pr decoration failed: could not find pull request for commit

TL;DR

Make sure the CI checkout fetches full git history and the scanner runs with PR context (the PR key, source branch, and base branch). SonarQube matches the analyzed commit to a pull request through the provider API; a shallow clone or missing PR parameters breaks the match and the analysis lands as a branch instead.

The error

pr decoration failed: could not find pull request for commit

Steps to fix

1. Check the checkout step: configure it to fetch full history (fetch-depth 0 in the checkout action) so the scanner can see the merge base and the PR refs.

• Expected: the clone includes full history, not a single shallow commit.

1. Confirm the scanner gets PR context: when using the official SonarQube scan action inside a pull_request workflow it auto-detects; for manual scanner invocations, pass the PR key, source branch, and base branch parameters explicitly.

• Expected: the scanner log shows it detected a pull request context.

1. Verify the analyzed commit is the PR head - if CI checked out a merge commit or an outdated SHA, push the PR branch again and re-run.

• Expected: the commit SHA in the SonarQube background task matches the PR head SHA.

1. Re-run analysis.

• Expected: the project page shows the pull request (not a branch) and decoration - comments and checks - appears on the PR.

Use this when

• SonarQube logs "could not find pull request for commit" during PR analysis.
• PR analysis shows up under Branches instead of Pull Requests in SonarQube.
• Decoration (PR comments, status checks) is missing after a seemingly fine scan.

Not for this skill when

• The scan itself fails (fix the analysis error first).
• Decoration fails with an auth error rather than a missing-PR error (check the provider token).
• You're analyzing a plain branch on purpose (decoration only applies to PRs).

Variant phrasings

• sonarqube could not find pull request for commit
• pr decoration failed sonarqube github
• sonarqube pull request not detected in CI
• sonarqube analysis shows as branch instead of PR

Why it happens

PR decoration needs a 1:1 link between the analyzed commit and a pull request object in the git provider. The scanner finds that link from the local git topology (which PR ref contains this commit) plus the PR parameters. A shallow clone hides the topology, and without PR parameters the scanner files the analysis under the branch name - then decoration has no PR to attach to.

Edge cases

• PRs from forks: the scanner needs a token with pull-request read access on the base repo, or the provider lookup fails.
• Renamed default branch (main vs master): a stale base-branch parameter points the match at a branch that doesn't exist.
• Two CI jobs analyzing the same PR with different keys create duplicate PR entries - keep one scan per PR.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_WrSUcvrhUYVrazkfr2xepw