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Approve Timetastic time off requests with AI

Leave requests pile up in the Timetastic inbox while the manager is in meetings, and each one needs a look at the Wallchart before the approve click.

Cotlet does it in your own Timetastic account with list_pending_requests, list_wallchart, approve_request and decline_request, called by your AI agent, an n8n workflow or a script.

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Hosted · nothing to install or maintain

Can Timetastic do this on its own?

Timetastic approves by itself only from its own settings, a department's Maximum absent number and locked dates (checked 20 Oct 2026). Its API can approve or decline, but only with an admin user's token. Nothing approves by a rule you write in words, such as "approve when the person has allowance left and nobody on the same team is off".

How you do it in Timetastic today

  1. Timetastic sends a request to the department manager by email, or to the approver set on the employee's profile under USERS > Approver.
  2. The approver opens the inbox icon in the top-right corner and selects View all, where requests are grouped by approver.
  3. For each request the approver checks the Wallchart for the department: who else is off, and how much allowance the person has left.
  4. Timetastic flags a request that overlaps another person's time off, but the approver still decides every one by hand.
  5. If the manager is away, requests wait: admins get no request emails unless they are also a manager or approver.

How to approve Timetastic time off requests with AI

Prompt

Go through pending Timetastic requests. Approve the ones where nobody else in the department is off and the person has allowance left. Leave the rest for me with a one-line reason.
  1. 01

    Read the inbox as one batch

    list_pending_requests returns every pending request your account can see, with its clashes. The agent judges them together, so two people asking for the same week are compared with each other and not one by one.

  2. 02

    Apply your rule to each request

    Each request is matched against the rule in your prompt, for example "nobody else in the department is off". The agent quotes the data it relied on, such as the overlapping name or the days left, so you can see why a request passed.

  3. 03

    Check the department month

    list_wallchart for the requester's department and the month of the request catches a clash the flag did not name, such as someone whose leave is still pending. The agent also compares the days asked for with the remaining allowance shown for that person.

  4. 04

    Approve first, decline with a reason

    approve_request runs for the matches first, so good requests go through even if you stop the run halfway. decline_request runs only for the cases you told it to decline, and the reason in it is the text the employee reads. Both ask for your OK per call until you switch confirmation off for them.

  5. 05

    Leave the hard cases

    A request with a clash, an empty allowance or a date you named as sensitive stays pending with a one-line note for you. Before each approval the agent reads the inbox again, so a request another approver handled in the meantime is skipped.

What you get back

Example data

Pending requests: 6
Approved 3 (no clash, allowance left)
Declined 1: Tomas Lind, Dec 7 to 11 (you asked to decline the planning week)
Left for you 2:
- Ana Torres, Nov 23 to 27: overlaps Ben Okafor, Nov 25 to 27
- Kim Reyes, Dec 14 to 18: 3 days of allowance left, 5 asked

Other ways to ask

  • Every morning at 8, approve requests under 3 days with no clash and list the rest.
  • Show me the pending requests sorted by the date of the leave, and approve nothing yet.
  • Decline requests that fall in the last week of December and say the team is at minimum cover.
  • Approve all requests from the Support department where nobody else in Support is off.

What Timetastic allows, and what to know first

  • Timetastic sends a request to the department manager unless an approver is set on the employee's profile under USERS > Approver, and the email goes only to that person.
  • Admins can approve leave for any employee, but they get no request emails unless they are also a manager or approver.
  • A department's Maximum absent setting (SETTINGS > DEPARTMENTS) blocks an employee booking for themselves when the limit is exceeded, while a manager or admin booking for them sees a warning and can click Confirm.
  • Timetastic books a group booking as automatically approved and emails everyone, so it never reaches the inbox.
  • When you open a request, Timetastic flags a clash with another person's time off, and the Wallchart shows who is off and each person's remaining allowance.

approve_request and decline_request ask for your OK by default. To run it daily without you, switch confirmation off for those tools in your dashboard.

Sources: Timetastic Help: Set who approves leave · Timetastic Help: Maximum absent · Timetastic Help: Quick start guide for managers and approvers · Timetastic: Leave request software

Call approve_request from a script

curl

curl -X POST https://cotlet.dev/api/v1/timetastic/requests/5128840/approve \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $COTLET_API_KEY"

Example response

{
  "request_id": "5128840",
  "employee": "Ana Torres",
  "leave_type": "Holiday",
  "from": "2026-11-23",
  "to": "2026-11-27",
  "days": 5,
  "status": "Approved",
  "approved_by": "Priya Nair"
}

MCP: add https://cotlet.dev/mcp/v1 with the same key; the call is timetastic_write → approve_request. Example data.

Schedule it in n8n, Make, Zapier or cron

Timetastic tools this automation uses

Cotlet Timetastic tools used to approve Timetastic time off requests with AI
Tool Parameters
list_pending_requests approver
list_wallchart month, filter
approve_request request_id
decline_request request_id, reason
All 9 Timetastic tools with descriptions

Frequently asked questions

Can I approve requests when I am not an admin?

Yes, if you are the approver. Cotlet works in your own account, so it can approve what you can approve in the inbox, which the API cannot do because only admin users get a token.

Is it safe to connect Timetastic to Cotlet?

Yes. You sign in to Timetastic yourself, in your own Cloud Browser in the EU, and we never save your password. Your agents only get Timetastic once you enable it, every background request is listed, and the browser profile is stored encrypted with AES-256-GCM, the cipher 1Password uses for its vaults. The AI model never sees a login, posts and messages wait for your OK, and Disable for agents cuts access in one click. Independent scanners grade cotlet.dev A+ on Qualys SSL Labs, securityheaders.com and Mozilla Observatory; live results are on https://cotlet.dev/security.

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