GuidesWhat happens when I unpublish a submission?

What happens when I unpublish a submission?

Unpublishing a submission is a reversible action that allows you to withdraw published data from view, typically to make corrections or updates. This moves the submission from a "Published" state back to a "Draft" state.

Who can unpublish a submission?

The same users who can publish a submission can also unpublish it. This includes:

The project's Organisation Owner
An Organisation Admin
A project-specific Admin
The original Contributor who created the submission.

What Happens When You Unpublish?

When you click the "Unpublish" button on a submission's detail page, the following actions occur immediately:

Status Reverts to Draft: The submission's status badge changes from "Published" back to "Draft".
Visibility is Restricted: The data is immediately hidden from users who can only see published data (e.g., those with a "Viewer" role). It is also removed from all aggregated views like the main pathogen dashboards.
Log Entry is Created: A new entry is added to the submission's log, indicating that the submission was unpublished and by whom.
The Data is Not Deleted: Your data remains safe within the draft submission, ready for you to edit.

What to Do Next

After unpublishing, you can treat the submission just like any other draft. This is your opportunity to:

Upload a new version of your metadata or sequence files to correct errors.
Edit the submission's title.

Important: Once you have made your corrections, you must go through the publishing process again to make your updated data visible to all project members.