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Branch Protection & Required Status Checks

Configure GitHub branch protection rules and define which CI status checks must pass before Trunk Merge Queue can merge pull requests into your protected branch.

Prerequisites

Before configuring branch protection, ensure you have:

  • Installed the Trunk GitHub App in your repository. The trunk-io bot must have the necessary permissions to create branches, merge pull requests, and post status checks. See GitHub App Permissions for details.

  • Admin access to your repository's settings to configure branch protection rules.

How Trunk Merge Queue works

Trunk Merge Queue respects GitHub's branch protection rules and works with both Classic branch protection rules and Rulesets. Since Merge Queue ultimately merges pull requests through GitHub, any protection rules on your target branch (like required code reviews or status checks) will still apply.

Choose your testing approach

Trunk Merge Queue can test pull requests in two ways. Choose the approach that fits your CI setup:

Draft PR mode (Recommended - Default)

Best for: Most teams who want the simplest setup with no additional configuration.

When a pull request enters the queue, Trunk creates a draft pull request to test the changes. This automatically triggers your existing pull request-based CI workflows—the same checks that run when you open a regular pull request.

Advantages:

  • No additional CI configuration required

  • Works immediately with your existing workflows

  • Simple to set up and maintain

When to use a different approach: If you have expensive preview deployments, review-only workflows, or security scans that you don't want running during merge queue testing, consider Push-triggered mode instead.

Push-Triggered mode (Advanced)

Best for: Teams who need different CI behavior for merge queue testing versus pull request review.

When a pull request enters the queue, Trunk creates a trunk-merge/* branch and pushes to it. You configure specific CI jobs to run on these branches.

Advantages:

  • Complete control over which jobs run during queue testing

  • Avoid triggering expensive preview environments or review-only workflows

  • Can optimize for faster merge queue throughput

Requirements:

  • Configure push-triggered workflows in your CI provider for trunk-merge/** branches

  • Define required status checks in your .trunk/trunk.yaml configuration file

To enable: Go to Settings > Repositories > select your repository > Merge > toggle off Trunk Draft PR Creation.

Configure Branch Protection Rules

Using Rulesets vs. Classic Rules

You can use GitHub's Rulesets feature alongside Classic branch protection rules—both systems work together. However, push permission restrictions must be configured using Classic branch protection rules only because GitHub's API does not expose push restriction settings from Rulesets.

All other branch protection settings (required reviews, status checks, signed commits, etc.) can be configured using either Classic rules or Rulesets.

Configure Push Restrictions (Required)

Trunk Merge Queue needs permission to push to your protected branch. Configure these settings using Classic branch protection rules:

  1. Go to Settings > Branches in your repository

  2. Edit or create a Classic branch protection rule for your target branch (e.g., main)

  3. Under "Rules applied to everyone including administrators," select:

    • Restrict who can push to matching branches

    • Restrict pushes that create matching branches

  4. Add the trunk-io bot to the list of allowed actors

  5. Optionally add Organization admins and repository admins who need emergency merge access

  6. Save your changes

Important: Regular users should use pull request prioritization with --priority=urgent or --priority=high to fast-track pull requests through the queue while maintaining validation. Direct push access is only needed for rare emergencies where the queue itself must be bypassed.

Exclude Trunk's temporary branches (Critical)

Trunk Merge Queue creates temporary branches to test pull requests before merging them:

  • trunk-temp/* - Temporary testing branches

  • trunk-merge/* - Merge testing branches

Trunk needs unrestricted access to create, push to, and delete these branches. If your branch protection rules apply to these branches, Merge Queue cannot function.

To verify and fix:

  1. Go to Settings > Branches in your repository

  2. Review all Classic branch protection rules

  3. Check for wildcard patterns like */*, **/*, or similar that would match trunk-temp/* or trunk-merge/*

  4. If you find matching rules, either:

    • Option A: Remove the wildcard rules and create more specific rules for your actual branches

    • Option B: Add the trunk-io bot to the bypass list for those rules

Example of a problematic rule: A branch protection rule with pattern */* would protect all branches including trunk-temp/* and trunk-merge/*.

What happens if these branches are protected: Merge Queue will encounter GitHub permission errors and display messages like "Permission denied on trunk-merge/* branch."

Configure CI status checks

If using Draft PR mode (Default)

Your existing pull request-triggered CI workflows will automatically run when Trunk creates draft pull requests to test changes. No additional configuration is required.

Trunk will wait for the same required status checks configured in your branch protection rules (either via Classic rules or Rulesets) before merging.

See GitHub's documentation for configuring required status checks:

You're done! Skip to the Verification section below.

If using Push-Triggered mode

You need to complete two additional steps:

Step 1: Configure Push-Triggered CI Workflows

Set up your CI provider to run status checks whenever Trunk pushes to trunk-merge/* branches.

Example for GitHub Actions:

name: Merge Queue Tests
run-name: Merge Queue Checks for ${{ github.ref_name }}

# Trigger when Trunk Merge Queue tests a pull request
on:
  push:
    branches:
      - trunk-merge/**

jobs:
  unit_tests:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    name: Unit Tests
    steps:
      - name: Checkout
        uses: actions/checkout@v3
      
      - name: Run tests
        run: npm test  # Your actual test commands

  integration_tests:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    name: Integration Tests
    steps:
      - name: Checkout
        uses: actions/checkout@v3
      
      - name: Run integration tests
        run: npm run test:integration  # Your actual test commands

For other CI providers: Configure workflows triggered by pushes to branches matching trunk-merge/**.

Step 2: Define Required Status Checks in .trunk/trunk.yaml

Create or edit your trunk.yaml file in a directory named .trunk at the root of your repository (so, .trunk/trunk.yaml) to specify which status checks Trunk should wait for before merging:

version: 0.1
merge:
  required_statuses:
    - Unit Tests
    - Integration Tests

Important: The status check names in .trunk/trunk.yaml must exactly match the job names from your CI workflows.

Verification checklist

After completing configuration, verify your setup:

Test your configuration

  1. Create a test pull request

  2. Add the merge queue label or comment /trunk merge on the pull request

  3. Check the Trunk Dashboard to monitor your pull request status

  4. The pull request should appear in the queue as "Queued" until all checks complete

  5. Click on the pull request in the dashboard to see detailed status of what it's waiting for

  6. You'll also see status updates in the comments on your pull request

Expected behavior: Your pull request should progress through testing and merge automatically once all required checks pass.

Troubleshooting

"Permission denied on trunk-merge/* branch"

Cause: Branch protection rules are applying to Trunk's temporary branches.

Solution: Follow the "Exclude Trunk's Temporary Branches" section above to ensure trunk-temp/* and trunk-merge/* are not protected.

Pull request stuck as "Queued" in the queue

Cause: Required status checks are not completing or not configured correctly.

Solution:

  • Click on the pull request in the Trunk Dashboard to see which checks it's waiting for

  • Verify those checks are running in your CI provider

  • If using Push-triggered mode, ensure the check names in trunk.yaml exactly match your CI job names

Required status checks not running

If using Draft PR mode: Verify your CI workflows are triggered by pull requests (including draft pull requests).

If using Push-triggered mode:

  • Verify your CI workflows trigger on pushes to trunk-merge/** branches

  • Check that the workflows actually ran in your CI provider's interface

  • Ensure the trunk-io bot has permission to push to create these branches

Need help?

Visit Trunk Support for additional assistance or to contact the support team.

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