

Control draft access per group​

Draft access is controlled through organization roles. To grant a group the ability to create draft apps, assign them an organization role that includes the Manage draft apps scope (draft_apps:manage).

  1. Navigate to Settings > Groups and select a group.
  2. Click Manage roles.
  3. Assign a role that includes the Manage draft apps scope.

Users in groups without this role lose the ability to create new draft apps. Existing drafts are not deleted; users can still access drafts they previously created, but cannot create new ones.

To create an organization role with this scope, see Create an organization role.

Disable drafts for the entire organization​

You can turn off the Drafts feature entirely for all users, regardless of group settings.

Navigate to Settings > Beta and toggle off Drafts folders. When disabled, the Drafts tab no longer appears in the Apps landing page for any user in the organization.

  • Groups: Configure group-level access to apps, resources, workflows, and agents.
  • Create an organization role: Define roles with organization-level scopes, including draft app access.
  • Administration quickstart: Overview of the Apps landing page and how drafts fit into the Retool workspace.