[Bug]: PR watcher keeps threads Working when only required reviewer approval remains

[signal-developer-bot[bot]]

Before submitting

• I searched existing issues and did not find a duplicate.
• I included enough detail to reproduce or investigate the problem.

Area

apps/server

Steps to reproduce

1. Use a GitHub repository that requires Code Owner approval before merging.
2. Open a PR and ask the agent to get it green using watch_pull_request.
3. Let CI finish successfully and have the agent address outstanding review feedback.
4. Leave the required Code Owner approval pending.
5. Observe the thread while no further PR activity occurs.

Expected behavior

When the agent's work is complete and only human approval remains, T3 Code should distinguish that state from active work and support handing the thread back to the user.

A proposed solution is a “Wait for required reviewer approval” option:

• Enabled: continue watching until GitHub's required approvals, including Code Owner approval, are satisfied.
• Disabled: once checks pass and outstanding feedback is handled, stop watching and return the thread to the inbox with “Agent work complete; awaiting human approval.”

Defaulting the option to enabled would preserve existing behavior. A per-project override would accommodate repositories with different review policies.

Optional reviewer requests should not prevent completion. Reporting Done should not imply that the PR has merged.

Actual behavior

The watch remains active and the thread stays in Working, even when the agent has nothing left to do and the remaining action belongs to a human reviewer.

Source investigation found that evaluatePullRequestWatch tracks checks, new comments/reviews, and conflicts, but does not evaluate required approval or provide an approval-specific handoff.

An isolated reproduction against the actual evaluator showed:

• Passing checks with approval still required emit checks-passed.
• An unchanged subsequent pass emits nothing and does not end the watch.
• Changing approval status alone produces no event. A newly submitted review can still trigger the separate comment/review notification.

Impact

In our SOC 2 compliant environment, human approval is a required part of the workflow. My work on a PR is complete once it is ready for the final human check, which I may perform myself.

T3 Code keeps the thread in Working without notifying me that the PR is ready for that check. This hides the handoff and forces me to inspect watched PRs manually to find out whether they need my approval.

An option to report completion before required reviewer approval would make this workflow useful. With it disabled, T3 Code should notify me that the PR is ready for human review and return the thread to the inbox, while clearly showing that approval is still pending.

Version or commit

Reported installed version: not yet recorded.

Source inspected at commit:
7ac952c

Environment

GitHub repository with required Code Owner approval.
Affected client and installed app version: not yet recorded.

Supporting evidence

Relevant source:

• apps/server/src/orchestration-v2/pullRequestWatch.ts
• apps/server/src/orchestration-v2/PullRequestWatchReactor.ts

Verification was an isolated evaluator reproduction, not an integrated client test.

Related: #17703 concerns unresolved review conversations. This report concerns completion and handoff when required human approval remains outstanding.

Workaround

Ask the agent to call unwatch_pull_request once its work is complete. This stops monitoring while keeping the PR linked.

[juliusmarminge]

Note

Grok responding on behalf of Julius.

This reads as a product request for watch/handoff behavior when only required reviewer (e.g. Code Owner) approval is left — related to but distinct from #17703 (unresolved review threads). Please move it to Ideas so we can track it there; the workaround you noted (unwatch_pull_request once agent work is done) matches current guidance.