> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.fullotto.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Skipping reviews

> Turn off automatic reviews for a repository, or skip them for certain PRs.

## Turn off automatic reviews

```yaml otto.yml theme={null}
version: 1
reviews:
  enabled: false
```

Otto stops reviewing new PRs and pushes in this repository automatically. You can still comment `/otto review` to get a review.

## Skip rules

Skip automatic reviews of PRs that match any rule:

```yaml otto.yml theme={null}
version: 1
reviews:
  skip:
    labels: ['no-otto', 'dependencies']
    title_contains: ['[skip otto]', 'WIP']
    base_branches: ['release/*']
    head_branches: ['dependabot/**', 'renovate/**']
    authors: ['renovate[bot]']
```

| Rule | Skips a PR when | Matching |
| - | - | - |
| `labels` | It has any of these labels | Exact, case-insensitive |
| `title_contains` | Its title contains any of these | Substring, case-insensitive |
| `base_branches` | It targets a branch matching any of these | [Glob](/configuration/otto-yml#globs) |
| `head_branches` | It comes from a branch matching any of these | [Glob](/configuration/otto-yml#globs) |
| `authors` | Its author is any of these (GitHub login or Azure unique name) | Exact, case-insensitive |

Otto checks `enabled`, then the rules in the order above, and reports the first one that matches.

## What a skip does

`enabled: false` and the skip rules apply to **automatic** reviews: new pull requests, new pushes, and review requests. They never block an explicit `/otto review` or `/otto re-review` comment, which runs a full review with the rest of `otto.yml`.

When a skip rule matches, Otto completes the run without reviewing, at no cost:

* **GitHub:** the Otto Review check completes as neutral with "Otto skipped this review" and names the rule that matched, for example `skip.labels: no-otto`.
* **Azure Repos:** the `otto/review` status is set to not applicable, and Otto comments on the PR naming the rule. On later pushes it edits that comment instead of adding another.

Because Otto reads `otto.yml` from the PR's [base commit](/configuration/otto-yml#which-version-applies), a PR can't skip its own review by editing `otto.yml`.

<Warning>
  **Otto Approval check:** a skipped review doesn't satisfy the [Otto
  Approval](/setup/merge-gates#the-otto-approval-check) merge gate. A skipped PR
  needs a human approval to merge, the same as a PR that's too large to review
  automatically.
</Warning>

## Skip vs. ignore vs. turning off

| You want to… | Use |
| - | - |
| Never review this repository automatically | `enabled: false` |
| Skip some PRs entirely (bots, releases, WIP) | `skip` |
| Review PRs but leave some files out | [`ignore`](/configuration/ignoring-files) |
| Stop reviews across the whole workspace | **Settings → Reviews → Automatic PR reviews** |


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