How to Use the Automerge GitHub Action to Merge Pull Requests

name: 'Usage of automerge-action GitHub Action'
on:
  pull_request:
    types:
      - labeled
      - unlabeled
      - synchronize
      - opened
      - edited
      - ready_for_review
      - reopened
      - unlocked
  pull_request_review:
    types:
      - submitted
  check_suite:
    types:
      - completed
  status: {}
jobs:
  automerge:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - id: automerge
        name: automerge
        uses: "pascalgn/[email protected]"
        permissions:
          contents: write
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: "${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}"

Automerge Action

GitHub action to automatically merge pull requests that are ready

What is the Automerge GitHub Action?​

The Automerge GitHub Action is designed to automatically merge pull requests when they are ready. This action helps streamline the process of integrating changes by merging pull requests that meet specific criteria.

Merge Options​

The Automerge GitHub Action supports various options for merging and updating pull requests. Below are explanations and examples for each configuration option.

How to Specify Merge Labels​

Labels required for a pull request to be merged. Labels prefixed with ! will block a pull request from being merged if present.

env:
  MERGE_LABELS: "automerge,!work in progress"

How to Specify Labels to Remove After Merge​

Labels to automatically remove from a pull request once it has been merged.

env:
  MERGE_REMOVE_LABELS: "automerge"

How to Specify Merge Method​

The method to use when merging the pull request. Possible values are merge, rebase, or squash.

env:
  MERGE_METHOD: "squash"

How to Specify Merge Method Labels​

Labels that determine the merge method. For example, automerge=merge,autosquash=squash.

env:
  MERGE_METHOD_LABELS: "automerge=merge,autosquash=squash"

How to Require Merge Method Label​

Require one of the MERGE_METHOD_LABELS to be set.

env:
  MERGE_METHOD_LABEL_REQUIRED: "true"

How to Specify Commit Message​

The commit message to use when merging the pull request.

env:
  MERGE_COMMIT_MESSAGE: "pull-request-description"

How to Specify Commit Message Regex​

Regex to filter the commit message when using the PR's body.

env:
  MERGE_COMMIT_MESSAGE_REGEX: "(.*)^---"

How to Filter by Author​

Only merge pull requests raised by this author.

env:
  MERGE_FILTER_AUTHOR: "author-username"

How to Control Fork Merging​

Enable or disable merging from external repositories.

env:
  MERGE_FORKS: "false"

How to Specify Merge Retries and Sleep​

Set the number of retries and the time to sleep between retries.

env:
  MERGE_RETRIES: "6"
  MERGE_RETRY_SLEEP: "10000"

How to Specify Required Approvals​

Set the number of required approvals.

env:
  MERGE_REQUIRED_APPROVALS: "2"

How to Delete Branches After Merge​

Automatically delete branches after they have been merged.

env:
  MERGE_DELETE_BRANCH: "true"

How to Filter Branches for Deletion​

A list of branches that will not be deleted.

env:
  MERGE_DELETE_BRANCH_FILTER: "main,dev"

How to Fail on Merge Error​

Exit with error code 1 if the pull request could not be merged successfully.

env:
  MERGE_ERROR_FAIL: "true"

How to Specify Ready State​

The states of a pull request to attempt a merge.

env:
  MERGE_READY_STATE: "clean,has_hooks"

Update Options​

How to Specify Update Labels​

Labels required for a pull request to be updated.

env:
  UPDATE_LABELS: "automerge"

How to Specify Update Method​

The method to use when updating the pull request to the base branch. Possible values are merge or rebase.

env:
  UPDATE_METHOD: "rebase"

How to Specify Update Retries and Sleep​

Set the number of retries and the time to sleep between retries.

env:
  UPDATE_RETRIES: "1"
  UPDATE_RETRY_SLEEP: "5000"

General Options​

How to Specify GitHub Token​

GitHub token for authentication. Typically ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}.

env:
  GITHUB_TOKEN: "${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}"

How to Specify Pull Request​

Specify a pull request to merge. Defaults to the pull request in the GitHub context.

env:
  PULL_REQUEST: "1234"

How to Restrict Base Branches​

Restrict the action to specific base branches.

env:
  BASE_BRANCHES: "main,dev"