CodeRabbit Incident Runbook

Overview

Rapid incident response procedures when CodeRabbit stops reviewing PRs, blocks merges, or behaves incorrectly. Since CodeRabbit is a managed SaaS service, incidents fall into two categories: (1) CodeRabbit service outage (check their status page), or (2) local configuration/permission issues (fix on your side).

Severity Levels

Instructions

Step 1: Quick Triage (2 Minutes)

set -euo pipefail
echo "=== CodeRabbit Quick Triage ==="

# 1. Check CodeRabbit status page
echo "--- Service Status ---"
STATUS=$(curl -sf https://status.coderabbit.ai 2>/dev/null && echo "REACHABLE" || echo "UNREACHABLE")
echo "Status page: $STATUS"
echo "Check manually: https://status.coderabbit.ai"

echo ""
echo "--- Decision ---"
echo "If status.coderabbit.ai shows an incident:"
echo "  → CodeRabbit-side issue. Wait for resolution. Use bypass if blocking."
echo ""
echo "If status page is green:"
echo "  → Local issue. Check installation, config, permissions."

Step 2: P1 Emergency -- PRs Blocked

set -euo pipefail
OWNER="${1:-your-org}"
REPO="${2:-your-repo}"

echo "=== P1: EMERGENCY BYPASS ==="

# Option A: Remove CodeRabbit from required checks (temporary)
echo "--- Option A: Remove Required Check ---"
echo "gh api repos/$OWNER/$REPO/branches/main/protection --method DELETE"
echo "(This removes ALL branch protection. Re-apply after incident.)"

echo ""
echo "--- Option B: Admin Merge ---"
echo "Org admins can merge even when checks fail."
echo "Settings > Branches > Branch protection > uncheck 'Include administrators'"

echo ""
echo "--- Option C: Force Re-Review ---"
echo "On the blocked PR, post:"
echo "  @coderabbitai full review"
echo ""
echo "Wait 5 minutes. If no response, use Option A or B."

Step 3: P2 -- Reviews Not Posting

set -euo pipefail
OWNER="${1:-your-org}"
REPO="${2:-your-repo}"

echo "=== P2: Reviews Not Posting ==="

# Check installation
echo "--- Installation Check ---"
INSTALLED=$(gh api "repos/$OWNER/$REPO/installation" --jq '.app_slug' 2>/dev/null || echo "NOT_FOUND")
echo "CodeRabbit App: $INSTALLED"

if [ "$INSTALLED" != "coderabbitai" ]; then
  echo "FIX: Reinstall CodeRabbit at https://github.com/apps/coderabbitai"
  exit 1
fi

# Check recent PRs for reviews
echo ""
echo "--- Recent PR Reviews ---"
for PR_NUM in $(gh api "repos/$OWNER/$REPO/pulls?state=open&per_page=5" --jq '.[].number'); do
  TITLE=$(gh api "repos/$OWNER/$REPO/pulls/$PR_NUM" --jq '.title' 2>/dev/null)
  CR=$(gh api "repos/$OWNER/$REPO/pulls/$PR_NUM/reviews" \
    --jq '[.[] | select(.user.login=="coderabbitai[bot]")] | length' 2>/dev/null || echo "0")
  echo "PR #$PR_NUM ($TITLE): $CR CodeRabbit reviews"
done

echo ""
echo "--- Config Check ---"
if [ -f .coderabbit.yaml ]; then
  python3 -c "
import yaml
config = yaml.safe_load(open('.coderabbit.yaml'))
reviews = config.get('reviews', {})
auto = reviews.get('auto_review', {})
print(f'auto_review.enabled: {auto.get(\"enabled\", \"not set\")}')
print(f'auto_review.drafts: {auto.get(\"drafts\", \"not set\")}')
print(f'base_branches: {auto.get(\"base_branches\", \"all branches\")}')
print(f'ignore_title_keywords: {auto.get(\"ignore_title_keywords\", \"none\")}')
" 2>&1
else
  echo ".coderabbit.yaml: NOT FOUND (CodeRabbit uses defaults)"
fi

Step 4: P3 -- Reviews Delayed

# Reviews typically take:
# - Small PRs (< 200 lines): 2-3 minutes
# - Medium PRs (200-500 lines): 3-7 minutes
# - Large PRs (500-1000 lines): 7-12 minutes
# - Very large PRs (1000+ lines): 12-15+ minutes

# If reviews are delayed beyond expected time:
1. Check status.coderabbit.ai for service degradation
2. Try forcing a re-review: @coderabbitai full review
3. Check if the PR has an unusual number of files (> 100)
4. Check if the PR is a draft (drafts may be skipped)
5. Verify the PR targets a configured base branch

# If consistently slow:
# - Split PRs to under 500 lines
# - Add path_filters to exclude large generated files

Step 5: P4 -- Incorrect or Noisy Reviews

# If CodeRabbit is posting irrelevant or incorrect reviews:

# 1. Reply to the incorrect comment explaining why it's wrong:
# "We intentionally do this because [reason]. Don't flag this pattern."
# CodeRabbit creates a learning from your feedback.

# 2. Adjust the review profile:
reviews:
  profile: "chill"      # Reduce comment volume

# 3. Add contextual instructions to prevent misguided comments:
  path_instructions:
    - path: "src/legacy/**"
      instructions: |
        Legacy code. ONLY flag security issues and bugs.
        Do NOT comment on style, naming, or refactoring.

Step 6: Communication Template

# Internal Slack/Teams message:

## CodeRabbit Incident

**Status**: [INVESTIGATING | MITIGATING | RESOLVED]
**Impact**: [CodeRabbit reviews are not posting / PRs are blocked / Reviews are delayed]
**Service status**: [status.coderabbit.ai shows {status}]

**Current action**: [Checking installation / Applied bypass / Waiting for service recovery]

**Workaround**: [Admin merge available / Required check temporarily removed]

**Next update**: [time]

Step 7: Post-Incident Recovery

set -euo pipefail
OWNER="${1:-your-org}"
REPO="${2:-your-repo}"

echo "=== Post-Incident Recovery ==="

# 1. Re-enable branch protection if it was removed
echo "--- Re-enabling Branch Protection ---"
gh api "repos/$OWNER/$REPO/branches/main/protection" \
  --method PUT \
  --field 'required_status_checks={"strict":true,"contexts":["coderabbitai"]}' \
  --field 'required_pull_request_reviews={"required_approving_review_count":1}' \
  --field 'enforce_admins=false' \
  --field 'restrictions=null'

echo "Branch protection restored."

# 2. Trigger re-review on any PRs that were merged without review
echo ""
echo "--- PRs Merged During Incident ---"
echo "Review these PRs manually for any issues:"
gh api "repos/$OWNER/$REPO/pulls?state=closed&per_page=10" \
  --jq '.[] | select(.merged_at != null) | "#\(.number) \(.title) (merged \(.merged_at))"'

# 3. Verify CodeRabbit is working again
echo ""
echo "--- Verification ---"
echo "Create a test PR or post '@coderabbitai full review' on an open PR."

Output

• Incident severity classified and appropriate response executed
• Emergency bypass applied if PRs are blocked
• Root cause identified (service outage vs local issue)
• Communication sent to stakeholders
• Branch protection restored after incident
• Post-incident review of PRs merged without review

Error Handling

Resources

• CodeRabbit Status Page
• CodeRabbit Discord
• CodeRabbit Support
• GitHub Branch Protection API

Next Steps

For data handling, see coderabbit-data-handling.