Policy-Driven PR Automation for GitHub

A GitHub Pull Request Policy Engine

Make branch protection conditional. Enforce the right approvals and checks for the right pull requests. Turn static branch protection into a smart, context-aware system that reduces CI costs and keeps teams aligned.

GitHub's native rules are static. MergeGuard evaluates each pull request and determines what approvals and checks are actually required before merge.

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How MergeGuard Works

MergeGuard is a GitHub App that receives webhooks, reads the configuration file from your repo, evaluates rules (reviews, required checks, statuses) and executes actions.

Define Policy Rules

Configure review and merge policies in a simple YAML file. Set conditional requirements based on paths changed, lines of code, PR labels, authors, or even semver levels for dependency updates. MergeGuard acts as a deterministic decision layer on top of GitHub.

Context-aware required checks
Conditional approval logic
Path-based rule matching
Escalate approvals / required checks when PRs are flagged as high-risk or AI-generated

Automatic Policy Evaluation

When a PR is opened or updated, MergeGuard evaluates your policies against the PR context—what changed, who changed it, and why. It determines exactly which checks and approvals are required, skipping unnecessary CI runs to reduce costs and noise.

Skip expensive tests for docs-only changes
Auto-approve patch-level Dependabot updates
Enforce stricter rules for critical paths

Merge Readiness & Enforcement

MergeGuard posts a dynamic checklist comment showing exactly what's needed for merge. GitHub Check Runs block merges until all policy conditions are met, preserving GitHub's native merge guarantees while adding intelligent context awareness.

Real-time status updates on PR changes
PR dependency management (stacked PRs)
Deterministic, auditable decisions

MergeGuard vs GitHub Native Branch Protection

Feature	GitHub Native	MergeGuard
Conditional checks	❌	✅
Dynamic approvals	❌	✅
Path-based enforcement	Limited	Full
CI cost optimization	❌	✅

Learn how to configure pull request policies with MergeGuard: https://docs.mergeguard.dev/quickstart

Who is MergeGuard for?

Platform teams

Growing engineering orgs

Compliance-driven companies

CI-heavy repositories

Powerful Features

Everything you need to streamline code reviews and maintain high quality standards

Conditional Review Policies

Require the right reviewers based on what changed — paths, labels, size, author, and more. Enforce teams/users and approval counts dynamically.

Context-Aware Required Checks

Only require expensive or specialized CI when it matters. Keep branch protections sane while still blocking merges when relevant checks are missing.

Merge Readiness, Explained

A single MergeGuard status summarizes what's missing and why — approvals, teams, checks, and dependencies — so reviewers don't have to guess.

Auto-Approve & Auto-Merge Safe Changes

Automate routine PRs (Dependabot/Renovate, docs-only, formatting, low-risk updates) while keeping your strict rules for everything else.

PR Dependencies & Stacked PR Support

Declare "depends on" relationships and prevent merging in the wrong order. Keep stacks moving without breaking main.

Policy Precedence & Overrides

Resolve overlapping rules predictably with priorities. Add fast-track/override policies without creating exceptions chaos.

Simple, Transparent Pricing

Choose the plan that fits your team. Pay based on PR volume, not seats.

Free

$0/month

For personal projects and evaluation

50 PRs per month
Unlimited public repositories
Unlimited users
All features
Community support

Get Started

Ready to Transform Your PR Review Process?

Join engineering teams using MergeGuard to enforce policies, reduce CI costs, and maintain code quality. Install the GitHub App in minutes.

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