Follow-up reviews

Review only new changes

Review only new changes is on by default. Find it in Workspace settings → Review rules → How to review, or in a repository’s Review rules. It applies to automatic and requested reviews.

A later review looks for new findings only in what the pull request’s own commits changed since HeyDeer’s last successful review. It also rechecks that review’s findings, and the ones that still apply count toward the check and approval.

Commits merged or rebased in from the base branch are left out, but conflict resolutions are reviewed. Repository checks added or edited since the last review apply to the whole pull request.

The walkthrough of a later review still covers the whole pull request and tags the groups whose files changed since the last review.

Earlier concerns

An earlier concern is a finding HeyDeer raised in its own inline review conversation on an earlier review. Each later review rechecks the open ones against the current code.

Concerns that still apply are listed under Earlier concerns to address. Older conversations HeyDeer can’t link to a finding are listed under Earlier concerns to confirm; resolve one when it no longer applies.

Open or unconfirmed earlier concerns appear in the check’s summary and block automatic approval. With Fail the check when issues are found on, they also fail the check.

HeyDeer resolves only conversations it started. With Resolve addressed HeyDeer conversations on, the default, it resolves them once the current code fixes the concern or shows it was mistaken. A reply saying it’s fixed isn’t enough.

Changes merged from a fix PR are rechecked the same way on the original PR’s next review.

Declining a finding

Reply in the finding’s conversation and say why, for example that the behavior is intended or tracked in an issue, or resolve the conversation. When someone with write access or higher declines it, HeyDeer stops rechecking the concern and doesn’t raise it again, even if the code still has the problem. Other replies are read as context.

When HeyDeer reviews the whole pull request

• The first review, or any review while Review only new changes is off.
• Someone commented @heydeer full review.
• The base branch changed since the last review.
• Someone requested another review of a commit HeyDeer already reviewed, for example after adding context.
• The last review had review notes about omitted findings, too many matching checks or an incomplete assessment, or it asked for clarification.
• GitHub no longer has the last reviewed commit.

The check’s summary and the review’s Reviewed row in HeyDeer show whether a review covered New changes or the Whole PR.

Existing discussion

HeyDeer reads the PR description as context. Comments, review bodies and other people’s review conversations never hold an earlier concern or stop HeyDeer from posting a finding.