---
title: "State flows"
slug: "state-flows"
abstract: "Overview of the state flows functionality."
---
# State flows

A *state* is a step in the life cycle of a content item. A *state flow* is your movement from the first step to the last, triggered by specific events or actions. All these states, transitions, and actions are defined by you and are finite.

A state flow is considered *complex* when at least one state is connected to two different states, and *linear* when each state is only connected to one other state, as can be seen in the following example:

![Example of complex and linear state flows](https://doc.sitecore.com/api/markdown-image/ch/en/users/content-hub/images/example_of_complex_and_linear_state_flows.png)

You can [add a state flow visualization](https://doc.sitecore.com/ch/en/users/content-hub/statemachine-viewer.html "StateMachine viewer") to the detail page of any content item that has one or more associated state flows.

State flows also support [parallel and sequential approvals](https://doc.sitecore.com/ch/en/users/content-hub/parallel-and-sequential-approvals.html "Parallel and sequential approvals"), which let you require structured review processes before a transition can proceed. You can configure sequential or parallel review stages, with multiple reviewers and configurable approval and rejection rules.

To use the state flow feature, you must [enable it for your desired entity](https://doc.sitecore.com/ch/en/users/content-hub/enable-state-flows.html "Enable state flows"). When you have done this, you must add a [state flow component](https://doc.sitecore.com/ch/en/users/content-hub/add-a-state-flow.html "Add a state flow"). Using this component, you can [create state flows](https://doc.sitecore.com/ch/en/users/content-hub/create-a-state-flow.html "Create a state flow"), add [states](https://doc.sitecore.com/ch/en/users/content-hub/add-a-state.html "Add a state") and [transitions](https://doc.sitecore.com/ch/en/users/content-hub/add-a-state-flow-transition.html "Add a state flow transition"), and then [link the state flows to target entities](https://doc.sitecore.com/ch/en/users/content-hub/operations.html "Operations"). You can [edit complex state flows](https://doc.sitecore.com/ch/en/users/content-hub/edit-a-state-flow.html "Edit a state flow") and configure the various state assignees, either [manually](https://doc.sitecore.com/ch/en/users/content-hub/state-flow-assignees.html "State flow assignees") or [dynamically](https://doc.sitecore.com/ch/en/users/content-hub/dynamic-assignees.html "Dynamic assignees").