GitHub · Pull requests · GraphQL API · Checked October 25, 2026

GitHub: why auto-merge was refused

Auto-merge makes GitHub merge a pull request by itself once the required reviews and status checks pass. It is turned on with the GraphQL mutation enablePullRequestAutoMerge, which takes the pull request's id and optionally mergeMethod, commitHeadline, commitBody, authorEmail and expectedHeadOid (the head you expect). GitHub's documentation does not list the refusals; the ones below are quoted from public reports, with GitHub's documented rules behind them (checked October 25, 2026).

mutation {
  enablePullRequestAutoMerge(input: {pullRequestId: "PR_…", mergeMethod: SQUASH}) {
    clientMutationId
  }
}

What GitHub says, and why

Pull request Pull request is in clean status (GitHub writes "Pull request" twice): the pull request can be merged now. GitHub's documentation says the option is offered only on pull requests that cannot be merged immediately, for example while the branch's rules wait for reviews or status checks. In GitHub's schema, CLEAN is "mergeable and passing commit status".
Pull request Pull request is in unstable status: UNSTABLE is "mergeable with non-passing commit status": some checks fail, but none that the rules require, so the pull request can be merged now and there is nothing for auto-merge to wait for.
Auto merge is not allowed for this repository: the repository's Allow auto-merge setting is off. GitHub's documentation says auto-merge must be allowed for the repository first; on a branch that requires a merge queue, that setting does not apply, and Merge when ready turns auto-merge on even when the repository does not allow it.
Pull request Protected branch rules not configured for this branch: the base branch has no rule that holds the merge back, so there is nothing to wait for. A public report fixed it by adding a rule to the base branch, such as Require a pull request before merging.
Resource not accessible by integration, from a workflow's GITHUB_TOKEN: public reports found that pull-requests: write alone was not enough, and that contents: write let the workflow turn auto-merge on.
Who may: GitHub's documentation says that people with write permissions to the repository can turn auto-merge on.

Turned on, then off again

GitHub's documentation says auto-merge is turned off when someone without write permissions pushes to the head branch, or when the base branch is switched.
People with write permissions and the pull request's author can turn it off.
On a branch that requires a merge queue, GitHub's schema says the merge method and the commit message given to the mutation are ignored.

What to do

Clean, or unstable: merge it now, or wait for the checks you care about first.
Not allowed for this repository: in the repository's Settings, General, Pull Requests, select Allow auto-merge.
No rules on the branch: add a rule to the base branch that requires reviews or status checks, or merge it yourself once it is ready.
A workflow: give its job contents: write and pull-requests: write.
A refused merge rather than auto-merge: see why GitHub refused the merge.

In IntelliJ IDEA: no auto-merge, and Merge… is on when the pull request can be merged now

How the GitHub support built into IntelliJ IDEA handles a pull request that cannot be merged yet, in its source (checked October 31, 2026; IntelliJ IDEA: GraphQL files, GithubApiRequests.kt, GHPullRequestMergeStateStatus.kt, GHPRMergeabilityStateBuilder.kt, GHPRReviewFlowViewModelImpl.kt):

No auto-merge: none of its 78 GraphQL files, the 20 mutations among them, mentions auto-merge, and none of its REST requests does. So the IDE neither turns auto-merge on or off nor reads whether it is on; that is done on GitHub.
When Merge… and Squash and Merge… are on: when GitHub's mergeStateStatus is CLEAN, HAS_HOOKS or UNSTABLE, that is, when the pull request can be merged now, which includes the clean and unstable states in which GitHub refuses auto-merge above. While it is BLOCKED or BEHIND, they are on only for an account with Admin permission and only when GitHub returns a rule for the target branch, and the merge is then sent right away, not held until the rules are met. In the other states they stay off, so there is nothing in the IDE that waits for the reviews or checks. For the other conditions of the buttons, see Rebase and merge is not available.

GitHub pull requests in IntelliJ IDEA

Pull Request Inbox for GitHub, a plugin by Lesstep for JetBrains IDEs 2024.1 or later, offers Merge automatically once the requirements are met in its merge dialog only while GitHub holds the merge back (the branch's rules not met yet, or new commits on the target branch), and not when the repository has turned auto-merge off; a pull request GitHub could merge now gets the merge itself. It turns auto-merge on with the merge method and commit message from the dialog, and says that the pull request will be merged once its requirements are met. When GitHub refuses, it shows GitHub's words; for a token without the permission, it points to Settings. The review inbox, diffs and conversations are free; approving, commenting and merging are Pro (US$1.50 a month, with a 30-day trial).

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