GitHub Rulesets Compatibility

Mergify automatically detects GitHub branch protections and rulesets configured on your repository and injects them as conditions. This page explains how that injection works, which ruleset rule types are supported, which ones are incompatible with the merge queue, and how to resolve conflicts.

When Mergify processes a pull request, it reads the branch protection and ruleset rules that apply to the target branch and converts them into merge conditions. For example, if you require at least one approved review, Mergify injects the condition #approved-reviews-by >= 1.

This injection happens automatically for both the merge action and the merge queue. For the merge queue, you can control how injection behaves using the setting below.

You can control merge queue injection with the branch_protection_injection_mode option on your queue rules:

• queue (default) -- rules are injected as required conditions for both queuing and merging pull requests.

• merge -- rules are injected as merge conditions, checked after the queue has tested the pull request.

• none -- no injection at all. This mode requires a merge_bot_account with at least maintain permission. Use this only if you manage all conditions explicitly in your Mergify configuration.

If you are using GitHub rulesets (not classic branch protections), you can add Mergify as a bypass actor on the ruleset. The bypass mode determines whether injection still happens:

• always bypass mode -- Mergify can bypass the rules, but it still injects them as conditions in your queue.

• pull_requests_only bypass mode -- Mergify can bypass the rules only in the pull request context, not for direct pushes. This means Mergify can bypass when merging PRs but not when performing fast-forward pushes.

• exempt bypass mode -- Mergify skips injection entirely for that ruleset. Use this when you want Mergify to ignore specific ruleset rules.

Mergify handles each GitHub ruleset rule type as follows.

If the merge_queue ruleset rule (GitHub’s built-in merge queue) is enabled on the target branch and Mergify is not a bypass actor, GitHub blocks Mergify from merging pull requests -- all merges must go through GitHub’s own queue.

Resolution:

• Preferred: disable the merge_queue ruleset rule on branches where you use Mergify’s merge queue.

• Alternative: add Mergify as a bypass actor on that ruleset with the always bypass mode. This lets Mergify merge directly while GitHub’s queue is still active for other actors.

The strict_required_status_checks_policy setting (labeled Require branches to be up to date before merging in the GitHub UI) is incompatible with parallel checks and batches when using batch PR checks.

Mergify creates temporary batch PRs to test combined changes. The original pull requests are merged after those checks pass, but GitHub considers them “not up to date” because they were not the branches that were tested. This setting blocks the merge.

Resolution:

• Preferred: disable the Require branches to be up to date before merging setting.

• Alternative: add Mergify as a bypass actor on the ruleset with always bypass mode.

• Alternative: use the fast-forward merge method, which merges the queue branch directly and is not affected by this setting.

• Alternative: use in-place checks, which test PRs on their own branch without creating temporary batch PRs.

The required_approving_review_count, require_code_owner_review, and require_last_push_approval ruleset rules are incompatible with the fast-forward merge method when using batch PR checks (the default for parallel checks and batches).

When Mergify uses batch PR checks, it creates temporary batch PRs to test changes. These batch PRs do not carry the review approvals from the original PRs, so GitHub blocks the fast-forward push if review requirements are enforced.

Resolution:

• Add Mergify as a bypass actor on the ruleset that enforces review requirements, with always bypass mode.

When using in-place checks (where Mergify tests a PR on its own branch), the pull_request ruleset rules with review requirements on the PR’s head branch can block Mergify from checking the PR. If these rules are active and Mergify is not a bypass actor, in-place checks will fail with an incompatibility error.

Resolution:

• Add Mergify as a bypass actor on the ruleset that enforces review requirements on queue branches, with always bypass mode.

The following ruleset rule types are not processed by Mergify. They are neither injected as conditions nor validated for compatibility. If these rules are active on your branches, Mergify will not enforce them:

• required_linear_history

• required_signatures

• non_fast_forward

• deletion

• Pattern and file rules (commit_message_pattern, file_path_restriction, max_file_path_length, file_extension_restriction)

• workflows

• code_scanning

If you rely on any of these rules, ensure they are enforced by GitHub directly on your target branch.

To add Mergify as a bypass actor on a GitHub ruleset:

1. Go to your repository Settings > Rules > Rulesets.

2. Select the ruleset you want to modify (or create a new one).

3. Under Bypass list, click Add bypass.

4. Search for the Mergify app and select it.

5. Choose the bypass mode:

   • Always -- Mergify can bypass the rules but still injects them as merge conditions (recommended for most cases).

   • Pull requests only -- Mergify can bypass the rules in the pull request context only, not for direct pushes (e.g., fast-forward).

   • Exempt -- Mergify bypasses the rules and skips injecting them as conditions. Use this when you want Mergify to fully ignore specific rules.

6. Save the ruleset.