Adding Pull Request Approval Rules

Written for the Old UI

This article was written for the old UI. The instructions are still usable, but the screenshots are outdated. In some cases, items referenced in the instructions have moved or changed. If you cannot find an item, see the Where Did It Go article.

Overview

This article explains how a Pull Request Approval Rule works and how to add one. By default, a Pull Request does not require any reviews before it can be merged. With a Pull Request Approval Rule, administrators can enforce a minimum number of approvals before a Pull Request can be merged. Each rule defines which branches it applies to and how many approvals are required. The target branch of a Pull Request determines how many approvals it requires.

The rule can be configured with different scopes:

• All Branches: The rule applies to any branch not covered by a more specific rule.
• Select: The rule targets one or more explicitly selected branches.
• Pattern: The rule uses wildcard syntax to match branches by naming convention (e.g., feature/*, release/v*, hotfix-*).

Override Pull Request Approval Rule

A Pull Request Approval Rule cannot be overridden. When the rule applies to the target branch, the Pull Request cannot be merged until the required number of reviewers approve it. This enforcement is by design. However, there are two approved ways to work around a Pull Request Approval Rule:

• Perform a Smart Merge, which does not require a review.
• Change the Pull Request Approval Rule.

Pull Request Example

The following screenshot shows a Pull Request with an Approval Rule applied.

Rule Hierarchy

When a rule's selected branches overlap with another rule, precedence determines which rule applies to the overlapping branch. The order of precedence, from highest to lowest, is:

• Select > Pattern > All Branches

The following screenshot shows two rules: one applies to All Branches, and the other applies only to the main branch. Because the Select rule takes precedence over the All Branches rule, any Pull Requests that target the main branch require 3 approvals instead of the 1 approval required for other branches.

Edge Cases

The Select option does not let you assign the same branch to more than one rule. This prevents conflicts, such as one rule requiring three approvals for branch X while another requires only one.

The Pattern option does not let you save multiple rules with overlapping patterns. For example, you cannot save both feature/* and feature/new*, because the feature/* pattern already contains the feature/new* pattern.

Adding Approval Rules

1

Enable Approval Rules

1. Click Settings from the left sidebar menu.
2. Click the General tab.
3. Click Pull Requests.

   
4. If disabled, click the Enable toggle to enable approval rules.

   

2

Select Branches

There are three methods for selecting which branches the Approval Rule will apply to.

All Branches

This selection applies the rule to every branch in your DevOps tenant.

1. Select the All branches option.

Select

This selection applies the rule to only the branches you select from the list.

1. Select the Select option.
2. Click the Select branches dropdown menu.
3. Select each of the branches to apply this rule to.

   

Each selected branch shows a checkmark on the right. The dropdown also displays the number of selected and available branches. If you have many branches, use the search box to find them.

Pattern

This selection applies the rule to any branches that match the pattern you enter. You can add the wildcard character to the end of a pattern (*) to match branches that start with your pattern and end with any other characters. For example, if you use the pattern feature/*, the table below shows how this rule affects your branches.

Branches	Rule Applied
main
feature/addAccount
feature/removeAccount
release/v1.2.3

1. Select the Pattern option.
2. Enter the pattern to use for this rule in the textbox.

   

3

Set Approval Count

The Approval Count is the number of reviewers who must approve a Pull Request before it can be merged. The count must be at least 1.

1. Enter the number of approvals required for this rule in the Approval count textbox.

   

4

Add Rules

You can add multiple Approval Rules to the Pull Requests Settings. To learn which rule applies to a branch that is selected by multiple rules, see the Rule Hierarchy section above.

1. Click Add rule.

   
2. Configure the rule’s branch selection and approval count using the instructions above.

   

5

Save Rules

Once you have completed defining your Pull Request Approval Rules, you must save them before they will apply to any new and active Pull Requests.

1. Click Save.