Branch protection and required checks

Require codev's PR validation check — and pull request review — before a branch can be merged, using your source provider's branch protection.

When codev validates a pull request, it posts the result back to the pull request as a check. On its own, that check is informational — codev reports the outcome, but it does not stop anyone from merging. The merge is gated by your source provider: you make codev's check (and, if you want, a review approval) required through branch protection, and the provider then blocks the merge until they pass.

This page shows how to require codev's validation check and a review before merge, on GitHub and on Azure DevOps.

The checks codev posts

On every validated pull request, codev posts:

Check	What it means
codev: PR Validation	The pull request was deployed to a review environment and its tests were run. Green means the change deployed and passed; red means it failed. See Change validation.
codev: PR Analysis	The impact and (if enabled) AI analysis of the change. See Change analysis.

The check you normally require before merge is codev: PR Validation.

A provider only offers a check as "required" after it has run at least once on the repository. Open one pull request and let codev validate it first — then codev: PR Validation will appear in the list of checks you can require.

GitHub

codev validates each pull request and reports the outcome as the codev: PR Validation check — branch protection turns that check into a merge gate.

In your repository on GitHub, go to Settings > Branches (or Settings > Rules > Rulesets) and add or edit a rule for the branch you protect — usually your default branch.

Require the validation check:

1. Enable Require status checks to pass before merging.
2. Search for and add codev: PR Validation.
3. Optionally enable Require branches to be up to date before merging so the check always runs against the latest target.

Require a review (pull request approval):

1. Enable Require a pull request before merging.
2. Set Require approvals to the number of reviewers you want (for example 1).

With both in place, a pull request cannot be merged until codev: PR Validation is green and it has the required review approvals.

Azure DevOps

On Azure DevOps, the same validation result is posted as a pull request status under the sfp genre — you will see codev: PR Validation in the pull request's status list. You require it with a branch policy.

In Project settings > Repositories > (your repo) > Policies, on the protected branch:

Require the validation check:

1. Under Status Checks, add a policy.
2. Choose the status codev: PR Validation (genre sfp). If it isn't listed yet, let codev validate one pull request first so the status has been posted.
3. Set it to Required.

Require a review:

1. Enable Require a minimum number of reviewers and set the count.

How it fits together

• codev runs the validation and reports the codev: PR Validation check on the pull request.
• Your provider's branch protection turns that check (and the review) into a merge gate.
• Each time codev re-validates — for example after a new commit — it updates the same check, so the gate reflects the latest result.

This keeps the decision where it belongs: codev proves the change deploys and passes, your reviewers approve it, and the branch cannot merge until both are satisfied.

Related

• Change validation — what the validation check runs and how to configure it
• Change analysis — the codev: PR Analysis check
• Approvals — the deployment approval gates that apply after merge, when releasing