/mr-approve

Project resolution (project-agnostic)

This command works in any GitLab repo — nothing here is tied to a specific project. Resolve the target at runtime:

1. Instance, project path, and IDs — auto-detected by glab from the current repo's git remotes; never hardcode them. glab reads origin/upstream directly. When a numeric id is needed: glab api projects/$(git remote get-url origin | sed -E 's#^[a-z]+://[^/]+/##; s#^.*@[^:]+:##; s#\.git$##' | sed 's#/#%2F#g') | jq -r '.id'
2. Fork vs single-repo — if both origin and upstream remotes exist, treat origin as your fork (push target) and upstream as the MR/issue target; otherwise operate on origin.
3. Optional extras — if .claude/gitlab-config.json exists in the current repo, load developers (assignee/reviewer shortcuts) and labels (auto-label rules) from it. If it is absent, those features degrade gracefully: ask the user for the assignee/reviewer/labels instead of resolving a shortcut.

All URLs, namespaces, and IDs in the examples below (<GITLAB_URL>, <PROJECT_PATH>, projects/<FORK_ID>, etc.) are illustrative placeholders — resolve real values per the steps above.

Approves a GitLab merge request, indicating you've reviewed the code and it meets quality standards.

⚠️ Permission Required: This command will ask for user confirmation before approving the MR.

Usage

/mr-approve <mr-number>

Arguments:

• <mr-number> - MR number (e.g., 1598 or !1598)

Examples:

/mr-approve 1598          # Approve MR !1598
/mr-approve !1598         # Approve MR !1598

What it does

1. Fetches MR details to verify existence and current state
2. Checks if you've already approved
3. Asks user for permission to approve
4. Approves the MR via GitLab API
5. Confirms approval
6. Shows updated approval status

Example Output

Example 1: First approval

🔍 Fetching MR !1598...

📋 MR #1598: feat(shipments): add pickup details to API responses
   Status: Open
   Author: dana.lee
   Source: <FORK_PATH>:feature/add-pickup-details → <PROJECT_PATH>:dev

👥 Current Approvals: 1/2
   ✓ Eng Bob

⚠️  Approve MR #1598? (yes/no)
> yes

✅ Approving MR...
✓ MR #1598 approved successfully!

👥 Updated Approvals: 2/2 ✅
   ✓ Eng Bob
   ✓ Dana Lee (You)

✅ All required approvals received - Ready to merge!

🔗 MR URL: <GITLAB_URL>/<PROJECT_PATH>/-/merge_requests/1598

Example 2: Already approved

🔍 Fetching MR !1598...

📋 MR #1598: feat(shipments): add pickup details to API responses

ℹ️  You have already approved this MR.

👥 Current Approvals: 2/2 ✅
   ✓ Eng Bob
   ✓ Dana Lee (You)

✅ All required approvals received - Ready to merge!

💡 Next steps:
   • Merge MR: /mr-merge 1598
   • View MR: /mr-status 1598

🔗 MR URL: <GITLAB_URL>/<PROJECT_PATH>/-/merge_requests/1598

Example 3: User cancels

🔍 Fetching MR !1598...

📋 MR #1598: feat(shipments): add pickup details to API responses

⚠️  Approve MR #1598? (yes/no)
> no

✗ Approval cancelled

Example 4: Cannot approve own MR

🔍 Fetching MR !1598...

📋 MR #1598: feat(shipments): add pickup details to API responses
   Author: dana.lee

❌ Cannot approve your own merge request.

💡 Request reviews instead:
   /mr-review-request 1598 alice bob

Process

1. Parse MR number: Extract MR number from argument
2. Fetch MR details: Verify MR exists and get current state
3. Check author: Prevent self-approval
4. Check existing approval: See if user already approved
5. ⚠️ ASK USER PERMISSION: Display approval preview and await confirmation
6. Approve MR (if approved): POST to /api/v4/projects/2/merge_requests/{iid}/approve
7. Fetch updated approvals: Get new approval count
8. Confirm: Display updated approval status

GitLab API

Endpoint: POST /api/v4/projects/{id}/merge_requests/{iid}/approve

Example API call:

# Approve MR
glab api --method POST projects/2/merge_requests/1598/approve

# Check approval status
glab api projects/2/merge_requests/1598/approvals | jq '{
  approvals_required,
  approvals_left,
  approved_by: [.approved_by[].user.username]
}'

# Unapprove MR (if needed)
glab api --method POST projects/2/merge_requests/1598/unapprove

Approval Rules

Can approve when:

• ✅ You are listed as a reviewer
• ✅ You have Developer role or higher
• ✅ You are not the MR author
• ✅ MR is open (not merged or closed)

Cannot approve when:

• ❌ You are the MR author (self-approval not allowed)
• ❌ MR is already merged or closed
• ❌ You don't have permission

Approval workflow:

1. MR created by author
2. Reviewers assigned
3. Reviewers approve after review
4. When required approvals met → can merge
5. Author or assignee merges

Permissions

Requires user permission because:

• Changes MR state (adds approval)
• Affects merge readiness
• Indicates code review completion

Per GITLAB_PERMISSIONS.md:

• approve:mr is in requiresPermission list
• Must ask before approving

Related Commands

• /mr-status <mr> - Check MR status before approving
• /mr-review-request <mr> <dev> - Request additional reviews
• /mr-merge <mr> - Merge MR (after approvals)
• /mr-list - List MRs needing approval
• View .claude/core/GITLAB_PERMISSIONS.md for permission rules

Approval Status Indicators

Best Practices

Before approving:

• ✅ Review the code changes thoroughly
• ✅ Check pipeline status (should pass)
• ✅ Verify no merge conflicts
• ✅ Ensure coding standards are met
• ✅ Test functionality if needed

Don't approve if:

• ❌ You haven't reviewed the code
• ❌ Pipeline is failing
• ❌ There are merge conflicts
• ❌ Code doesn't meet standards
• ❌ You have concerns or questions

Workflow:

# 1. Check MR status
/mr-status 1598

# 2. Review code changes (in IDE or browser)
# 3. If satisfied, approve
/mr-approve 1598

# 4. If all approvals received, merge
/mr-merge 1598

Troubleshooting

"MR not found"

• Verify MR number is correct
• Check you have access to the project
• Ensure MR is in <PROJECT_PATH> project

"Permission denied"

• Your GitLab token needs api scope
• You must have Developer role or higher
• Check token in ~/.config/glab-cli/config.yml

"Cannot approve"

• You might be the MR author (self-approval not allowed)
• MR might be closed or merged
• Check MR status with /mr-status 1598

"Already approved"

• You've already approved this MR
• Check approval status with /mr-status 1598
• No action needed if all approvals met

Notes

• Approving indicates you've reviewed and code meets standards
• Different from just commenting "LGTM"
• Approvals are tracked and required for merge
• Can unapprove if you change your mind (use GitLab UI)
• Cannot approve your own MRs

Created: 2025-12-27 Last updated: 2025-12-27 Config file: .claude/gitlab-config.json