Review scope

The file's location determines which repositories it governs.

Configuration precedence

File	Scope
`.ellipsis/code_review.yaml` in an ordinary repository	That repository
`code_review.yaml` at the root of the organization's `.ellipsis` repository	Repositories without their own active configuration
No active configuration	Built-in defaults

A repository's file replaces the organization file. Its settings then overlay the built-in defaults.

Files become live from the default branch. An invalid or disabled file falls through to the next configuration; it does not disable reviews. Use filters to exclude work.

Select repositories

Use repositories only in the organization-wide file:

ellipsis:
  kind: code_review
  name: organization-review

pull_requests:
  repositories:
    include: [api-repo, web-repo]
  draft: false

Only matching non-draft pull requests in those repositories are reviewed, unless a repository defines its own pipeline.

An exclusion-only filter watches every repository except those listed:

pull_requests:
  repositories:
    exclude: [archived-repo]

A repository-local file cannot declare pull_requests.repositories.

Filter branches and paths

ellipsis:
  kind: code_review
  name: api-changes

pull_requests:
  base: [main, "release/*"]
  paths: ["src/**", "migrations/**"]
  draft: false

This reviews non-draft pull requests targeting main or a release/ branch when the change touches a listed path.

Branch filters accept exact names, trailing * prefixes, and default. Path filters are include-only globs over changed paths. Empty lists impose no restriction.

Filter authors

pull_requests:
  for:
    users: true
    bots:
      include: true
      exclude: ["dependabot[bot]", "renovate[bot]"]

Use GitHub logins, including [bot] when present. Set bots: false to exclude all bot-authored pull requests.

labels matches any listed label. A reviewer's own filters can further limit that stage; see Custom reviewers.

Incremental coverage

The first review starts at the pull request base. Later reviews start at the last covered commit, called watermark in the API.

A posted review advances coverage, including one with no findings
A configured pre-review stage can deliberately skip a range and mark it covered
A failed post leaves the range uncovered
A posted incomplete review can advance coverage; inspect its warning before treating it as a complete check

Filtered or budget-blocked pushes remain uncovered until a later review runs.

Request a full review

{
  "owner": "your-org",
  "repo": "api-repo",
  "pull_request_number": 42,
  "scope": {
    "kind": "full"
  }
}

Send to POST /v1/reviews. Without scope, the request uses the current incremental range.