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

GitHub: why the conversation was not resolved

A conversation on the lines of a pull request is a review thread. It is resolved with the GraphQL mutation resolveReviewThread ("Marks a review thread as resolved") and opened again with unresolveReviewThread; both take the thread's id, which GitHub gives in the pull request's reviewThreads, with isResolved, resolvedBy, viewerCanResolve and viewerCanUnresolve. 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 {
  resolveReviewThread(input: {threadId: "…"}) {
    thread { isResolved }
  }
}

What GitHub says, and why

Resource not accessible by integration (type FORBIDDEN, path resolveReviewThread), from a workflow's GITHUB_TOKEN or a GitHub App's token: public reports found that contents: read with pull-requests: write was refused, and that contents: write let the same tokens resolve threads.
A fine-grained personal access token with Pull requests read and write resolved and unresolved a thread through GraphQL in a public report, while another tool sending the same token was refused with Resource not accessible by personal access token.
Could not resolve to a node with the global id of '…' (NOT_FOUND): GitHub does not find a thread with that id. A public report met it for a thread that was no longer there.
Who may: GitHub's documentation says you can resolve a conversation in a pull request if you opened the pull request or have write access to the repository. For each thread, viewerCanResolve and viewerCanUnresolve say whether you may.
Not in the diff: GitHub's schema puts a review thread on a diff line or on a file, and its documentation resolves conversations on the Files changed tab; a comment in the pull request's conversation that is not on the diff is not a review thread.

What to do

A workflow or GitHub App: give its token contents: write as well as pull-requests: write (for an App, Contents read and write).
A fine-grained token: Pull requests with write access, for the repository (see which permission to add).
Not found: read the pull request's reviewThreads again and use the id it gives now.
Not yours to resolve: reply instead, and leave resolving to the pull request's author or someone with write access.
A reply refused rather than resolving: see why GitHub refused the line comment.

In IntelliJ IDEA: Resolve only when GitHub allows it, and a refusal leaves the thread as it was

How the GitHub support built into IntelliJ IDEA resolves a review thread in the pull request's timeline, in its source (checked October 31, 2026; IntelliJ IDEA: GHPRTimelineThreadViewModel.kt, GHPRReviewServiceImpl.kt, resolveReviewThread.graphql, unresolveReviewThread.graphql, CollaborationToolsBundle.properties):

When you can use it: Resolve or Unresolve on a thread works only while GitHub returns viewerCanResolve or viewerCanUnresolve as true for your account on that thread, so it follows what GitHub allows you there.
It sends GitHub's GraphQL resolveReviewThread or unresolveReviewThread with the id of the thread.
When GitHub refuses, nothing appears on screen: the source writes a warning to the IDE's log and the thread stays as it was shown. When it goes through, the thread GitHub returns is shown, folded if it is now resolved.

GitHub pull requests in IntelliJ IDEA

Pull Request Inbox for GitHub, a plugin by Lesstep for JetBrains IDEs 2024.1 or later, offers Resolve and Unresolve on the conversations in the diff. It reads the threads through GitHub's GraphQL API with your token, so they appear once a token is set. Resolved conversations show who resolved them, and can be hidden. 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, resolving and merging are Pro (US$1.50 a month, with a 30-day trial).

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