Install, Setup, & FAQs of Codeowners

Quick Install Guide

This guide will help you get CODEOWNERS set up. We will go over installing the bot and merging your first PR.

1. Start by clicking the install button on our website - or, ya know, click here to install via GitHub

2. Select which repositories to install the application (or leave at all)

3. Fill out your account information; we’ll use this information in case we need to contact you.

4. Check your repositories for Pull Requests from us. Depending on the size of your repositories, this may take a few minutes.

5. Look over your PR’s and merge them. We’ll automatically merge any hanging PR’s after they’ve been open for 24 hours - we check on Monday - Friday at 11 am EST. Leave a comment on the PR if you’d like to handle the merging the PR yourself.

Using CODEOWNERS on GitHub

You’re in luck, you don’t have to do anything in order to have PRs be automatically assigned to code owners! Once a valid CODEOWNERS file exists GitHub will automatically start assigning PRs appropriately.

For all the details from GitHub directly, checkout their docs here: https://docs.github.com/en/repositories/managing-your-repositorys-settings-and-features/customizing-your-repository/about-code-owners

Blocking merges unless a code owner reviews it

If you want to enable blocking merges unless a code owner reviews the PR you can via branch protection rules in GitHub:

For all the details from GitHub directly, checkout their docs here: https://docs.github.com/en/repositories/configuring-branches-and-merges-in-your-repository/defining-the-mergeability-of-pull-requests/about-protected-branches#require-pull-request-reviews-before-merging

And extra detail on using branch protection rules here: https://docs.github.com/en/repositories/configuring-branches-and-merges-in-your-repository/defining-the-mergeability-of-pull-requests/managing-a-branch-protection-rule

FAQ

• How do I exclude a specific file from ownership?
• You can append the file to the end of the CODEOWNER file:

# Files that don't need owners
yarn.lock
package-lock.json

• Soon we’ll be adding commands that allow you to do this easier!

• Why do you need read and write permissions on my source code?
• We need the read and write permission in GitHub because we need to push our CODEOWNER file to your repository.
• We read your git history metadata and perform our analysis based on that, but we do not store your source code anywhere.

• Is my data secure?
• Yes! We are SOC2 Type I compliant and will be Type II by the end of March 2023.
• We also undergo regular penetration testing.

• What happens to my CODEOWNERS file if I cancel?
• You get to keep your CODEOWNERS file, but it will no longer be updated by us. If you wish to re-subscribe at any time in the future we would be happy to have you back!