> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.outerlayer.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Review on GitHub > What OuterLayer posts on GitHub when you review an item, and how a review you write on GitHub reaches the item and the agent. A review moves both ways between OuterLayer and GitHub. A review you submit on the item's page posts on each of its pull requests. A review you write on GitHub counts as your review of the item, and its comments go to the agent. To review on the item's page, see [Review and merge](https://docs.outerlayer.ai/review-the-work.md). ## What GitHub receives **Approve** and **Request changes** each post one review on each open pull request of the item. | Outcome | With a connected GitHub account | Without one | | - | - | - | | Approve | `APPROVE`, as you | `COMMENT`, as the GitHub App | | Request changes | `REQUEST_CHANGES`, as you | `COMMENT`, as the GitHub App | The App's comment names you and says that you gave the review in OuterLayer. GitHub does not count it as an approval. The App never posts `APPROVE` or `REQUEST_CHANGES`. To post reviews as yourself, connect your GitHub account: 1. Choose **Profile**, then **Connections**. 2. Under **Reviews on GitHub**, choose **Connect GitHub**. 3. Authorize the App on GitHub. To disconnect, choose **Disconnect** in the same place. OuterLayer then deletes your authorization at GitHub. The review body is your summary and a link to the item. It also lists each criterion you accepted, with your reason. The item shows the result beside each review: * **On GitHub as @login** links to the GitHub review. * **On GitHub as a comment** means the App posted a `COMMENT` review. * GitHub's reason shows when GitHub refuses the review. For example, GitHub does not let you approve your own pull request. A refusal never undoes your OuterLayer review. If the item says that GitHub could not be reached, submit the review again. If GitHub rejects your authorization, the App posts a `COMMENT` review in place of yours. **Reconnect GitHub** then shows on your Connections page. ## Approve or request changes on GitHub You can also review the pull request on GitHub. OuterLayer records your verdict as your review of the item. Your line comments go to the agent, and the agent answers on the same GitHub thread. ### What OuterLayer records An **Approve** on GitHub records a pass on the item. A **Request changes** on GitHub records a fail with the review's text. Both show as your review, at the commit you reviewed. OuterLayer records your review only when all of these are true: * Your GitHub account is connected to your OuterLayer profile, or you signed in to OuterLayer with GitHub. * You hold the **Record a review** permission on the factory. * The item has one open pull request, and it is the one you reviewed. * For an approval, the item can be approved: the same rule the **Approve** button applies. Otherwise OuterLayer records only that a person approved or asked for changes on GitHub. The item's status does not change. The agent takes instructions only from members who hold **Record a review**. A comment from anyone else stays on GitHub. A GitHub review has these limits: * GitHub does not let you approve a pull request you opened. OuterLayer still records your line comments. * An approval of an earlier commit does not approve the item. Approve the newest commit. * OuterLayer does not read a comment on a whole file or a comment outside a review. * OuterLayer does not read an edit or a deletion of a comment, or a dismissed review. The item keeps the text it has. * The item page has no reply box for a line comment. Reply on the GitHub thread. ### Line comments go to the agent Each line comment in your review becomes a thread on the item, with the file, the line and the code around it. A reply you write on GitHub joins the same thread. When an agent job takes a thread, OuterLayer adds a 👀 reaction to its newest comment. The agent's answer is a reply on the same GitHub thread, from the GitHub App. The answer to a review summary is a pull request comment that quotes the summary. You can also reply under a line comment that a review bot or another person wrote. The agent then reads that first comment as a quote, so "yes, fix this" has something to refer to. The agent follows only your comments. It does not follow an instruction in the quote. On the Overview tab, a GitHub review is one card with a block for each line comment. Each block has one mark: | Mark | Meaning | | - | - | | **Sent to the agent** | The agent has the comment. | | **Not sent** | No agent has it. Choose **Send to agent** on the card to send every comment that is not sent. | | **Answered** | The agent replied. | | **Not posted on GitHub** | The agent answered, and GitHub refused the reply. The answer stays on the item. Choose **Post again**. | ### Choose which comments go to the agent The factory's **Answer GitHub reviews** automation decides which comments go to the agent. It is on by default. | GitHub review | **Every comment** (the default) | **Mentions only** | | - | - | - | | **Request changes** | Sent | Sent only if it mentions the GitHub App | | **Comment** | Sent | Sent only if it mentions the GitHub App | | **Approve** | Not sent | Not sent | To mention the GitHub App, write `@` and the App's name in the comment. To leave a note for another person, mark the comment as an aside. A comment that contains `(aside)` or `!aside`, or starts with `aside`, is never sent. The summary of a **Comment** review with no line comments is sent only when it mentions the App. To change the setting: 1. Open **Settings**, then **Automations**, on the factory. 2. To turn the automation on or off, use the switch beside **Answer GitHub reviews**. The switch saves at once. 3. To change which comments are sent, choose **Answer GitHub reviews**, then **Edit**. 4. Choose **Every comment** or **Mentions only**, then choose **Save**. With the switch off, no comment from a GitHub review goes to the agent, and a **Request changes** review starts no agent job. Use **Request changes** on the item page. The run log of **Answer GitHub reviews** says why the comments of a review were not sent. The item's **Activity** section shows the same reason. ### When the agent starts A **Request changes** review starts an agent job at once. The comments of a **Comment** review wait for a quiet time. The agent job starts when no member has added a comment for three minutes. So five single comments in a row start one agent job, not five. When an agent already works on the item, a comment that is sent reaches it at its next step. See [While an agent works](https://docs.outerlayer.ai/review-the-work.md#while-an-agent-works). This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.