Every episode shows a single status pill, on the list and on the episode header. It looks like one value, but Mato computes it from two separate tracks underneath: the script's status and the episode's publishing lifecycle. This article is the one definition of what each pill means and the order Mato checks things in.
The two inputs
Script status tracks writing and review. The values that matter to the pill are ready_for_review and generating_audio; every other script status (including the default, pending, which covers a freshly created episode and the entire time a script is being written) does not change the pill on its own.
Lifecycle status tracks publishing. Its values are draft, published, publishing, distributed, and archived.
How the pill is calculated
Mato checks these in order and stops at the first match:
- Script status is
ready_for_review→ Awaiting approval (yellow, pulsing). - Script status is
generating_audio→ Generating audio (yellow, pulsing). - The episode is live to listeners → Distributed (green, pulsing), or Published (green, pulsing) for a show that publishes through a linked Buzzsprout feed.
- Lifecycle status is
publishing, or a Mato publish is in flight → Publishing (yellow, pulsing). - Lifecycle status is
archived→ Archived (neutral). - Mato is writing the script right now → Writing (yellow, pulsing).
- The episode has a script but no audio yet → Script ready (neutral).
- Otherwise → Draft (neutral).
Script status wins first. A script that needs your review or is currently rendering is more urgent than whatever the episode's lifecycle happens to say.
The "pending" script status is not "generating"
A script's default status is pending, and it stays pending for the entire time Mato is writing it, only flipping to ready_for_review once the script is done. Pending is deliberately excluded from the priority list above. If it were treated as "generating," every freshly created, untouched episode would show a false "generating" badge before you had even started it. Instead, an episode with a pending script shows Writing while a writing job is actually running, and otherwise its lifecycle status, which is usually Draft.
What each state means
| Pill | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Awaiting approval | The script is written and waiting for you to review it. Open the script editor to read it and approve it. |
| Generating audio | The script is approved and Mato is rendering audio for it. The script editor is read-only until this finishes. |
| Distributed | The episode has gone through Mato Distribution: it is live on your show page, in your RSS feed, and on Mato's CDN. |
| Publishing | You clicked Publish and Mato Distribution is running. The episode is not public yet. |
| Published | The episode is marked as live. In practice, most episodes move straight from Publishing to Distributed, since Mato handles both the upload and the status change in one step. |
| Archived | The episode is not part of the show's active draft or live set. |
| Writing | Mato is writing the script. |
| Script ready | The script is written but the episode has not been voiced yet. Open the episode to generate audio. |
| Draft | The episode is private. Only your team can see it. |
Where the pill appears
The episode header shows the full labels above. The episodes list uses slightly shorter wording for the same underlying calculation: Awaiting approval reads In review there, and Generating audio, Publishing, Writing, Script ready, and Archived all sit under the list's Draft filter, since none of them are the kind of "in review" state that needs your attention the way an awaiting-approval script does. See Episodes for the list's filters.
Related articles
- Review and approve a script covers the Awaiting approval state.
- Publish an episode covers Publishing, Published, and Distributed.