Smart Merge Queue

Automate merging with stack-aware CI optimization and conflict resolution

The Smart Merge Queue automatically merges approved pull requests in the correct order, running CI efficiently and handling rebases automatically.

Overview
How It Works
Getting Started
Queue Management
Configuration
Best Practices
Troubleshooting

Overview

The Problem

Manual merging is:

⏰ Slow - Wait for CI, merge, repeat
🐛 Error-prone - Merge conflicts, wrong order
💸 Expensive - Run CI for every PR individually
😓 Tedious - Babysit the merge process

The Solution

Smart Merge Queue:

✅ Automatic Merging - Set it and forget it ✅ Stack-Aware - Merges in dependency order ✅ CI Validation - Ensures checks pass for latest commits ✅ Priority Handling - Higher priority merges sooner

Real-World Impact

Without Queue:

PR #123 → Wait for CI (5 min) → Merge →
PR #124 → Rebase → Wait for CI (5 min) → Merge →
PR #125 → Rebase → Wait for CI (5 min) → Merge
Total: ~20 minutes, 3 CI runs

With Queue:

Add #123, #124, #125 to queue →
Queue detects dependencies →
Merges #123 →
Validates CI for #124 →
Merges #124 →
Validates CI for #125 →
Merges #125
Total: fewer manual steps and a consistent, ordered merge flow 🎉

How It Works

Queue Flow

1. PR gets approved
    ↓
2. Add to merge queue
    ↓
3. Queue checks:
   - All approvals? ✓
   - CI passing? ✓
  - Conflicts? Block and report
   - Dependencies? Order correctly
    ↓
4. Run final CI check
    ↓
5. Merge to main
    ↓
6. Update dependent PRs

Stack-Aware Merging

Queue understands stacks:

Queue contains:
- PR #123 (base)
- PR #124 (depends on #123)
- PR #125 (depends on #124)

Queue automatically:
1. Merges #123 first
2. Rebases #124 onto new main
3. Runs CI for #124
4. Merges #124
5. Rebases #125
6. Merges #125

All automatic!

CI Validation

Before merging, the queue verifies:

All required approvals are present
Latest CI results for the PR’s head SHA are successful
Stack dependencies are merged in order

Getting Started

Prerequisites

Repository with CI configured
Merge permissions
Branch protection (optional but recommended)

Adding PR to Queue

Via Web UI:

Open approved PR
Click “Add to Merge Queue” button
PR status changes to “In Queue”
Watch it merge automatically!

Via CLI:

# Add single PR
och queue add 125

# Add with numeric priority (higher = sooner)
och queue add 126 --priority 5

Via API:

curl -X POST https://git.yourcompany.com/api/repos/OWNER/REPO/merge-queue \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -d '{"pullRequestNumber": 125, "priority": 0, "mergeMethod": "merge"}'

Viewing Queue Status

Web UI: Navigate to /queue or click “Merge Queue” in repository navigation

CLI:

# View entire queue
och queue list

API:

curl https://git.yourcompany.com/api/repos/OWNER/REPO/merge-queue \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

Queue Management

Priority

Priority is numeric. Higher values are processed sooner. Default is 0.

och queue add 126 --priority 5

Removing from Queue

# Remove specific PR
och queue remove 125

Pausing the Queue

Pausing and resuming the queue is managed in the web UI.

Configuration

Repository Settings

Queue behavior is enforced by:

Branch protection rules (required approvals, required checks)
CI status for the PR’s latest commit
Per‑entry merge method chosen when adding to the queue

Configuration is managed in the repository settings UI.

Branch Protection Rules

Recommended settings:

branches:
  main:
    required_status_checks:
      - test
      - lint
    required_approvals: 1
    allow_force_push: false
    allow_queue_bypass: false # Even admins use queue!

Webhook Notifications

Get notified when PRs merge:

# Configure webhook
curl -X POST https://git.yourcompany.com/api/repos/OWNER/REPO/webhooks \
  -d '{
    "url": "https://yourapp.com/webhook",
    "events": ["merge_queue.merged", "merge_queue.failed"],
    "secret": "your-secret"
  }'

Payload:

{
  "event": "merge_queue.merged",
  "pr": {
    "number": 125,
    "title": "Add login UI",
    "author": "swadhin"
  },
  "queue": {
    "position": 1,
    "wait_time_seconds": 180
  },
  "timestamp": "2024-01-01T12:00:00Z"
}

Best Practices

💡 When to Use the Queue

✅ Always use for:

Feature branches → main
Release branches
Any PR affecting production

❌ Don’t use for:

Draft PRs
WIP branches
Experimental features

💡 Optimizing Queue Performance

1. Fast CI: Keep queue checks short and focused. Run slower or optional suites after merge.

2. Parallel CI: Split workflows into parallel jobs to reduce total wall‑clock time.

3. Small PRs: Smaller, focused PRs reduce queue time and review delays.

💡 Handling Conflicts

Manual resolution:

# If a conflict blocks the queue, you'll get a notification
# Fix locally:
git checkout feature-branch
git fetch origin
git rebase origin/main
# Resolve conflicts
git push --force-with-lease

# PR automatically re-enters queue

💡 Queue Monitoring

Set up alerts:

# Slack notification if queue stalled
alerts:
  - type: queue_stalled
    threshold: 30m
    channel: "#eng-deployments"

  - type: merge_failed
    channel: "#eng-alerts"

Dashboard example:

# View queue health
och queue stats

# Output:
# Queue Health: ✅ Good
# - Average wait time: 4.2 min
# - CI success rate: 94%
# - Merge rate: 15 PRs/hour
# - Current size: 8 PRs

Troubleshooting

”PR stuck in queue”

Causes:

CI failing
Waiting for approval
Merge conflict
Dependency not merged yet

Solutions:

# Check status
och queue status 125

# View logs
och queue logs 125

# Remove and re-add
och queue remove 125
# Fix issue
och queue add 125

“Auto-rebase failed”

Cause: Complex merge conflicts.

Solution:

# Remove from queue
och queue remove 125

# Manually rebase
git checkout feature-branch
git rebase origin/main
# Resolve conflicts
git push -f

# Re-add to queue
och queue add 125

“Queue not processing”