Overview

If CodeRabbit reviews are not triggering automatically or manually on a pull request or merge request, this article will help identify and resolve the most common causes.

Common causes for skipped reviews

Reviews are automatically skipped in these scenarios:

1. PR was closed or merged Title or description edited - No code changes were detected by CodeRabbit.

2. Assignees/reviewers modified - Administrative change only and does not require review.

3. Draft PR actions - Converting to/from draft (except GitLab draft→ready) as drafts are not normally reviewed by CodeRabbit.

4. Label removed - (GitHub only) - Only label additions trigger reviews.

5. Approval/rejection events - Not considered code changes and are not intended to trigger reviews.

6. PR author doesn't have an active seat - Reviews will be skipped in this case. If the PR author needs reviews, they must be assigned a seat via the CodeRabbit web page.

7. Organization reached seat limit - New users who exceed the seat limit can't get reviews until the organization either increases the number of available seats and assigns one to the user, or reassigns a seat from one user to another.

8. Repository not properly installed - Verify installation status in the organization's Git provider and ensure it is visible in the repositories section of the CodeRabbit web page.

9. Webhook issues - Check webhook delivery and responses.

10. Base branch configuration - Ensure target branches are configured for auto-review.

11. Auto-review disabled - Check repository settings or .coderabbit.yaml file and ensure this option is ticked if auto reviews are desired.

12. Insufficient repository permissions - CodeRabbit must have read/write access in order to post comments in a specific repository.

13. Organization access - Ensure the organization appears in the CodeRabbit web page.

14. Rate limiting - This is caused by too many reviews being requested in a short time. Try requesting another review after ~1 hour has elapsed.

Step-by-step troubleshooting checklist

1. Verify the repository shows as "Installed" in your CodeRabbit dashboard.

2. Confirm the PR author has an assigned seat.

3. Check that auto-review is enabled in organization settings.

4. Ensure the target branch is configured for reviews.

5. Manually trigger a review with: - @coderabbitai review (incremental review) or @coderabbitai full review (complete review) If manual triggers don't work, this indicates a deeper configuration issue.

6. Verify webhook is present in your Git provider settings.

7. Check webhook delivery logs for HTTP 200 responses.

8. Check the .coderabbit.yaml file for: - reviews.auto_review.enabled: false.

9. Ensure CodeRabbit has: Read access to repository and pull requests, write access for posting comments, and appropriate organization-level permissions.

10. Platform-Specific Considerations: GitHub - Verify GitHub App installation and permissions. On GitLab, ensure the service account has Developer+ permissions. Bitbucket - Confirm repository access for the CodeRabbit user. Azure DevOps - Check organization permissions and project access.

11. Check organization settings, which should not block third-party apps.

12. Verify Personal Access Token has required scopes - Check group-level vs project-level installation. Bitbucket - Confirm repository access for the CodeRabbit user.

13. Verify webhook configuration. Azure DevOps - Check organization permissions and project access.

When to contact support

Contact CodeRabbit support if:

1. Manual triggers show "Review triggered" but no review appears.

2. All configuration appears correct but reviews still don't trigger.

3. Reviews are experiencing consistent failures across multiple repositories.

4. Error messages appear in PR comments.

Include in your support request:

1. Specific PR/MR URLs where reviews failed.

2. Screenshots of configuration settings.

3. Any error messages from CodeRabbit.

4. Your Git provider (GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket/Azure DevOps)

Prevention Tips

• Monitor seat usage - Set up alerts for seat limits

• Regular webhook health checks - Verify delivery success

• Configuration validation - Test settings after changes

• Team training - Ensure developers understand manual trigger commands

• Status page monitoring - Check https://status.coderabbit.ai for service issues.