@@ -177,10 +177,11 @@ entries under **Database**. The entries defined under the sections **Documentati
### Make a Code Owners section optional
> - [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/232995) in GitLab Premium 13.8 behind a feature flag, enabled by default.
> - [Feature flag removed](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/merge_requests/53227) in GitLab 13.9.
> - [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/232995) in GitLab Premium 13.8
You can make a section optional, so that approval from the Code Owners in that section is optional.
GitLab has the ability to designate optional sections in your Code Owners file. Simply prepend the section name with the caret `^` character and the section will be treated as optional. This means related change through merge requests will not require approval from designated owners.
With optional sections you may continue to designate responsible parties for various parts of the code while providing a more relaxed policy for parts of your project that may be updated often but don't require stringent reviews.
Put a caret `^` character before the Code Owners section name. For example:
...
...
@@ -204,8 +205,11 @@ If a section is duplicated in the file, and one of them is marked as optional an
Optional sections in the `CODEOWNERS` file are treated as optional only
when changes are submitted by using merge requests. If a change is submitted directly
to the protected branch, approval from Code Owners is still required, even if the
section is marked as optional. [An issue exists](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/297638)
to allow direct pushes to the protected branch for sections marked as optional.
section is marked as optional.
### Allowed to Push
Code owner approval and protected branch functionality does not apply to users who are `Allowed to push`.
