> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.gitar.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Organization Settings

> Customize Gitar's Behavior

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Open **Settings -> Configuration** in the dashboard to customize how Gitar operates across your organization. Behavior controls sit in the **Behavior** card.

## Configuration Scopes

Settings are configured at two levels:

* **Organization level**: sets the defaults for every repository connected to Gitar.
* **Repository level**: overrides specific org defaults for a single repo.

The org view is where you set defaults for behavior controls such as skip draft PRs, merge blocking, auto-approve, and auto-merge. When a repository needs different behavior, open its overrides dialog from the repository list. The dialog highlights which settings differ from the org default and lets you reset any override in one click.

<Note>
  Repository overrides only change settings that are explicitly toggled. Everything else inherits from the org default.
</Note>

## Behavior

<ThemeImage src="/assets/images/behavior-settings-light.png" alt="Behavior settings" />

### Skip drafts

When enabled, Gitar ignores draft PRs until they are marked ready for review.

### Enhance summaries

When enabled, Gitar auto-fills PR descriptions with a summary of the changes.

### Retry unrelated CI failures

Automatically retry CI jobs whose failures are unrelated to the changes in your PR, for example flaky tests or transient infrastructure issues. Retries once per commit.

### Block merges

Configure a severity threshold for Gitar's code review verdict. When findings meet or exceed the threshold, Gitar submits a blocking review to prevent merging.

Whether the host enforces that block or only records it differs. See [Platform Support](/connecting-code/platform-support).

### `gitar unblock`

Turn on **Enable the `gitar unblock` command** to let any member dismiss Gitar's blocking review by commenting `gitar unblock`. The toggle appears once **Block merges** is set to a level other than **Never**.

### Auto-approve

Enable **Auto-approve PRs based on code review** to let Gitar submit an approving review when a PR passes code review. You can optionally provide natural-language criteria to restrict which PRs qualify. When no criteria are configured, Gitar approves any PR with no blocking findings.

See [Auto-Approve](/features/code-review/auto-approve) for criteria examples, per-repo config files, and platform behavior.

### `gitar-approved` label

Enable **Apply gitar-approved label** in the auto-approve settings to mark approved PRs. See [`gitar-approved`](/labels#gitar-approved) for label behavior.

### Auto-merge

Enable **Auto-merge PRs** to arm your platform's native auto-merge immediately after Gitar approves. The toggle appears once auto-approve is on. On [GitHub](https://docs.github.com/en/pull-requests/collaborating-with-pull-requests/incorporating-changes-from-a-pull-request/automatically-merging-a-pull-request) and Azure DevOps you can choose the merge method (squash, merge commit, or rebase). On [GitLab](https://docs.gitlab.com/user/project/merge_requests/auto_merge/) the project's default merge method is used.

Two more controls sit under the toggle.

**Auto-merge criteria** takes your merge conditions in plain language, evaluated in the same pass as auto-approve.

**Require `.gitar/config/merge.md`** holds every repository back until it commits its own criteria file, so only repositories that opt in are armed.

Availability differs by host. See [Platform Support](/connecting-code/platform-support).

See [Auto-Merge](/features/code-review/auto-merge) for prerequisites and details.

### Functional validation

Enable **Validate PRs against linked issues** to have Gitar read the issues a PR links, split each into objectives, and judge the diff against them. On by default where it is available, and set for the whole organization. See [Functional Validation](/features/functional-validation).

### Review depth

Enterprise organization admins can choose **Thorough** to include smaller verified issues or **Focused** to prioritize higher-impact findings. Set the organization default here, then select **Customize** on a repository to override it. Reset an override to inherit the default. See [Code Review](/features/code-review#review-depth).

## Custom Instructions

Provide organization-wide instructions that guide the Gitar agent across all connected repositories. These are applied to every repo in your org. Use them to enforce coding standards, preferred libraries, or architectural patterns.

Gitar also reads instruction files committed to each repository. See [Repository Customization](/configuration/repository-config) for which files and where they go.

<ThemeImage src="/assets/images/custom-instructions-light.png" alt="Custom instructions" />

### Review summary instructions

Gitar writes a short summary under the **Code Review** header on every PR. Add instructions here to say how that summary should read.

Set length, structure, register, tone, or the language it is written in. Leave the field empty and you get the default: one or two sentences.

For example:

```text theme={null}
Write three or four sentences, no bullets. Open with the service the change
touches, then the most severe finding. Use plain past tense and never address
the author as "you".
```

### Risk classification and instructions

**Risk classification** assesses whole-PR risk and shows labels in reviews and the dashboard. Organization admins can turn it off or refine the default levels with **Risk instructions**.

Repositories can add policy in `.gitar/config/risk.md`. See [Risk Triage](/features/code-review/risk-triage) for level definitions and how policy affects approval and merge criteria.

## Scope

Control which PRs Gitar processes, by author or by the branch a PR merges into. Every field is a comma-separated list, no spaces, and is set for the whole organization rather than per repository.

<ThemeImage src="/assets/images/scope-settings-light.png" alt="Scope settings" />

| Field | What it does |
| - | - |
| **Allowed authors** | Only process PRs from these users. Leave empty to process all users |
| **Excluded authors** | Skip PRs from these users, even if they match the allowed list |
| **Allowed bots** | Bot accounts Gitar should process. By default all bot-authored changes are skipped. Add bots like Dependabot or Renovate here to include them |
| **Allowed target branches** | Only process PRs merging *into* a matching branch. Leave empty to process every target branch |
| **Excluded target branches** | Never process PRs merging into a matching branch. Takes precedence over the allowed list |

### Target branch patterns

Branch fields take names or shell globs: `main`, `release/*`, `*-staging`. Matching is case-insensitive and `*` spans `/`, so `feature/*` also matches `feature/a/b`. Full refs like `refs/heads/main` are accepted and normalized.

Put `main,master,release/*` in the allowed list to keep Gitar off stacked and sandbox branches. Put `feature/*,sandbox/*` in the excluded list to drop a few destinations and leave the rest on.

The filter runs when Gitar first picks up a PR and again on automatic push-triggered reviews. Retargeting into an excluded branch stops the next automatic review. Manually started reviews can still run.

### Skipping PRs with `gitar-skip`

Use [`gitar-skip`](/labels#gitar-skip) to skip automatic processing for an individual PR. See [Labels](/labels) for all supported labels and how they interact.


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