Modes and requests

The three modes

Each reviewer (each lineage/version/executor) has its own mode, set per repository on /connect:

Wide tables: scroll horizontally to see more columns.

Reviewer settings apply to future admissions only; work already accepted can still finish even after you change the mode.

What a newly connected repository starts with

For newly connected repositories, the selected initial mode applies to the configured reviewers. The default selection is Automatic; choose On request before saving to connect without starting automatic reviews. The connect page states the consequence before you save: "Automatic also queues existing open, non-draft pull requests. Before saving, move any PRs you want to exclude to Draft, or choose On request." and "On request connects new repositories without starting automatic reviews. Comment /sigma review on a PR when you want a review." — with the reminder that "With API keys, each review is paid. Changing modes does not cancel reviews already queued." A repository you are re-enabling, or that already has saved reviewer modes, keeps those modes instead of resetting to Automatic.

Requesting a review explicitly

Explicit requests can start enabled Automatic and On request reviewers on a pull request:

• A comment that is exactly /sigma review (optionally followed by a reviewer selector — see reviewers-and-executors.md).
• The registered App-mention form, @<the App's actual slug> review.
• Requesting a review from Sigma's own bot through GitHub's reviewer control. An unrelated requested reviewer does not start Sigma.

These request new model work; API stages incur API usage and subscription stages consume their provider allowance. For comment commands, re-delivering or editing the same old comment does not authorize another run, even on the same head. Re-requesting a review from Sigma's own bot on GitHub is treated the same way, once per request on a head.

Who may call Sigma

A call is accepted from the maintainer who owns this Sigma, or from anyone GitHub reports as having admin, maintain or write access to that repository. Without that access — or if Sigma cannot confirm your permission at that moment — the call is ignored with the closed reason "pilot commands require write access," with no reply, and it is not retried later; write a new comment once the underlying cause is fixed. Sigma caches a checked permission for up to an hour, so a permission change can take up to an hour to take effect.

Replying inside a finding's thread is a separate, narrower case, still owner-only today — see replies-and-rechecks.md.

Drafts

An explicit /sigma review (or the App-mention form) works on a draft PR. Automatic PR events, by contrast, apply to open, non-draft pull requests (opened, reopened, ready-for-review, or a push) — a plain push to a draft does not start an Automatic reviewer.

What a push does

A push to an already-reviewed head does not silently restart the running review. If an older run for that PR is still queued or in progress when a newer head (or a base/state change) arrives, that older run's check reads "Review superseded", with one of these reasons on the summary:

• "The pull request was closed or merged; this review is no longer needed."
• "The pull request became a draft, so Sigma stopped this review. Comment /sigma review to review the draft."
• "A newer change superseded this run; it does not describe the current head." (the default reason for any other source/state change)

A superseded run's history and any cost it already incurred are kept; it is not treated as a completed review of the new head. Automatic reviewers pick up the new head on their own; On request reviewers need a fresh /sigma review.