open-telemetry · trask · Sep 4, 2026 · Sep 2, 2026 · Sep 2, 2026 · Sep 2, 2026
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ diagnostics keep typed classification results and freeze only the source
 discussion records.
 
 `state.py` owns the JSON boundary. Its dashboard facts, stored-result, and state
-codecs translate the immutable contracts to the version 13
+codecs translate the immutable contracts to the version 15
 `dashboard-state.json` shape. Malformed pull request entries are discarded
 individually, so one bad entry does not prevent valid entries from loading.
 

@@ -336,11 +336,17 @@ the implementation understandable and operationally cheap.
   with reviewers and is released to maintainers keeps its wait, because it never
   left the people who owe it a response, and restarting there would present an
   approval a week old as a merge request that just arrived.
-- Maintenance-bot PRs retain maintainer-oriented routing because the bot cannot
-  respond to a dashboard action. Pending required checks affect the CI column
-  but never route one of these PRs to its author: a bot PR whose handoff is
-  held waits on reviewers instead. Merge conflicts remain visible without
-  overriding that routing.
+- PRs from unattended automation never route to their author because the
+  automation cannot respond to a dashboard action. Copilot-delegated PRs are
+  different. The dashboard recovers a human assignee or the first commit's
+  human committer as the effective author, so that person can receive the
+  author route. Pending required checks affect the CI column, and a bot PR
+  whose handoff is held waits on reviewers instead. Known maintenance bots use
+  a one-approval threshold; other automation uses the repository's configured
+  threshold. Compatible cached state derives a missing author-capability fact
+  from the effective author identity and discards a stale author-routed result
+  for reevaluation, while an explicit stored value wins. Merge conflicts remain
+  visible without overriding that routing.
 - A hold has a time limit, and past it the PR routes anyway. Every gate waits on
   something outside the dashboard, and each one has been seen never to arrive: a
   required check with no check run on the head, a Copilot review GitHub never

@@ -104,6 +104,8 @@
     assignees                       list[str]     PR assignees.
     is_maintenance_bot              bool          PR is authored by a
                                                   maintenance bot.
+    author_can_act                  bool          Effective author can respond
+                                                  to author-routed work.
     is_draft                        bool
     approval_count                  int           Current unique APPROVED reviews
                                                   from approver-team members,

@@ -92,6 +92,7 @@ class DashboardFacts:
     copilot_review_stale: bool = False
     copilot_review_needed: bool = False
     is_maintenance_bot: bool = False
+    author_can_act: bool = True
     is_draft: bool = False
     approval_count: int = 0
     conflicts: str = "unknown"

@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@
 )
 from github_cli import TransientGhError
 from pull_request_source import (
+    Actor,
     IssueComment,
     PullRequestSource,
     fetch_pull_request_source,
@@ -76,16 +77,46 @@
     routing_failure_facts,
 )
 from routing_snapshot import build_routing_snapshot
-from utils import format_ts, parse_ts
+from utils import (
+    format_ts,
+    is_unattended_author_login,
+    normalize_author_identity,
+    parse_ts,
+)
+
+
+# Copilot appears under two slugs: `gh pr view`'s `author` field reports
+# `app/copilot-swe-agent`, while the Pulls/commits endpoint's `committer.login`
+# field can report the bare `copilot` slug. Either slug can name Copilot as the
+# author, so the author set carries both while the committer set carries only
+# the bare slug. These sets hold the identities `normalize_author_identity`
+# returns, without the `app/` prefix or the `[bot]` suffix. Do not treat either
+# slug as the human author behind a Copilot-authored PR.
+_COPILOT_COMMITTER_IDENTITIES = {"copilot"}
+_COPILOT_PR_AUTHOR_IDENTITIES = {"copilot-swe-agent", "copilot"}
+_MAINTENANCE_APP_IDENTITIES = {"dependabot", "otelbot", "renovate"}
 
 
-# Copilot appears in two API shapes: `gh pr view`'s `author` field uses the
-# `app/<slug>` form, while the Pulls/commits endpoint's `committer.login`
-# field can return the bare `copilot` slug. Do not treat either form as the
-# human author behind a Copilot-authored PR.
-_COPILOT_COMMITTER_LOGINS = {"copilot"}
-_COPILOT_PR_AUTHORS = {"app/copilot-swe-agent", "copilot"}
-_MAINTENANCE_BOT_PR_AUTHORS = {"app/otelbot", "app/renovate"}
+def _is_maintenance_bot_author(login: str) -> bool:
+    normalized_login = (login or "").strip().casefold()
+    identity = normalize_author_identity(normalized_login)
+    return identity == "opentelemetrybot" or (
+        identity in _MAINTENANCE_APP_IDENTITIES
+        and (
+            normalized_login.startswith("app/")
+            or normalized_login.endswith("[bot]")
+        )
+    )
+
+
+def _author_can_act(api_author: Actor, effective_author: str) -> bool:
+    if is_unattended_author_login(effective_author):
+        return False
+    return (
+        not api_author.is_bot
+        or normalize_author_identity(api_author.login)
+        != normalize_author_identity(effective_author)
+    )
 
 
 @dataclass(frozen=True)
@@ -116,12 +147,11 @@ def _human_author_for_copilot_pr(source: PullRequestSource) -> str:
         for assignee in source.pull_request.assignees
     ]
     for login in assignees:
-        low = login.lower()
+        identity = normalize_author_identity(login)
         if (
             login
-            and low not in _COPILOT_PR_AUTHORS
-            and not low.startswith("app/")
-            and not low.endswith("[bot]")
+            and identity not in _COPILOT_PR_AUTHOR_IDENTITIES
+            and not is_unattended_author_login(login)
         ):
             return login
 
@@ -132,7 +162,8 @@ def _human_author_for_copilot_pr(source: PullRequestSource) -> str:
     login = committer.login
     if (
         not login
-        or login.lower() in _COPILOT_COMMITTER_LOGINS
+        or normalize_author_identity(login) in _COPILOT_COMMITTER_IDENTITIES
+        or is_unattended_author_login(login)
         or committer.is_bot
         or committer.is_copilot_reviewer
     ):
@@ -142,7 +173,7 @@ def _human_author_for_copilot_pr(source: PullRequestSource) -> str:
 
 def _effective_author(source: PullRequestSource) -> str:
     author = source.pull_request.author.login
-    if author.lower() in _COPILOT_PR_AUTHORS:
+    if normalize_author_identity(author) in _COPILOT_PR_AUTHOR_IDENTITIES:
         human_author = _human_author_for_copilot_pr(source)
         if human_author:
             return human_author
@@ -230,7 +261,8 @@ def _compute_facts(
         copilot_review_exists=copilot_review_exists,
         copilot_review_stale=copilot_review_stale,
         copilot_review_needed=copilot_review_stale or copilot_review_findings,
-        is_maintenance_bot=api_author.lower() in _MAINTENANCE_BOT_PR_AUTHORS,
+        is_maintenance_bot=_is_maintenance_bot_author(api_author),
+        author_can_act=_author_can_act(pr.author, author),
         is_draft=pr.is_draft,
         approval_count=prepared_reviewers.approval_count,
         conflicts=pr.conflicts,

@@ -86,9 +86,9 @@ def _base_route(
     counts = _action_counts(pending_actions)
     is_maintenance_bot = facts.is_maintenance_bot
     approval_threshold = 1 if is_maintenance_bot else required_approvals
-    if (facts.ci_failing_count or 0) > 0 and not is_maintenance_bot:
+    if (facts.ci_failing_count or 0) > 0 and facts.author_can_act:
         return DashboardRoute.AUTHOR
-    if counts["author"] and not is_maintenance_bot:
+    if counts["author"] and facts.author_can_act:
         return DashboardRoute.AUTHOR
     if facts.approval_count >= approval_threshold:
         return DashboardRoute.MAINTAINER
@@ -145,12 +145,12 @@ def _hold_route_until_gates_settle(
 ) -> tuple[DashboardRoute, DashboardFacts]:
     effective_previous_route = previous_route or DashboardRoute.AUTHOR
     if effective_previous_route.value not in _ROUTE_PROGRESSION or (
-        facts.is_maintenance_bot
+        not facts.author_can_act
         and effective_previous_route is DashboardRoute.AUTHOR
     ):
         effective_previous_route = (
             DashboardRoute.APPROVER
-            if facts.is_maintenance_bot
+            if not facts.author_can_act
             else DashboardRoute.AUTHOR
         )
     gates_enabled = not bypass_gates

@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 )
 from github_cli import detect_repo, normalize_repo, repo_state_key
 import state_branch
+from utils import is_unattended_author_login
 
 
 DASHBOARD_MARKDOWN_FILE = "pull-request-dashboard.md"
@@ -35,7 +36,7 @@
 # current vector, ordinary state loaders may regenerate mismatched disposable
 # caches. Every constant ending in _STATE_VERSION or _REVISION is included.
 # dashboard-state.json: accepted PR routing results and backfill readiness.
-DASHBOARD_STATE_VERSION = 13
+DASHBOARD_STATE_VERSION = 15
 # backfill-state.json: round-robin cursor used by full dashboard refreshes.
 BACKFILL_STATE_VERSION = 3
 # notification-state.json: pending and delivered Slack notification records.
@@ -453,8 +454,9 @@ def decode_dashboard_facts(value: Any) -> DashboardFacts:
         raw_reviewers = []
     if not isinstance(raw_reviewers, list):
         raise ValueError("facts.reviewers must be an array")
+    author = _string(value.get("author", _MISSING), "facts.author")
     return DashboardFacts(
-        author=_string(value.get("author", _MISSING), "facts.author"),
+        author=author,
         assignees=_string_tuple(
             value.get("assignees", _MISSING),
             "facts.assignees",
@@ -516,6 +518,11 @@ def decode_dashboard_facts(value: Any) -> DashboardFacts:
             value.get("is_maintenance_bot", _MISSING),
             "facts.is_maintenance_bot",
         ),
+        author_can_act=_boolean(
+            value.get("author_can_act", _MISSING),
+            "facts.author_can_act",
+            not is_unattended_author_login(author),
+        ),
         is_draft=_boolean(
             value.get("is_draft", _MISSING),
             "facts.is_draft",
@@ -636,6 +643,7 @@ def encode_dashboard_facts(facts: DashboardFacts) -> dict[str, Any]:
         "copilot_review_stale": facts.copilot_review_stale,
         "copilot_review_needed": facts.copilot_review_needed,
         "is_maintenance_bot": facts.is_maintenance_bot,
+        "author_can_act": facts.author_can_act,
         "is_draft": facts.is_draft,
         "approval_count": facts.approval_count,
         "conflicts": facts.conflicts,
@@ -719,16 +727,19 @@ def decode_stored_result(
         history = {}
     if not isinstance(history, dict):
         raise ValueError("dashboard result top_level_history must be an object")
+    facts = decode_dashboard_facts(
+        value["facts"] if "facts" in value else {}
+    )
+    if route is DashboardRoute.AUTHOR and not facts.author_can_act:
+        raise ValueError("dashboard result author route requires an actionable author")
     return StoredDashboardResult(
         pr_number=pr_number,
         pr_url=_string(
             value.get("pr_url", _MISSING),
             "dashboard result pr_url",
         ),
         route=route,
-        facts=decode_dashboard_facts(
-            value["facts"] if "facts" in value else {}
-        ),
+        facts=facts,
         top_level_history=freeze_json_object(history),
     )
 
@@ -808,7 +819,7 @@ def load_dashboard_state_cache() -> DashboardState | None:
     state = load_state_file(
         dashboard_state_path(),
         DASHBOARD_STATE_VERSION,
-        compatible_versions=(11, 12),
+        compatible_versions=(11, 12, 13),
     )
     if state is None:
         return None