Question 1

How to set up automerge-action for rebase merges?

Accepted Answer

Set MERGE_METHOD to 'rebase' for merging, or UPDATE_METHOD to 'rebase' for updating branches. You can also use MERGE_METHOD_LABELS to specify rebase via labels like 'automerge=rebase'. Ensure branch protection rules require branches to be up-to-date for updates.

Question 2

Can automerge-action merge pull requests from forked repositories?

Accepted Answer

Yes, by default MERGE_FORKS is 'true', but you can disable it. It handles forked repos, but note that token permissions might need adjustment, and cross-repository merges can introduce security considerations.

Question 3

What happens if a status check fails after automerge-action starts?

Accepted Answer

The action respects branch protection rules and will only merge when all required checks pass. It uses retry logic with MERGE_RETRIES to wait for pending checks, but if checks fail, the merge is aborted until they pass.

Question 4

How to block automerging for certain pull requests?

Accepted Answer

Use blocking labels in MERGE_LABELS, prefixed with '!'. For example, set MERGE_LABELS to 'automerge,!wip' to skip PRs with the 'wip' label, as explained in the Configuration section.

Question 5

automerge-action vs GitHub auto-merge: which should I use?

Accepted Answer

Use GitHub's native auto-merge for simple, stable workflows without rebasing. Choose automerge-action if you need advanced features like rebase updates, label-based control, or handling forks with more configurability, as it offers finer granularity.

Question 6

How to make automerge-action trigger other workflows after merging?

Accepted Answer

Replace GITHUB_TOKEN with a personal access token (PAT) in the workflow, as mentioned in the Limitations section. This allows merges to trigger new workflow runs, but adds security and maintenance overhead for token management.

Automatically merge PRs That Are Ready

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