What happens on a PR

Mesrai listens on your repository webhook. When a PR opens (or a new commit lands), the reviewer wakes up, gathers context, scores the diff, and posts inline comments. This page walks the lifecycle end to end.

When Mesrai runs

• A PR is opened
• A new commit is pushed (subject to the configured cadence)
• You manually invoke it from a PR comment: @mesrai start-review

When Mesrai skips

• No new commits since the last run
• Only merge commits, no effective code change
• Every changed file matches an ignore pattern
• PR exceeds the configured file ceiling (default 200)
• Configuration is missing or invalid

Pipeline (what runs under the hood)

1. Resolve config — merges global → repo → directory overrides and validates the result
2. Collect diff + context — pulls the changed files plus the cross-file context needed for accurate review
3. Run PR-level checks — your custom Mesrai Rules + cross-file analysis (when enabled)
4. Review each changed file — focused on the diff, with surrounding context for intent
5. Filter + rank suggestions — relevance, severity, dedupe, anti-noise safeguards
6. Post comments — inline suggestions, plus a PR-level summary when enabled
7. Apply policy — auto-approve or request-changes if your rules say so
8. Track last-reviewed commit — so the next run is incremental, not duplicate

What lands on the PR

• Inline comments with a recommended fix and rationale
• Optional PR-level summary at the top
• Optional review status: approved / changes-requested (when policy enabled)

Status reactions

Mesrai uses emoji reactions on the PR description (or your trigger comment) so you can see review state at a glance. The reactor replaces the previous emoji each step — current state is always visible.

What each emoji means

• 🚀 In progress — Mesrai is reading files, applying rules, generating suggestions
• 🎉 Done — review finished, comments posted, ready for you
• 👀 Skipped — common reasons:
  • No new commits since the last run
  • Only merge commits in the diff
  • PR exceeds the file ceiling
  • All files match an ignore pattern
  • Branch not in the configured review scope
  • PR is in draft mode (and drafts are configured to skip)
• 👎 No license — the PR author isn’t licensed:
  • Mesrai needs a license for the PR author
  • Assign one manually, or turn on Auto License Assignment
• 😕 Error — temporary failure:
  • Retry with @mesrai start-review
  • Persistent failure? Email info@mesrai.com

Where the reaction appears

• Automatic review (PR opened / new commit) — reaction lands on the PR description (top of the thread)
• Manual review (@mesrai start-review comment) — reaction lands on your trigger comment

Example timelines

• New PR (auto): 🚀 → 🎉
• Manual trigger: 🚀 on your comment → 🎉
• Nothing to review: 👀
• Unlicensed author: 👎
• Transient failure: 😕

FAQ

No reactions are showing

• GitHub / GitLab support reactions ✅. Azure DevOps + Bitbucket don’t ❌.

The emoji keeps changing

• That’s the design — each step replaces the previous status (🚀 → 🎉 / 👀 / 😕).

I see 👀 but wanted a review

• Mesrai skipped — likely no new commits, merge-only diff, ignored files, or file ceiling
• Force a run: @mesrai start-review

I see 👎

• PR author has no license — assign one, or enable Auto License Assignment

I see 😕

• Retry with @mesrai start-review. If it keeps failing, check Troubleshooting or email info@mesrai.com.

Knobs you’ll touch

• Auto vs manual reviews + commit cadence
• Ignore patterns + which base branches are in scope
• Custom rules + cross-file analysis toggles
• Suggestion controls — severity filter, grouping, max-per-PR
• File ceiling + timeouts

Practical tips

• Keep PRs small — review quality drops sharply past ~400 lines of diff
• Link the spec / ticket in the PR description so cross-file analysis has intent
• After you address feedback, re-trigger with @mesrai start-review