The Close Action allows you to automatically close pull requests based on validation results. This is useful for enforcing strict policies, handling abandoned PRs, or automating the rejection of PRs that don’t meet specific criteria.

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Configuration

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reason
string

Message explaining why the PR was closed (supports templates)

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Basic Usage

on_failure:
  - close:
      reason: "This PR is being closed because it doesn't meet our requirements."

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Examples

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Simple Close

Close a PR without detailed explanation:

on_failure:
  - close: {}

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Close with Explanation

Close a PR with a detailed explanation:

on_failure:
  - close:
      reason: |
        This PR is being closed because it doesn't meet our requirements.
        Please review our contribution guidelines before submitting a new PR.

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Close with Template Variables

Use template variables to provide context-specific explanations:

on_failure:
  - close:
      reason: |
        Hello @{{ pull_request.user.login }},

        This PR is being closed because it failed the following validations:

        {{ validation_summary }}

        Please create a new PR that addresses these issues.

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How It Works

1

Process Template

If a reason is provided, the action processes the template, replacing variables with actual values

2

Add Comment

If a reason is provided, it adds a comment with the explanation

3

Close PR

It changes the PR state to “closed”

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Practical Use Cases

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Enforce PR Policies

Close PRs that violate important policies:

ruleset:
  - name: "Force Fork for External Contributors"
    when:
      - "pull_request.opened"
    if:
      - type: "author"
        ignore: ["team-member-1", "team-member-2", "dependabot"]
      - type: "branch"
        head:
          match: "^(main|master)$"
    on_success:
      - close:
          reason: |
            Hello @{{ pull_request.user.login }},

            Thank you for your interest in contributing! However, we don't accept PRs from external contributors that modify the main branch directly.

            Please create a fork of this repository and submit your PR from a branch in your fork.

            For more information, see our [Contributing Guidelines](CONTRIBUTING.md).

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Automated PR Cleanup

Automatically close stale or abandoned PRs:

ruleset:
  - name: "Close Abandoned PRs"
    when:
      - "schedule.weekly" # This would require additional configuration
    validate:
      - type: "age"
        updated:
          min: 60 # 60 days with no activity
    on_success:
      - close:
          reason: |
            This PR has been inactive for 60 days and is being closed as abandoned.

            If you'd like to continue working on this, please feel free to reopen the PR or create a new one.

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Enforce Branch Naming

Close PRs with incorrect branch naming:

ruleset:
  - name: "Branch Naming Enforcement"
    when:
      - "pull_request.opened"
    validate:
      - type: "branch"
        head:
          match: "^(feature|bugfix|hotfix)/[a-z0-9-_]+"
    on_failure:
      - close:
          reason: |
            This PR has been closed because its branch name doesn't follow our naming convention.

            Branch names should follow the pattern:
            - `feature/short-description`
            - `bugfix/short-description`
            - `hotfix/short-description`

            Please create a new PR with a correctly named branch.

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Close Duplicate PRs

Close PRs detected as duplicates:

ruleset:
  - name: "Duplicate PR Detection"
    when:
      - "pull_request.labeled"
    if:
      - type: "label"
        match: "duplicate"
    on_success:
      - close:
          reason: |
            This PR has been closed as a duplicate of another PR.

            Please contribute to the discussion on the original PR instead.

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Best Practices

Provide clear explanations for why PRs are being closed
Be welcoming and constructive in close messages
Offer guidance on how to address the issues
Use only for clear policy violations or abandoned PRs

Automatically closing PRs can be discouraging to contributors - use sparingly and with clear communication

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Alternatives to Consider

Instead of immediately closing PRs, consider these alternatives:

  1. Comment with guidance: Explain issues but allow the author to fix them
  2. Label for visibility: Add labels like “needs-work” or “invalid”
  3. Request changes: Use GitHub’s review functionality to request changes
  4. Set expectations: Clearly communicate when a PR might be closed

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Template Variables

The Close Action supports these template variables:

VariableDescription
{{ pull_request.user.login }}PR author’s username
{{ pull_request.title }}PR title
{{ pull_request.body }}PR description
{{ pull_request.number }}PR number
{{ repository.name }}Repository name
{{ repository.full_name }}Full repository name (owner/repo)
{{ validation_summary }}Summary of all validation results