Merge request approvals API

Tier: Premium, Ultimate Offering: GitLab.com, Self-managed, GitLab Dedicated
History
  • Endpoint /approvals removed in GitLab 16.0.

Configuration for approvals on all merge requests in the project. All endpoints require authentication.

Group-level MR approvals

Status: Experiment
History
On self-managed GitLab, by default this feature is not available. To make it available, an administrator can enable the feature flag named approval_group_rules. On GitLab.com and GitLab Dedicated, this feature is not available. This feature is not ready for production use.

Group approval rules apply to all protected branches of projects belonging to the group. This feature is an experiment.

Get group-level approval rules

History

Group admins can request information about a group’s approval rules using the following endpoint: 

GET /groups/:id/approval_rules

Use the page and per_page pagination parameters to restrict the list of approval rules.

Supported attributes:

Attribute Type Required Description
id integer or string Yes The ID or URL-encoded path of a project.

Example request: 

curl --request GET \
  --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" \
  --url "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/groups/29/approval_rules"

Example response: 

[
  {
    "id": 2,
    "name": "rule1",
    "rule_type": "any_approver",
    "report_type": null,
    "eligible_approvers": [],
    "approvals_required": 3,
    "users": [],
    "groups": [],
    "contains_hidden_groups": false,
    "protected_branches": [],
    "applies_to_all_protected_branches": true
  },
  {
    "id": 3,
    "name": "rule2",
    "rule_type": "code_owner",
    "report_type": null,
    "eligible_approvers": [],
    "approvals_required": 2,
    "users": [],
    "groups": [],
    "contains_hidden_groups": false,
    "protected_branches": [],
    "applies_to_all_protected_branches": true
  },
  {
    "id": 4,
    "name": "rule2",
    "rule_type": "report_approver",
    "report_type": "code_coverage",
    "eligible_approvers": [],
    "approvals_required": 2,
    "users": [],
    "groups": [],
    "contains_hidden_groups": false,
    "protected_branches": [],
    "applies_to_all_protected_branches": true
  }
]

Create group-level approval rules

Group admins can create group level approval rules using the following endpoint: 

POST /groups/:id/approval_rules

Supported attributes:

Attribute Type Required Description
id integer or string Yes The ID or URL-encoded path of a group.
approvals_required integer Yes The number of required approvals for this rule.
name string Yes The name of the approval rule.
group_ids array No The IDs of groups as approvers.
rule_type string No The rule type. any_approver is a pre-configured default rule with approvals_required at 0. Other rules are regular (used for regular merge request approval rules) and report_approver. Don’t use this field to build approval rules from the API. The report_approver field is used when GitLab creates an approval rule from configured and enabled merge request approval policies.
user_ids array No The IDs of users as approvers.

Example request: 

curl --request POST \
  --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" \
  --url "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/groups/29/approval_rules?name=security&approvals_required=2"

Example response: 

{
  "id": 5,
  "name": "security",
  "rule_type": "any_approver",
  "eligible_approvers": [],
  "approvals_required": 2,
  "users": [],
  "groups": [],
  "contains_hidden_groups": false,
  "protected_branches": [
    {
      "id": 5,
      "name": "master",
      "push_access_levels": [
        {
          "id": 5,
          "access_level": 40,
          "access_level_description": "Maintainers",
          "deploy_key_id": null,
          "user_id": null,
          "group_id": null
        }
      ],
      "merge_access_levels": [
        {
          "id": 5,
          "access_level": 40,
          "access_level_description": "Maintainers",
          "user_id": null,
          "group_id": null
        }
      ],
      "allow_force_push": false,
      "unprotect_access_levels": [],
      "code_owner_approval_required": false,
      "inherited": false
    }
  ],
  "applies_to_all_protected_branches": true
}

Update group-level approval rules

History

Group admins can update group level approval rules using the following endpoint: 

PUT /groups/:id/approval_rules/:approval_rule_id

Supported attributes:

Attribute Type Required Description
approval_rule_id. integer Yes The ID of the approval rule.
id integer or string Yes The ID or URL-encoded path of a group.
approvals_required string No The number of required approvals for this rule.
group_ids integer No The IDs of users as approvers.
name string No The name of the approval rule.
rule_type array No The rule type. any_approver is a pre-configured default rule with approvals_required at 0. Other rules are regular (used for regular merge request approval rules) and report_approver. Don’t use this field to build approval rules from the API. The report_approver field is used when GitLab creates an approval rule from configured and enabled merge request approval policies.
user_ids array No The IDs of groups as approvers.

Example request: 

curl --request PUT \
  --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" \
  --url "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/groups/29/approval_rules/5?name=security2&approvals_required=1"

Example response: 

{
  "id": 5,
  "name": "security2",
  "rule_type": "any_approver",
  "eligible_approvers": [],
  "approvals_required": 1,
  "users": [],
  "groups": [],
  "contains_hidden_groups": false,
  "protected_branches": [
    {
      "id": 5,
      "name": "master",
      "push_access_levels": [
        {
          "id": 5,
          "access_level": 40,
          "access_level_description": "Maintainers",
          "deploy_key_id": null,
          "user_id": null,
          "group_id": null
        }
      ],
      "merge_access_levels": [
        {
          "id": 5,
          "access_level": 40,
          "access_level_description": "Maintainers",
          "user_id": null,
          "group_id": null
        }
      ],
      "allow_force_push": false,
      "unprotect_access_levels": [],
      "code_owner_approval_required": false,
      "inherited": false
    }
  ],
  "applies_to_all_protected_branches": true
}

Project-level MR approvals

You can request information about a project’s approval configuration using the following endpoint: 

GET /projects/:id/approvals

Supported attributes:

Attribute Type Required Description
id integer or string Yes The ID or URL-encoded path of a project. 
{
  "approvers": [], // Deprecated in GitLab 12.3, always returns empty
  "approver_groups": [], // Deprecated in GitLab 12.3, always returns empty
  "approvals_before_merge": 2, // Deprecated in GitLab 12.3, use Approval Rules instead
  "reset_approvals_on_push": true,
  "selective_code_owner_removals": false,
  "disable_overriding_approvers_per_merge_request": false,
  "merge_requests_author_approval": true,
  "merge_requests_disable_committers_approval": false,
  "require_password_to_approve": true, // Deprecated in 16.9, use require_reauthentication_to_approve instead
  "require_reauthentication_to_approve": true
}

Change configuration

Users with the appropriate role can change approval configuration using this endpoint: 

POST /projects/:id/approvals

Supported attributes:

Attribute Type Required Description
id integer or string Yes The ID or URL-encoded path of a project.
approvals_before_merge (deprecated) integer No Number of required approvals before a merge request can merge. Deprecated in GitLab 12.3. Use Approval Rules instead.
disable_overriding_approvers_per_merge_request boolean No Allow or prevent overriding approvers per merge request.
merge_requests_author_approval boolean No Allow or prevent authors from self approving merge requests; true means authors can self approve.
merge_requests_disable_committers_approval boolean No Allow or prevent committers from self approving merge requests.
require_password_to_approve (deprecated) boolean No Require approver to enter a password to authenticate before adding the approval. Deprecated in GitLab 16.9. Use require_reauthentication_to_approve instead.
require_reauthentication_to_approve boolean No Require approver to enter a to authenticate before adding the approval. Introduced in GitLab 17.1.
reset_approvals_on_push boolean No Reset approvals on a new push.
selective_code_owner_removals boolean No Reset approvals from Code Owners if their files changed. You must disable the reset_approvals_on_push field to use this field. 
{
  "approvals_before_merge": 2, // Use Approval Rules instead
  "reset_approvals_on_push": true,
  "selective_code_owner_removals": false,
  "disable_overriding_approvers_per_merge_request": false,
  "merge_requests_author_approval": false,
  "merge_requests_disable_committers_approval": false,
  "require_password_to_approve": true,
  "require_reauthentication_to_approve": true
}

Get project-level rules

History
  • Pagination support introduced in GitLab 15.3 with a flag named approval_rules_pagination. Enabled by default.
  • applies_to_all_protected_branches property introduced in GitLab 15.3.
  • Pagination support generally available in GitLab 15.7. Feature flag approval_rules_pagination removed.
  • usernames property introduced in GitLab 15.8.

You can request information about a project’s approval rules using the following endpoint: 

GET /projects/:id/approval_rules

Use the page and per_page pagination parameters to restrict the list of approval rules.

Supported attributes:

Attribute Type Required Description
id integer or string Yes The ID or URL-encoded path of a project. 
[
  {
    "id": 1,
    "name": "security",
    "rule_type": "regular",
    "report_type": null,
    "eligible_approvers": [
      {
        "id": 5,
        "name": "John Doe",
        "username": "jdoe",
        "state": "active",
        "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
        "web_url": "http://localhost/jdoe"
      },
      {
        "id": 50,
        "name": "Group Member 1",
        "username": "group_member_1",
        "state": "active",
        "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
        "web_url": "http://localhost/group_member_1"
      }
    ],
    "approvals_required": 3,
    "users": [
      {
        "id": 5,
        "name": "John Doe",
        "username": "jdoe",
        "state": "active",
        "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
        "web_url": "http://localhost/jdoe"
      }
    ],
    "groups": [
      {
        "id": 5,
        "name": "group1",
        "path": "group1",
        "description": "",
        "visibility": "public",
        "lfs_enabled": false,
        "avatar_url": null,
        "web_url": "http://localhost/groups/group1",
        "request_access_enabled": false,
        "full_name": "group1",
        "full_path": "group1",
        "parent_id": null,
        "ldap_cn": null,
        "ldap_access": null
      }
    ],
    "applies_to_all_protected_branches": false,
    "protected_branches": [
      {
        "id": 1,
        "name": "main",
        "push_access_levels": [
          {
            "access_level": 30,
            "access_level_description": "Developers + Maintainers"
          }
        ],
        "merge_access_levels": [
          {
            "access_level": 30,
            "access_level_description": "Developers + Maintainers"
          }
        ],
        "unprotect_access_levels": [
          {
            "access_level": 40,
            "access_level_description": "Maintainers"
          }
        ],
        "code_owner_approval_required": "false"
      }
    ],
    "contains_hidden_groups": false,
  },
  {
    "id": 2,
    "name": "Coverage-Check",
    "rule_type": "report_approver",
    "report_type": "code_coverage",
    "eligible_approvers": [
      {
        "id": 5,
        "name": "John Doe",
        "username": "jdoe",
        "state": "active",
        "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
        "web_url": "http://localhost/jdoe"
      },
      {
        "id": 50,
        "name": "Group Member 1",
        "username": "group_member_1",
        "state": "active",
        "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
        "web_url": "http://localhost/group_member_1"
      }
    ],
    "approvals_required": 3,
    "users": [
      {
        "id": 5,
        "name": "John Doe",
        "username": "jdoe",
        "state": "active",
        "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
        "web_url": "http://localhost/jdoe"
      }
    ],
    "groups": [
      {
        "id": 5,
        "name": "group1",
        "path": "group1",
        "description": "",
        "visibility": "public",
        "lfs_enabled": false,
        "avatar_url": null,
        "web_url": "http://localhost/groups/group1",
        "request_access_enabled": false,
        "full_name": "group1",
        "full_path": "group1",
        "parent_id": null,
        "ldap_cn": null,
        "ldap_access": null
      }
    ],
    "applies_to_all_protected_branches": false,
    "protected_branches": [
      {
        "id": 1,
        "name": "main",
        "push_access_levels": [
          {
            "access_level": 30,
            "access_level_description": "Developers + Maintainers"
          }
        ],
        "merge_access_levels": [
          {
            "access_level": 30,
            "access_level_description": "Developers + Maintainers"
          }
        ],
        "unprotect_access_levels": [
          {
            "access_level": 40,
            "access_level_description": "Maintainers"
          }
        ],
        "code_owner_approval_required": "false"
      }
    ],
    "contains_hidden_groups": false,
  }
]

Get a single project-level rule

History
  • applies_to_all_protected_branches property introduced in GitLab 15.3.
  • usernames property introduced in GitLab 15.8.

You can request information about a single project approval rules using the following endpoint: 

GET /projects/:id/approval_rules/:approval_rule_id

Supported attributes:

Attribute Type Required Description
id integer or string Yes The ID or URL-encoded path of a project.
approval_rule_id integer Yes The ID of a approval rule. 
{
  "id": 1,
  "name": "security",
  "rule_type": "regular",
  "report_type": null,
  "eligible_approvers": [
    {
      "id": 5,
      "name": "John Doe",
      "username": "jdoe",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost/jdoe"
    },
    {
      "id": 50,
      "name": "Group Member 1",
      "username": "group_member_1",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost/group_member_1"
    }
  ],
  "approvals_required": 3,
  "users": [
    {
      "id": 5,
      "name": "John Doe",
      "username": "jdoe",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost/jdoe"
    }
  ],
  "groups": [
    {
      "id": 5,
      "name": "group1",
      "path": "group1",
      "description": "",
      "visibility": "public",
      "lfs_enabled": false,
      "avatar_url": null,
      "web_url": "http://localhost/groups/group1",
      "request_access_enabled": false,
      "full_name": "group1",
      "full_path": "group1",
      "parent_id": null,
      "ldap_cn": null,
      "ldap_access": null
    }
  ],
  "applies_to_all_protected_branches": false,
  "protected_branches": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "name": "main",
      "push_access_levels": [
        {
          "access_level": 30,
          "access_level_description": "Developers + Maintainers"
        }
      ],
      "merge_access_levels": [
        {
          "access_level": 30,
          "access_level_description": "Developers + Maintainers"
        }
      ],
      "unprotect_access_levels": [
        {
          "access_level": 40,
          "access_level_description": "Maintainers"
        }
      ],
      "code_owner_approval_required": "false"
    }
  ],
  "contains_hidden_groups": false
}

Create project-level rule

History
  • Removed the Vulnerability-Check feature in GitLab 15.0.
  • applies_to_all_protected_branches property introduced in GitLab 15.3.
  • usernames property introduced in GitLab 15.8.

You can create project approval rules using the following endpoint: 

POST /projects/:id/approval_rules

Supported attributes:

Attribute Type Required Description
id integer or string Yes The ID or URL-encoded path of a project.
approvals_required integer Yes The number of required approvals for this rule.
name string Yes The name of the approval rule.
applies_to_all_protected_branches boolean No Whether to apply the rule to all protected branches. If set to true, ignores the value of protected_branch_ids. Default is false. Introduced in GitLab 15.3.
group_ids Array No The IDs of groups as approvers.
protected_branch_ids Array No The IDs of protected branches to scope the rule by. To identify the ID, use the API.
report_type string No The report type required when the rule type is report_approver. The supported report types are license_scanning (Deprecated in GitLab 15.9) and code_coverage.
rule_type string No The rule type. any_approver is a pre-configured default rule with approvals_required at 0. Other rules are regular (used for regular merge request approval rules) and report_approver. Don’t use this field to build approval rules from the API. The report_approver field is used when GitLab creates an approval rule from configured and enabled merge request approval policies.
user_ids Array No The IDs of users as approvers. If you provide both user_ids and usernames, it adds both lists of users.
usernames string array No The usernames of approvers for this rule (same as user_ids but requires a list of usernames). If you provide both user_ids and usernames, it adds both lists of users. 
{
  "id": 1,
  "name": "security",
  "rule_type": "regular",
  "eligible_approvers": [
    {
      "id": 2,
      "name": "John Doe",
      "username": "jdoe",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost/jdoe"
    },
    {
      "id": 50,
      "name": "Group Member 1",
      "username": "group_member_1",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost/group_member_1"
    }
  ],
  "approvals_required": 1,
  "users": [
    {
      "id": 2,
      "name": "John Doe",
      "username": "jdoe",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost/jdoe"
    }
  ],
  "groups": [
    {
      "id": 5,
      "name": "group1",
      "path": "group1",
      "description": "",
      "visibility": "public",
      "lfs_enabled": false,
      "avatar_url": null,
      "web_url": "http://localhost/groups/group1",
      "request_access_enabled": false,
      "full_name": "group1",
      "full_path": "group1",
      "parent_id": null,
      "ldap_cn": null,
      "ldap_access": null
    }
  ],
  "applies_to_all_protected_branches": false,
  "protected_branches": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "name": "main",
      "push_access_levels": [
        {
          "access_level": 30,
          "access_level_description": "Developers + Maintainers"
        }
      ],
      "merge_access_levels": [
        {
          "access_level": 30,
          "access_level_description": "Developers + Maintainers"
        }
      ],
      "unprotect_access_levels": [
        {
          "access_level": 40,
          "access_level_description": "Maintainers"
        }
      ],
      "code_owner_approval_required": "false"
    }
  ],
  "contains_hidden_groups": false
}

You can increase the default number of 0 required approvers like this: 

curl --request POST \
  --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{"name": "Any name", "rule_type": "any_approver", "approvals_required": 2}'

Another example is creating a user-specific rule: 

curl --request POST \
  --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{"name": "Name of your rule", "approvals_required": 3, "user_ids": [123, 456, 789]}' \
  --url "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/<project_id>/approval_rules"

Update project-level rule

History
  • Removed the Vulnerability-Check feature in GitLab 15.0.
  • applies_to_all_protected_branches property introduced in GitLab 15.3.
  • usernames property introduced in GitLab 15.8.

You can update project approval rules using the following endpoint: 

PUT /projects/:id/approval_rules/:approval_rule_id
note
Approvers and groups (except hidden groups not in the users or groups parameters) are removed. Hidden groups are private groups the user doesn’t have permission to view. Hidden groups are not removed by default unless the remove_hidden_groups parameter is true. This ensures hidden groups are not removed unintentionally when a user updates an approval rule.

Supported attributes:

Attribute Type Required Description
id integer or string Yes The ID or URL-encoded path of a project.
approvals_required integer Yes The number of required approvals for this rule.
approval_rule_id integer Yes The ID of a approval rule.
name string Yes The name of the approval rule.
applies_to_all_protected_branches boolean No Whether to apply the rule to all protected branches. If set to true, it ignores the value of protected_branch_ids. Default is false. Introduced in GitLab 15.3.
group_ids Array No The IDs of groups as approvers.
protected_branch_ids Array No The IDs of protected branches to scope the rule by. To identify the ID, use the API.
remove_hidden_groups boolean No Whether to remove hidden groups from the approval rule.
user_ids Array No The IDs of users as approvers. If you provide both user_ids and usernames, it adds both lists of users.
usernames string array No The usernames of approvers for this rule (same as user_ids but requires a list of usernames). If you provide both user_ids and usernames, it adds both lists of users. 
{
  "id": 1,
  "name": "security",
  "rule_type": "regular",
  "eligible_approvers": [
    {
      "id": 2,
      "name": "John Doe",
      "username": "jdoe",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost/jdoe"
    },
    {
      "id": 50,
      "name": "Group Member 1",
      "username": "group_member_1",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost/group_member_1"
    }
  ],
  "approvals_required": 1,
  "users": [
    {
      "id": 2,
      "name": "John Doe",
      "username": "jdoe",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost/jdoe"
    }
  ],
  "groups": [
    {
      "id": 5,
      "name": "group1",
      "path": "group1",
      "description": "",
      "visibility": "public",
      "lfs_enabled": false,
      "avatar_url": null,
      "web_url": "http://localhost/groups/group1",
      "request_access_enabled": false,
      "full_name": "group1",
      "full_path": "group1",
      "parent_id": null,
      "ldap_cn": null,
      "ldap_access": null
    }
  ],
  "applies_to_all_protected_branches": false,
  "protected_branches": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "name": "main",
      "push_access_levels": [
        {
          "access_level": 30,
          "access_level_description": "Developers + Maintainers"
        }
      ],
      "merge_access_levels": [
        {
          "access_level": 30,
          "access_level_description": "Developers + Maintainers"
        }
      ],
      "unprotect_access_levels": [
        {
          "access_level": 40,
          "access_level_description": "Maintainers"
        }
      ],
      "code_owner_approval_required": "false"
    }
  ],
  "contains_hidden_groups": false
}

Delete project-level rule

You can delete project approval rules using the following endpoint: 

DELETE /projects/:id/approval_rules/:approval_rule_id

Supported attributes:

Attribute Type Required Description
id integer or string Yes The ID or URL-encoded path of a project.
approval_rule_id integer Yes The ID of a approval rule.

Merge request-level MR approvals

Configuration for approvals on a specific merge request. All endpoints require authentication.

You can request information about a merge request’s approval status using the following endpoint: 

GET /projects/:id/merge_requests/:merge_request_iid/approvals

Supported attributes:

Attribute Type Required Description
id integer or string Yes The ID or URL-encoded path of a project.
merge_request_iid integer Yes The IID of the merge request. 
{
  "id": 5,
  "iid": 5,
  "project_id": 1,
  "title": "Approvals API",
  "description": "Test",
  "state": "opened",
  "created_at": "2016-06-08T00:19:52.638Z",
  "updated_at": "2016-06-08T21:20:42.470Z",
  "merge_status": "cannot_be_merged",
  "approvals_required": 2,
  "approvals_left": 1,
  "approved_by": [
    {
      "user": {
        "name": "Administrator",
        "username": "root",
        "id": 1,
        "state": "active",
        "avatar_url": "http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/e64c7d89f26bd1972efa854d13d7dd61?s=80\u0026d=identicon",
        "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/root"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Get the approval state of merge requests

You can request information about a merge request’s approval state by using the following endpoint: 

GET /projects/:id/merge_requests/:merge_request_iid/approval_state

The approval_rules_overwritten are true if the merge request level rules are created for the merge request. If there are none, it is false.

This includes more information about the users who have already approved (approved_by) and whether a rule is already approved (approved).

Supported attributes:

Attribute Type Required Description
id integer or string Yes The ID or URL-encoded path of a project.
merge_request_iid integer Yes The IID of the merge request. 
{
  "approval_rules_overwritten": true,
  "rules": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "name": "Ruby",
      "rule_type": "regular",
      "eligible_approvers": [
        {
          "id": 4,
          "name": "John Doe",
          "username": "jdoe",
          "state": "active",
          "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
          "web_url": "http://localhost/jdoe"
        }
      ],
      "approvals_required": 2,
      "users": [
        {
          "id": 4,
          "name": "John Doe",
          "username": "jdoe",
          "state": "active",
          "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
          "web_url": "http://localhost/jdoe"
        }
      ],
      "groups": [],
      "contains_hidden_groups": false,
      "approved_by": [
        {
          "id": 4,
          "name": "John Doe",
          "username": "jdoe",
          "state": "active",
          "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
          "web_url": "http://localhost/jdoe"
        }
      ],
      "source_rule": null,
      "approved": true,
      "overridden": false
    }
  ]
}

Get merge request level rules

History
  • Pagination support introduced in GitLab 15.3 with a flag named approval_rules_pagination. Enabled by default.
  • Pagination support generally available in GitLab 15.7. Feature flag approval_rules_pagination removed.

You can request information about a merge request’s approval rules using the following endpoint: 

GET /projects/:id/merge_requests/:merge_request_iid/approval_rules

Use the page and per_page pagination parameters to restrict the list of approval rules.

Supported attributes:

Attribute Type Required Description
id integer or string Yes The ID or URL-encoded path of a project.
merge_request_iid integer Yes The IID of the merge request. 
[
  {
    "id": 1,
    "name": "security",
    "rule_type": "regular",
    "report_type": null,
    "eligible_approvers": [
      {
        "id": 5,
        "name": "John Doe",
        "username": "jdoe",
        "state": "active",
        "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
        "web_url": "http://localhost/jdoe"
      },
      {
        "id": 50,
        "name": "Group Member 1",
        "username": "group_member_1",
        "state": "active",
        "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
        "web_url": "http://localhost/group_member_1"
      }
    ],
    "approvals_required": 3,
    "source_rule": null,
    "users": [
      {
        "id": 5,
        "name": "John Doe",
        "username": "jdoe",
        "state": "active",
        "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
        "web_url": "http://localhost/jdoe"
      }
    ],
    "groups": [
      {
        "id": 5,
        "name": "group1",
        "path": "group1",
        "description": "",
        "visibility": "public",
        "lfs_enabled": false,
        "avatar_url": null,
        "web_url": "http://localhost/groups/group1",
        "request_access_enabled": false,
        "full_name": "group1",
        "full_path": "group1",
        "parent_id": null,
        "ldap_cn": null,
        "ldap_access": null
      }
    ],
    "contains_hidden_groups": false,
    "overridden": false
  },
  {
    "id": 2,
    "name": "Coverage-Check",
    "rule_type": "report_approver",
    "report_type": "code_coverage",
    "eligible_approvers": [
      {
        "id": 5,
        "name": "John Doe",
        "username": "jdoe",
        "state": "active",
        "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
        "web_url": "http://localhost/jdoe"
      },
      {
        "id": 50,
        "name": "Group Member 1",
        "username": "group_member_1",
        "state": "active",
        "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
        "web_url": "http://localhost/group_member_1"
      }
    ],
    "approvals_required": 3,
    "source_rule": null,
    "users": [
      {
        "id": 5,
        "name": "John Doe",
        "username": "jdoe",
        "state": "active",
        "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
        "web_url": "http://localhost/jdoe"
      }
    ],
    "groups": [
      {
        "id": 5,
        "name": "group1",
        "path": "group1",
        "description": "",
        "visibility": "public",
        "lfs_enabled": false,
        "avatar_url": null,
        "web_url": "http://localhost/groups/group1",
        "request_access_enabled": false,
        "full_name": "group1",
        "full_path": "group1",
        "parent_id": null,
        "ldap_cn": null,
        "ldap_access": null
      }
    ],
    "contains_hidden_groups": false,
    "overridden": false
  }
]

Get a single merge request level rule

You can request information about a single merge request approval rule using the following endpoint: 

GET /projects/:id/merge_requests/:merge_request_iid/approval_rules/:approval_rule_id

Supported attributes:

Attribute Type Required Description
id integer or string Yes The ID or URL-encoded path of a project.
approval_rule_id integer Yes The ID of an approval rule.
merge_request_iid integer Yes The IID of a merge request. 
{
  "id": 1,
  "name": "security",
  "rule_type": "regular",
  "report_type": null,
  "eligible_approvers": [
    {
      "id": 5,
      "name": "John Doe",
      "username": "jdoe",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost/jdoe"
    },
    {
      "id": 50,
      "name": "Group Member 1",
      "username": "group_member_1",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost/group_member_1"
    }
  ],
  "approvals_required": 3,
  "source_rule": null,
  "users": [
    {
      "id": 5,
      "name": "John Doe",
      "username": "jdoe",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost/jdoe"
    }
  ],
  "groups": [
    {
      "id": 5,
      "name": "group1",
      "path": "group1",
      "description": "",
      "visibility": "public",
      "lfs_enabled": false,
      "avatar_url": null,
      "web_url": "http://localhost/groups/group1",
      "request_access_enabled": false,
      "full_name": "group1",
      "full_path": "group1",
      "parent_id": null,
      "ldap_cn": null,
      "ldap_access": null
    }
  ],
  "contains_hidden_groups": false,
  "overridden": false
}

Create merge request level rule

You can create merge request approval rules using the following endpoint: 

POST /projects/:id/merge_requests/:merge_request_iid/approval_rules

Supported attributes:

Attribute Type Required Description
id integer or string Yes The ID or URL-encoded path of a project
approvals_required integer Yes The number of required approvals for this rule.
merge_request_iid integer Yes The IID of the merge request.
name string Yes The name of the approval rule.
approval_project_rule_id integer No The ID of a project-level approval rule.
group_ids Array No The IDs of groups as approvers.
user_ids Array No The IDs of users as approvers. If you provide both user_ids and usernames, it adds both lists of users.
usernames string array No The usernames of approvers for this rule (same as user_ids but requires a list of usernames). If you provide both user_ids and usernames, it adds both lists of users.
note
Setting approval_project_rule_id copies the name, users and groups of the project-level rule. It uses the approvals_required you specify.
{
  "id": 1,
  "name": "security",
  "rule_type": "regular",
  "eligible_approvers": [
    {
      "id": 2,
      "name": "John Doe",
      "username": "jdoe",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost/jdoe"
    },
    {
      "id": 50,
      "name": "Group Member 1",
      "username": "group_member_1",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost/group_member_1"
    }
  ],
  "approvals_required": 1,
  "source_rule": null,
  "users": [
    {
      "id": 2,
      "name": "John Doe",
      "username": "jdoe",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost/jdoe"
    }
  ],
  "groups": [
    {
      "id": 5,
      "name": "group1",
      "path": "group1",
      "description": "",
      "visibility": "public",
      "lfs_enabled": false,
      "avatar_url": null,
      "web_url": "http://localhost/groups/group1",
      "request_access_enabled": false,
      "full_name": "group1",
      "full_path": "group1",
      "parent_id": null,
      "ldap_cn": null,
      "ldap_access": null
    }
  ],
  "contains_hidden_groups": false,
  "overridden": false
}

Update merge request level rule

To update merge request approval rules, use this endpoint: 

PUT /projects/:id/merge_requests/:merge_request_iid/approval_rules/:approval_rule_id

This endpoint removes any approvers and groups not in the users or groups parameters.

You can’t update report_approver or code_owner rules, as these rules are system-generated.

Supported attributes:

Attribute Type Required Description
id integer or string Yes The ID or URL-encoded path of a project.
approval_rule_id integer Yes The ID of an approval rule.
merge_request_iid integer Yes The IID of a merge request.
approvals_required integer No The number of required approvals for this rule.
group_ids Array No The IDs of groups as approvers.
name string No The name of the approval rule.
remove_hidden_groups boolean No Whether to remove hidden groups.
user_ids Array No The IDs of users as approvers. If you provide both user_ids and usernames, it adds both lists of users.
usernames string array No The usernames of approvers for this rule (same as user_ids but requires a list of usernames). If you provide both user_ids and usernames, it adds both lists of users. 
{
  "id": 1,
  "name": "security",
  "rule_type": "regular",
  "eligible_approvers": [
    {
      "id": 2,
      "name": "John Doe",
      "username": "jdoe",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost/jdoe"
    },
    {
      "id": 50,
      "name": "Group Member 1",
      "username": "group_member_1",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost/group_member_1"
    }
  ],
  "approvals_required": 1,
  "source_rule": null,
  "users": [
    {
      "id": 2,
      "name": "John Doe",
      "username": "jdoe",
      "state": "active",
      "avatar_url": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0?s=80&d=identicon",
      "web_url": "http://localhost/jdoe"
    }
  ],
  "groups": [
    {
      "id": 5,
      "name": "group1",
      "path": "group1",
      "description": "",
      "visibility": "public",
      "lfs_enabled": false,
      "avatar_url": null,
      "web_url": "http://localhost/groups/group1",
      "request_access_enabled": false,
      "full_name": "group1",
      "full_path": "group1",
      "parent_id": null,
      "ldap_cn": null,
      "ldap_access": null
    }
  ],
  "contains_hidden_groups": false,
  "overridden": false
}

Delete merge request level rule

You can delete merge request approval rules using the following endpoint: 

DELETE /projects/:id/merge_requests/:merge_request_iid/approval_rules/:approval_rule_id

You can’t update report_approver or code_owner rules, as these rules are system-generated.

Supported attributes:

Attribute Type Required Description
id integer or string Yes The ID or URL-encoded path of a project.
approval_rule_id integer Yes The ID of an approval rule.
merge_request_iid integer Yes The IID of the merge request.

Approve merge request

Users with the appropriate role can approve a merge request using this endpoint: 

POST /projects/:id/merge_requests/:merge_request_iid/approve

Supported attributes:

Attribute Type Required Description
id integer or string Yes The ID or URL-encoded path of a project.
approval_password string No Current user’s password. Required if Require user re-authentication to approve is enabled in the project settings. Always fails if the group or self-managed instance is configured to force SAML authentication.
merge_request_iid integer Yes The IID of the merge request.
sha string No The HEAD of the merge request.

The sha parameter works in the same way as when accepting a merge request: if passed, then it must match the current HEAD of the merge request to add the approval. If it does not match, the response code is 409. 

{
  "id": 5,
  "iid": 5,
  "project_id": 1,
  "title": "Approvals API",
  "description": "Test",
  "state": "opened",
  "created_at": "2016-06-08T00:19:52.638Z",
  "updated_at": "2016-06-09T21:32:14.105Z",
  "merge_status": "can_be_merged",
  "approvals_required": 2,
  "approvals_left": 0,
  "approved_by": [
    {
      "user": {
        "name": "Administrator",
        "username": "root",
        "id": 1,
        "state": "active",
        "avatar_url": "http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/e64c7d89f26bd1972efa854d13d7dd61?s=80\u0026d=identicon",
        "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/root"
      }
    },
    {
      "user": {
        "name": "Nico Cartwright",
        "username": "ryley",
        "id": 2,
        "state": "active",
        "avatar_url": "http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/cf7ad14b34162a76d593e3affca2adca?s=80\u0026d=identicon",
        "web_url": "http://localhost:3000/ryley"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Unapprove merge request

If you did approve a merge request, you can unapprove it using the following endpoint: 

POST /projects/:id/merge_requests/:merge_request_iid/unapprove

Supported attributes:

Attribute Type Required Description
id integer or string Yes The ID or URL-encoded path of a project.
merge_request_iid integer Yes The IID of a merge request.

Reset approvals of a merge request

Clear all approvals of merge request.

Available only for bot users based on project or group tokens. Users without bot permissions receive a 401 Unauthorized response. 

PUT /projects/:id/merge_requests/:merge_request_iid/reset_approvals
Attribute Type Required Description
id integer or string Yes The ID or URL-encoded path of the project.
merge_request_iid integer Yes The internal ID of the merge request. 
curl --request PUT \
  --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" \
  --url "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/76/merge_requests/1/reset_approvals"