CodeRabbit Retry Action

Automatically retry CodeRabbit reviews when they fail due to rate limiting. This is currently generated using Claude and merely reviewed by me.

Why?

CodeRabbit is an excellent AI code review tool, but it can occasionally hit rate limits during high-activity periods. This action monitors your open PRs and automatically requests a re-review when:

1. The latest commit hasn't been reviewed by CodeRabbit
2. CodeRabbit left a comment containing "Rate Limit exceeded"
3. No retry has been requested within the cooldown period

Usage

Basic Setup

Create .github/workflows/coderabbit-retry.yml:

name: CodeRabbit Retry

on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 * * * *'  # Run every hour
  workflow_dispatch:      # Allow manual trigger

jobs:
  retry:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Retry CodeRabbit Reviews
        uses: idrinth/coderabbit-retry-action@v1
        with:
          github-token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

With All Options

name: CodeRabbit Retry

on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 * * * *'
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      dry-run:
        description: 'Dry run mode'
        type: boolean
        default: false

jobs:
  retry:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Retry CodeRabbit Reviews
        uses: idrintj/coderabbit-retry-action@v1
        with:
          github-token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          max-retries: '4'
          cooldown-hours: '2'
          ignore-branches: 'dependabot/*,renovate/*,release/*'
          ignore-labels: 'skip-coderabbit,wip,draft'
          dry-run: ${{ inputs.dry-run || 'false' }}

Inputs

Input	Description	Required	Default
github-token	GitHub token with pull-requests: write permission	Yes	-
max-retries	Maximum retry requests per workflow run	No	4
cooldown-hours	Hours to wait before retrying the same PR	No	2
dry-run	Log actions without posting comments	No	false
ignore-branches	Comma-separated branch patterns to ignore (supports * wildcard)	No	''
ignore-labels	Comma-separated labels to ignore (PRs with any of these labels are skipped)	No	''

Outputs

Output	Description
retries-requested	Number of retry comments posted
prs-checked	Total PRs examined
prs-skipped	PRs skipped (already reviewed or no rate limit)

Using Outputs

- name: Retry CodeRabbit Reviews
  id: retry
  uses: idrinth/coderabbit-retry-action@v1
  with:
    github-token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

- name: Summary
  run: |
    echo "Checked ${{ steps.retry.outputs.prs-checked }} PRs"
    echo "Requested ${{ steps.retry.outputs.retries-requested }} retries"

How It Works

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    For each open PR                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                            │
                            ▼
              ┌─────────────────────────┐
              │ Get latest commit SHA   │
              └─────────────────────────┘
                            │
                            ▼
              ┌─────────────────────────┐
              │ CodeRabbit reviewed     │───Yes──▶ Skip PR
              │ this commit?            │
              └─────────────────────────┘
                            │ No
                            ▼
              ┌─────────────────────────┐
              │ "Rate Limit exceeded"   │───No───▶ Skip PR
              │ comment exists?         │
              └─────────────────────────┘
                            │ Yes
                            ▼
              ┌─────────────────────────┐
              │ Retry requested within  │───Yes──▶ Skip PR
              │ cooldown period?        │
              └─────────────────────────┘
                            │ No
                            ▼
              ┌─────────────────────────┐
              │ Post @coderabbitai      │
              │ review comment          │
              └─────────────────────────┘
                            │
                            ▼
              ┌─────────────────────────┐
              │ Max retries reached?    │───Yes──▶ Stop
              └─────────────────────────┘
                            │ No
                            ▼
                    Next PR...

Permissions

The action requires these permissions:

permissions:
  pull-requests: write
  contents: read

Development

Setup

npm install

Build

npm run build

Important: Always run npm run build before committing. The dist/ folder must be checked in for the action to work.

Test Locally

Use act to test locally:

act schedule -j retry

FAQ

Why use a cooldown period?

To prevent spamming PRs with retry requests if CodeRabbit continues to be rate limited. The default 2-hour cooldown balances responsiveness with avoiding noise.

Can I use a PAT instead of GITHUB_TOKEN?

Yes, if you need the action to trigger other workflows:

with:
  github-token: ${{ secrets.PAT_TOKEN }}

How do I know if it's working?

1. Check the workflow run logs in the Actions tab
2. Enable dry-run mode first to see what would happen
3. Look for the action's comments on your PRs

License

MIT