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

# Review modes and blocking

> Choose when DinoAI Code Review reviews a pull request or merge request, how re-reviews work, and how the Paradime Code Review check blocks a merge.

Each reviewer has three settings under **Configuration**: **When to review**, **Review drafts**, and **Block merging on findings**.

## Review modes

| Mode | When DinoAI reviews |
| - | - |
| **Automatic** | Every pull request, and again on each new commit. |
| **Once per PR** (**Once per MR** on GitLab) | The first push only. Later pushes are skipped. |
| **On mention** | Only when someone comments `@paradime review`. See [Mentions](https://docs.paradime.io/products/dino-ai/code-review/mentions.md). |

A `@paradime review` comment runs a review in any mode.

## Review drafts

**Review drafts** is off by default. When it is off, DinoAI waits until a draft pull request is marked ready for review. When a pull request goes back to draft, DinoAI cancels the reviews in progress from reviewers with **Review drafts** off. A `@paradime review` comment reviews a draft anyway.

## Re-reviews

After the first review, DinoAI reviews only the changes since its last reviewed commit:

* It gets the earlier findings that are still open, re-reads each file at the new head commit, and marks the findings that are fixed.
* It does not post a finding again when it is still open and unchanged.
* If its last reviewed commit is no longer in the branch history, for example after a force push, it reviews the whole pull request again.

Each reviewer tracks its own last review, so two reviewers on the same pull request do not affect each other.

DinoAI never approves a pull request.

## Block merging on findings

When **Block merging on findings** is on, a review with findings **requests changes**, and the **Paradime Code Review** check fails. When it is off, a review with findings is a comment, and the check is neutral on GitHub (success on GitLab, with the count in the description).

To block the merge, make **Paradime Code Review** a required check:

* **GitHub:** add it as a required status check in the branch protection rule or ruleset of the target branch.
* **GitLab:** in the project's merge request settings, turn on **Pipelines must succeed**. GitLab adds the **Paradime Code Review** commit status to the merge request's pipeline.

The check counts the new findings and the findings from earlier reviews that are still open. For example, the summary can read `3 open findings (2 from earlier reviews)`. A commit with no open findings passes with `No findings`.

| Check summary | Meaning |
| - | - |
| `No findings` | The review found nothing, and nothing is still open. |
| `3 open findings` | The review has findings. The check fails when the reviewer blocks, and is neutral when it does not. |
| `The review reported no structured findings` | The agent did not return findings in the format Paradime reads. The check is neutral. See [Custom reviewers](https://docs.paradime.io/products/dino-ai/code-review/custom-reviewers.md#how-the-review-is-posted). |
| `Stopped at the per-review credit ceiling`, `Timed out`, `Review budget exhausted` | The review stopped. See [Limits and FAQ](https://docs.paradime.io/products/dino-ai/code-review/limits-and-faq.md). |

### Pushes the mode skips

With **Once per PR** or **On mention**, DinoAI does not review later pushes. If the reviewer blocks on findings, the check on each new commit carries the open findings of the last review, for example `2 open findings in the last review`, so a new push does not clear the check. To clear it, comment `@paradime review` to review the new commit.

## GitLab

On GitLab, **Paradime Code Review** is a commit status, not a check run. A commit status has no neutral state, so a non-blocking review with findings shows as success, with the count in the description. With **Block merging on findings** on, GitLab 19.3 and later also mark the review as **Requested changes**.


## Related topics

- [DinoAI Code Review](https://docs.paradime.io/products/dino-ai/code-review/index.md)
- [Add a reviewer](https://docs.paradime.io/products/dino-ai/code-review/add-a-reviewer.md)
- [Set up DinoAI Code Review](https://docs.paradime.io/guides/programmable-agents/set-up-dinoai-code-review.md)
- [Approval modes](https://docs.paradime.io/products/dino-ai/copilot/god-mode.md)
- [DinoAI](https://docs.paradime.io/products/dino-ai/index.md)


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