FAQ

Published schedules are finalized, but requests can remain active.

In Shiftd, a Published schedule is the finalized, staff-visible operational schedule. Publishing does not automatically close staff-request workflows.

Staff may still use trade requests, giveaway requests, and approved staffing workflows when those workflows are available for the schedule. Admins can still approve or deny those requests.

That is different from direct schedule editing. Schedulers cannot directly drag and drop assignments on a published imported schedule when Shiftd marks that schedule as engine-immutable.

Why are manual edits blocked after publish?

After publish, Shiftd treats the schedule as an operational record rather than a draft workspace.

For imported schedules where Shiftd marks engine mutability as off (engineMutable === false), direct admin assignment edits are blocked because they bypass request history, reduce auditability, and make it harder to tell who initiated a post-publish change.

Post-publish changes should flow through trade requests, giveaway requests, approved staffing workflows, or import correction workflows so the operational trail stays intact.

Can admins still make manual assignment changes?

Yes, but only after moving the schedule back to Admin Adjustment when that rollback is allowed.

An imported published regular schedule can move back to Admin Adjustment only when it is not archived, supplemental signup has not already opened, and no active call child schedule is blocking the rollback.

Once the schedule is back in Admin Adjustment, admins can make the needed assignment changes and publish again.

Does approving a trade or giveaway update every device?

Yes. Web, iOS, and Android read from the same assignment records.

When a trade or giveaway is approved, Shiftd updates the shared assignment records. Each platform shows the updated assignment owner after it refetches data, such as through a page reload, navigation, or normal refresh event.

Shiftd does not currently push those changes through websocket or live realtime synchronization, so an already-open screen may not change instantly.

What does “Closed” mean?

In Shiftd, Published is the finalized schedule lifecycle state. “Closed” usually refers to signup-window behavior, not the schedule lifecycle state itself.

An imported schedule that appears closed is often still Published. In that state, staff request workflows may still be allowed, while direct admin assignment edits remain locked for engine-immutable imported schedules.

Why does Shiftd work this way?

Shiftd treats schedules as operational records, not unrestricted spreadsheets.

Published schedules stay stable and staff-visible, while post-publish staffing changes follow explicit approval paths. That keeps assignment history traceable and protects accountability when real schedules change after release.