How to fix remote: error: GH006: Code owners review required in Git

Protected branches with code owner requirements don't accept direct pushes. You must use the pull request workflow:

# Create a new branch for your changes
git checkout -b feature/my-changes

# Make your changes and commit
git add .
git commit -m "Your descriptive commit message"

# Push the feature branch
git push -u origin feature/my-changes

Then go to GitHub and create a pull request from your feature branch to the protected branch. GitHub will automatically request reviews from the appropriate code owners based on the CODEOWNERS file.

Check your pull request to see who needs to approve the changes:

1. Open your pull request on GitHub
2. Look at the "Reviewers" section in the sidebar
3. GitHub shows which code owners are required and their review status
4. The CODEOWNERS file determines who owns which files

To view the CODEOWNERS file:

# CODEOWNERS is typically in one of these locations:
cat .github/CODEOWNERS
cat CODEOWNERS
cat docs/CODEOWNERS

Example CODEOWNERS syntax:

# Global owners (review everything)
* @default-reviewer

# Specific directory ownership
/src/api/ @backend-team
/src/frontend/ @frontend-team

# Specific file ownership
/security/ @security-team @lead-developer

Understanding the CODEOWNERS file helps you identify who to contact for approval.

Once you've identified the required reviewers, request their review:

Via GitHub web interface:
1. Open your pull request
2. Click on "Reviewers" in the right sidebar
3. If code owners aren't already added, add them manually
4. Click "Request" next to their name

Via GitHub CLI:

# Request review from a specific user
gh pr edit --add-reviewer @username

# Request review from a team
gh pr edit --add-reviewer @org/team-name

# View current PR status
gh pr status

Via email or chat:
If the review is urgent, contact the code owners directly through your team's communication channels. Include:
- Link to the pull request
- Summary of changes
- Why the changes are needed
- Any urgency or deadline

If a code owner has requested changes, you need to address their feedback:

View requested changes:
1. Go to the pull request "Files changed" tab
2. Look for comments with "Changes requested"
3. Address each concern with new commits

Update your branch:

# Make the requested changes locally
git add .
git commit -m "Address code review feedback"
git push origin feature/my-changes

Request re-review:
After pushing your updates, the code owner needs to re-review. You can request a re-review:
1. Go to the PR's "Reviewers" section
2. Click the refresh icon next to the reviewer who requested changes
3. This notifies them that you've addressed their feedback

Important: Approval from *any one* of the listed code owners for a given path is typically sufficient, not all of them. Check your repository's branch protection settings for specific requirements.

If the designated code owner is unavailable (vacation, left the company, etc.), you have several options:

Option 1: Dismiss the stale review (requires admin access)
Repository admins can dismiss reviews:
1. Go to the pull request
2. Click on the review that's blocking
3. Click "Dismiss review"
4. Provide a reason for dismissal

Option 2: Contact a repository admin
Ask a repository administrator to:
- Dismiss the pending review
- Temporarily modify branch protection rules
- Add an alternative reviewer

Option 3: Update the CODEOWNERS file
If the code owner has permanently left, update the CODEOWNERS file:

# Edit the CODEOWNERS file
vim .github/CODEOWNERS

# Replace @old-user with @new-user
# Then create a PR for this change (may need admin approval)

Option 4: Use bypass permissions
Some users may have "Allow specified actors to bypass required pull requests" permission in branch protection settings. Check with your repository admin.

If you have admin access, you can review and modify branch protection settings:

View branch protection rules:
1. Go to repository Settings
2. Click "Branches" in the left sidebar
3. Find your protected branch and click "Edit"

Relevant settings:
- Require a pull request before merging: Prevents direct pushes
- Require review from Code Owners: The setting causing this error
- Required number of approvals: How many approvals needed
- Dismiss stale pull request approvals when new commits are pushed: Whether new commits require re-review
- Allow specified actors to bypass required pull requests: Users/teams who can bypass

To add bypass permissions:
1. In branch protection rules, find "Allow specified actors to bypass required pull requests"
2. Add specific users, teams, or apps that should have bypass ability
3. Use sparingly and only for trusted automation or leads

Note: Changing these settings requires admin permissions and should align with your team's security policies.

If this error occurs in CI/CD pipelines, you need to ensure the workflow respects code owner requirements:

For GitHub Actions:

# Don't try to push directly to protected branches
# Instead, create a PR
name: Create Pull Request
on:
  push:
    branches:
      - feature/*

jobs:
  create-pr:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Create Pull Request
        uses: peter-evans/create-pull-request@v5
        with:
          branch: automated-changes
          title: "Automated: Update from CI"
          reviewers: "@org/code-owners-team"

For automation that needs to bypass:
1. Create a GitHub App or machine user with bypass permissions
2. Add that actor to "Allow specified actors to bypass required pull requests"
3. Use a Personal Access Token (PAT) with appropriate scopes

# Use a PAT with repo scope for the bypass user
git remote set-url origin https://x-access-token:${BYPASS_TOKEN}@github.com/org/repo.git
git push origin main

Warning: Bypassing code owner requirements in automation should be carefully considered. It's usually better to have automation create PRs that still require human approval.