How to fix Pull request needs minimum number of approvals before merging in Git

First, review your pull request to understand what approvals are needed:

1. Open the pull request in Bitbucket
2. Look at the reviewers section on the right sidebar
3. Note which reviewers have approved, are pending, or have requested changes
4. Check the merge checks section for specific requirements

# Example status you might see:
Reviewers:
  ✓ Alice (approved)
  ○ Bob (pending)
  ✗ Carol (changes requested)

Merge checks:
  ✗ Minimum 2 approvals (1/2 received)
  ✗ No changes requested

Understanding the indicators:
- ✓ (checkmark) = Approved
- ○ (circle) = Pending review
- ✗ (x) = Changes requested or check failed

You need to address all unresolved merge checks before merging.

If you need more approvals, actively request reviews:

In the Bitbucket UI:
1. Open your pull request
2. Click Add reviewer in the reviewers section
3. Select team members who can review your code
4. Click Add

Tips for getting faster reviews:
- Add a clear description explaining what changed and why
- Keep pull requests small and focused (easier to review)
- Mention specific reviewers in comments if urgent
- Link related issues or tickets for context
- Ensure CI builds are passing first

Using Bitbucket's Slack/Teams integration:
If your workspace has integrations enabled, reviewers will be notified automatically. You can also share the PR link directly with colleagues.

# Get the PR URL to share
# Format: https://bitbucket.org/{workspace}/{repo}/pull-requests/{id}

Note: Self-approvals don't count. You cannot approve your own PR to meet the minimum requirement.

If a reviewer has requested changes, you must address their feedback:

1. Review the comments - Read through all inline comments and general feedback
2. Make the requested changes in your code
3. Push the updates to your branch
4. Respond to comments explaining how you addressed each concern
5. Request re-review from the reviewer who requested changes

# After making changes locally
git add .
git commit -m "Address review feedback: fix validation logic"
git push origin your-branch-name

Important considerations:
- The reviewer who requested changes should update their review status
- On Premium plans, pushing new commits may reset all approvals (if "Reset approvals on change" is enabled)
- You may need to re-request approval from all reviewers after pushing changes

To request re-review:
1. In the PR, find the reviewer who requested changes
2. Click the "..." menu next to their name
3. Select "Request changes" or mention them in a comment

Your repository may have default reviewers who must approve separately from the minimum approval count:

Understanding default reviewers:
- Default reviewers are automatically added to PRs targeting specific branches
- Their approval may be required in addition to the minimum approval count
- Meeting minimum approvals alone won't allow merge if default reviewers haven't approved

To check default reviewer settings:
1. Go to Repository settings > Default reviewers
2. See which users or groups are set as default reviewers
3. Check if "Require approval from default reviewers" is enabled

Example scenario:

Settings:
  - Minimum approvals: 2
  - Default reviewers: Team Lead (required)

To merge, you need:
  1. At least 2 approvals from any reviewers
  2. PLUS an approval from Team Lead (even if they're one of the 2)

If a required default reviewer is unavailable, contact your repository admin to temporarily adjust settings or assign an alternate.

To see exactly what merge checks are configured:

For Bitbucket Cloud:
1. Go to Repository settings > Branch restrictions
2. Find the branch pattern that matches your target branch (e.g., main or master)
3. Click to expand and view Merge checks settings

For Bitbucket Data Center/Server:
1. Go to Repository settings > Merge checks
2. View enabled checks and their requirements
3. Check if settings are inherited from project level

Common merge checks you might see:
- Minimum approvals - Number of required reviewer approvals
- All reviewers approve - Every assigned reviewer must approve
- Minimum successful builds - CI builds must pass
- No changes requested - No reviewer can have requested changes
- No incomplete tasks - All PR tasks must be resolved

Understanding inheritance:
Repository merge checks may inherit from project-level settings. Look for "Inherited from project" indicators in the settings.

If you cannot get the required approvals, contact your repository admin:

Legitimate reasons to request settings changes:
- Required reviewer is on leave or unavailable
- Emergency hotfix needs expedited review
- Minimum approval count is too high for team size
- Branch restrictions are incorrectly configured

What admins can do:
1. Temporarily reduce minimum approval requirements
2. Add/remove default reviewers
3. Override project-level inherited settings
4. Approve on behalf of unavailable team members (if permitted)

For Bitbucket Cloud Premium:
Admins can enable "Prevent merge with unresolved checks" which strictly enforces all requirements. Without Premium, merge checks are warnings only.

For Bitbucket Data Center:
Admins can configure at project or repository level:

Repository settings > Merge checks > More actions >
  - Inherit from project
  - Enable (override project)
  - Disable (override project)

Note: Always document why you're requesting an exception and get proper authorization for emergency changes.

If automated workflows are blocked by approval requirements:

For CI/CD pipelines trying to merge:
Ensure your pipeline waits for manual approvals before attempting merge:

# bitbucket-pipelines.yml example
pipelines:
  pull-requests:
    '**':
      - step:
          name: Build and Test
          script:
            - npm install
            - npm test
      # Don't auto-merge - let humans approve first

Using the Bitbucket API:
Check approval status before attempting merge:

# Check PR status via API
curl -u username:app_password \
  "https://api.bitbucket.org/2.0/repositories/{workspace}/{repo}/pullrequests/{id}"

# The response includes:
# - "participants" with approval status
# - "state" of the PR

For automated bots (Renovate, Dependabot):
Configure bots to wait for human approval:

// renovate.json
{
  "automerge": false,
  "prCreation": "immediate",
  "reviewers": ["team:code-reviewers"]
}

Merge trains (Premium):
Ensure approvals are obtained before PRs enter the merge queue. The queue respects all merge checks.

Set up processes to streamline code review:

1. Configure appropriate team size for approvals:

Recommended settings by team size:
- 2-3 developers: 1 approval minimum
- 4-6 developers: 2 approvals minimum
- 7+ developers: 2-3 approvals minimum

2. Use code owners (via apps like Code Owners for Bitbucket):
Automatically assign reviewers based on file paths changed.

3. Enable helpful notifications:
- Integrate with Slack/Teams for review requests
- Set up email notifications for PR assignments
- Use Bitbucket's "watching" feature

4. Establish review SLAs:
Document expected review turnaround times for your team.

5. Consider approval preservation (Premium):
Enable "Keep approvals if there are no changes to diff" to prevent re-review cycles when rebasing.

6. Create review checklists:
Add PR templates with review criteria:

## PR Checklist
- [ ] Tests added/updated
- [ ] Documentation updated
- [ ] No security vulnerabilities
- [ ] Code follows style guidelines

This helps reviewers approve faster with confidence.