Pull Shark achievement not appearing after multiple merged pull requests

[Akimbo92i]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Bug

Body

Hi,

I'm having an issue with the Pull Shark achievement on my GitHub profile (Akimbo92i).

I currently have at least 8 pull requests authored by me that have been merged into public open-source repositories, but the Pull Shark achievement still doesn't appear on my profile.

Some examples:

zero-shelter/zero-shelter#211
jzjzzzzzzz/agent-me#122
synentra/synentra#498
ozkozk/bluetooth-audio-connect#4
Hebbian-Robotics/hflow#430
PresentJay/dbt-plan#125
libredb/libredb-studio#569
vyncint/reconverge#112

These PRs were merged across several different public repositories between September 4 and September 8, 2026.

My understanding is that the Pull Shark achievement should normally be awarded after qualifying merged pull requests. However, no Pull Shark achievement is currently displayed on my profile.

Could someone confirm whether there is currently a delay in achievement processing, or whether there is another eligibility condition that could explain why these merged PRs have not triggered the achievement?

Thanks!

(I have also confirmed that “Show Achievements on my profile” is enabled in my profile settings.)

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[sunmeat]

Hi @Akimbo92i,

The issue you are experiencing is due to how GitHub evaluates qualifying commits and Pull Requests for profile achievements.

To trigger the Pull Shark achievement, merged Pull Requests must meet all of the following requirements:

Default Branch Requirement: The Pull Request must be merged directly into the repository's default branch (usually main or master). If merged into a secondary/feature branch, it will not count towards the achievement until that branch is subsequently merged into the default branch.

Commit Email Matching: The email address associated with the commits inside those PRs must match a verified email address added to your GitHub account settings (github.com/settings/emails). If the commits were authored using a different email address (e.g., local machine misconfiguration or alternative address), GitHub cannot link the activity to your profile badge counters.

Standalone vs. Automated Merges: PRs merged via certain automated bot workflows or squash-merged without preserving your exact author metadata may sometimes delay indexing.

Indexing Batch Delays: Achievement counters update asynchronously via background jobs. After fulfilling the criteria, it can take anywhere from a few hours up to 48 hours for the badge to appear in your profile showcase.

How to verify:
Check the commit history of the target repository's default branch for one of your merged PRs. If your GitHub avatar is not clickable or does not link directly to your profile next to the commit hash, the commit email does not match your account settings. Once you add and verify that email on your profile, GitHub will re-index your past contributions and trigger the Pull Shark achievement.

[Akimbo92i]

Thanks for the detailed explanation.
I checked all 8 merged PRs individually.

For all of them:

the PR was merged directly into the repository's default branch (main);
the PR author is my GitHub account (Akimbo92i);
the commits are linked to my GitHub account;
the commit email is my GitHub-provided users.noreply.github.com address.

So the default-branch and commit-email requirements both appear to be satisfied.

Given that, could this be an achievement indexing delay or an issue with the achievement counter on GitHub's side?

Thanks again for your help.