stale review dismissal fails to unblock merge: how to fix

TL;DR

Dismissing a stale approval removes that approval - it doesn't grant a new one. With stale dismissal enabled, every push invalidates prior approvals, so the only way forward is a fresh approving review on the latest commit. Push your final code first, then get re-reviewed.

The error

stale review dismissal fails to unblock merge: how to fix

Steps to fix

1. Check the branch protection settings: if "dismiss stale pull request approvals when new commits are pushed" is on, every push invalidates prior approvals - that's why the merge is still blocked.

   • Expected: you can confirm the setting is the cause, not a missing reviewer.

2. Make the PR head final: push any remaining changes now, since each push restarts the review clock.

   • Expected: no more pushes planned before the review.

3. Request a fresh review and get an approval on the current head commit.

   • Expected: the approval targets the exact commit that's pushed.

4. Merge.

   • Expected: the merge button enables once the new approval lands.

Use this when

• Dismissing a review didn't unblock the merge.
• Approvals keep going stale because pushes keep landing after reviews.
• The merge box demands reviews right after a dismissal.

Not for this skill when

• The blocker is requested changes rather than stale approvals (that needs the requester's re-review).
• The blocker is a failing check (fix the check).
• You want to stop the churn permanently (a repo admin can turn off stale dismissal - that's a settings change).

Variant phrasings

• stale review dismissal doesn't unblock merge
• dismissed stale approval still blocking PR
• merge blocked after dismissing review github
• stale approvals dismissed can't merge

Why it happens

Stale dismissal is a hygiene feature, not an unblock tool: it clears outdated approvals so nobody merges code that no reviewer actually saw. Dismissing therefore returns the approval count toward zero - which is exactly why the merge stays blocked afterward. The block after dismissal means the required-approval count is unmet again, and only a new review on the current head can satisfy it.

Edge cases

• To stop the churn, a repo admin can turn off stale dismissal - but that trades review freshness for convenience; it's a team decision.
• Dismissing is for reviews that are wrong or obsolete, not for skipping review; dismissed-then-merged without re-review defeats the rule.
• A required-review count above one needs that many fresh approvals, not just one.
• Force-pushes also invalidate approvals under this setting, so avoid force-pushing after the final review.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/psty1VoiWUXcUWHD8e5Bkrtw

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/psty1VoiWUXcUWHD8e5Bkrtw

Thread query: stale review dismissal fails to unblock merge: how to fix

TL;DR: Dismissing a stale approval removes that approval - it doesn't grant a new one. With stale dismissal enabled, every push invalidates prior approvals, so the only way forward is a fresh approving review on the latest commit. Push your final code first, then get re-reviewed.