A stacked pull request cannot use auto-merge
- Dominant language
- Go
- Stars
- 1.5k
- Forks
- 70
- Avg merge
- 1d 8h
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 7
Description
## Summary
`gh stack link` refuses a pull request that has auto-merge enabled, so adopting a stack costs a capability that an unstacked pull request keeps. Every layer then needs a person at the keyboard at the moment the layer below lands.
## Evidence
Both pull requests approved and green. `#101` had auto-merge enabled, so linking failed:
```text
Checking existing stacks...
Looking up PRs for 2 branches...
✗ PR #101 cannot be added to a stack: it has auto-merge enabled
```
Turning auto-merge off let the link succeed.
This compounds the behaviour in #174. When the bottom layer merges, the layer above leaves the queue and GitHub rewrites its head, which restarts its required checks. Nothing puts it back. With auto-merge unavailable, only a person can, and only once the restarted checks finish. A stack of three with a 15-minute required check needs three waits and three manual enqueues to land one change.
## Expected
A stacked pull request can use auto-merge, so each layer enqueues itself once its base merges and its checks pass.
If the two genuinely cannot coexist, say so where the user meets it: `gh stack link` should explain why auto-merge and stacks are exclusive, and the stack panel should say that each layer needs a manual enqueue.
## Actual
`gh stack link` rejects the pull request with no explanation of the conflict, and offers no alternative.
## Environment
- `gh` 2.100.0, `gh stack` v0.0.8
- Trunk protected by a merge queue, `merge_method: REBASE`
- Two-layer stack, both pull requests approved with required checks passing
## Reproduction
1. Open two pull requests that stack on each other, both approved and green.
2. Enable auto-merge on the bottom one.
3. Run `gh stack link `.
## Note on scope
This reports only what was observed: `gh stack link` rejects a pull request that already has auto-merge enabled. The reverse direction, enabling auto-merge on a pull request that is already stacked, was not tested, because the repository in question has `allow_auto_merge: false` set at the repository level for unrelated reasons.
## Related
- #174 — the layer above leaves the queue and is not put back, which is what makes the missing auto-merge costly
- #172 — "'Merge stack' appears to enqueue only the bottom PR"
- #502 — the merge queue rewrites a commit that needed no rewrite, which is what restarts the checks
- #503 — the panel gives no sign that a manual enqueue is needed
Contributor guide
Research direction
Start with the `gh stack link` command and reproduce the rejection using the two-layer scenario in the issue. Read the handling of auto-merge and stack linking alongside related issues #174, #172, #502, and #503. Done means stacked pull requests can retain auto-merge, or the command and stack panel clearly explain the incompatibility and manual enqueue requirement.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- github, go
- Domain
- cli, devops
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Active
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 48/100