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Rerunning Reviews

Sometimes you need to rerun a review without changing code. This page explains how to do it.

When You Need to Rerun?​

Typical Scenarios​

  1. Review Failed with Error

    • Temporary GitHub API issues
    • Repository cloning timeout
    • Internal system errors

  2. Need Additional Review

    • Want to get another AI opinion
    • Guidelines changed (in future versions)
    • AI model updated

  3. Review Started Before Adding Repository

    • PR existed before connecting diffray
    • Want to get review for an old PR

Method 1: Add diffray-review Label​

This is the main and recommended way to rerun a review.

Steps​

  1. Open the pull request on GitHub
  2. In the right panel, find the "Labels" section
  3. Click the gear icon ⚙️
  4. Find the diffray-review label in the list
  5. Check the box next to it
  6. Close the labels menu

What Will Happen​

[Label diffray-review added]
    ↓
[Old status labels removed]
(diffray-review-completed or diffray-review-failed)
    ↓
[diffray-review-started added]
    ↓
[New review starts]
    ↓
[Analysis 5-10 minutes]
    ↓
[Results published]

Can You Leave the Label?​

Yes! The diffray-review label is NOT removed automatically.

You can:

  • Leave it for quick reruns in the future
  • Remove it manually if not needed

Important: Re-adding the same label will NOT start a new review. You need to:

  1. Remove the label
  2. Add it again

Or use other rerun methods.

Method 2: Push Empty Commit​

This method triggers review through the synchronize event.

Steps​

# While on the PR branch
git commit --allow-empty -m "Trigger diffray review"
git push origin <branch-name>

When to Use​

  • You have a local repository copy
  • You want to leave a trace in commit history
  • diffray-review label is unavailable or removed

Pros and Cons​

Pros:

  • Doesn't require GitHub UI access
  • Can be automated via scripts
  • Works from command line

Cons:

  • Adds empty commit to history
  • Requires local copy and push permissions
  • Less obvious than label

Method 3: Close and Reopen PR​

Closing and reopening PR triggers the reopened event.

Steps​

  1. Open PR on GitHub
  2. Scroll down
  3. Click "Close pull request"
  4. Wait a few seconds
  5. Click "Reopen pull request"

When to Use​

  • As a last resort when other methods don't work
  • If you need to "reset" PR state

Warnings​

⚠️ Not recommended for regular use:

  • Creates extra events and notifications
  • Can confuse other team members
  • May affect integrations and automation

Use only if label and empty commit don't work.

Method 4: Amend and Force Push​

Modifying the last commit and force pushing.

Steps​

# Make a small change (e.g., a space)
echo " " >> README.md

# Amend last commit
git add README.md
git commit --amend --no-edit

# Force push
git push --force origin <branch-name>

When to Use​

  • Want to fix the last commit simultaneously
  • Need a rerun but don't want to add a new commit

Warnings​

⚠️ Caution:

  • Force push can cause problems for other contributors
  • Changes commit history
  • Use only on your own branches

Automatic Refund on Error​

If review completed with error (diffray-review-failed):

✅ Automatic refund of spent review occurs in these cases:

  • Timeout during execution
  • GitHub API errors (403, 404, 500)
  • Internal diffray errors
  • Repository cloning errors

❌ Refund does NOT occur in these cases:

  • Problems in your code (e.g., syntax errors)
  • Repository unavailability due to access rights
  • Review cancellation by you

On automatic refund:

  • Your review limit is restored
  • Transaction is marked as "refunded"
  • You can restart the review for free

Rerun Limits​

Trial Account​

  • Daily limit: 10 reviews per day
  • Each rerun counts as a new review
  • Limit resets at 00:00 UTC

Example:

  • You have 5 reviews left for today
  • You start a review, it fails with error
  • Automatic refund occurs → 5 reviews again
  • You restart → 4 reviews left
  • Monthly limit: 100/500/1000 reviews per month
  • No daily limit
  • Limit resets every 30 days

Concurrent Reviews​

  • Trial: 1 concurrent review
  • Paid: 2-5 concurrent reviews (depends on package)

If you try to start more concurrent reviews:

❌ Error: Too many concurrent reviews
Concurrent reviews running: 2/2
Please wait for existing reviews to complete.

Monitoring Reruns​

In Dashboard​

  1. Go to Dashboard section
  2. In "Recent Reviews" you'll see all your reviews
  3. One PR can have multiple reviews

By reviewId​

Each run creates a new reviewId:

PR #123: 1st run → review_abc123
PR #123: 2nd run (rerun) → review_def456
PR #123: 3rd run → review_ghi789

All reviews are independent and have their own results.

Best Practices​

✅ Recommended​

  1. Use label for regular reruns
  2. Wait for completion of current review before new run
  3. Check error in Check Run before rerunning
  4. Remove label before re-adding for new run

❌ Not Recommended​

  1. Starting multiple reviews simultaneously (wastes limits)
  2. Rerunning without reason (wastes limits)
  3. Using close/reopen for regular reruns
  4. Force push without necessity

Troubleshooting​

Rerun Doesn't Work​

Problem: Added label but review doesn't start

Solutions:

  1. Check limits

    • Dashboard → Billing → see remaining reviews
    • May have exceeded daily limit (trial) or concurrent limit

  2. Check repository status

    • Dashboard → Repositories → make sure repository is added

  3. Remove and re-add label

    • GitHub sometimes doesn't send webhook on re-add

  4. Try another method

    • Use empty commit instead of label

Review Starts but Fails Immediately​

Problem: Status immediately becomes failed

Possible causes:

  • Repository became unavailable (permissions changed)
  • Branch was deleted
  • GitHub API issues

Solution:

  1. Check GitHub Check Run for error details
  2. Make sure branch exists
  3. Check GitHub App access rights

Next step: Limits and Billing →