Done some research on this. Here's what I found. 1. copilot_code_review in .asf.yaml *creates an active GitHub ruleset* that *automatically requests Copilot review for qualifying pull requests* (apache/infrastructure-asfyaml ref <https://github.com/apache/infrastructure-asfyaml/blob/76d241ccef02e5397e10c173ebf04c07525311ea/asfyaml/feature/github/copilot_code_review.py#L34-L54>). The ASF setting only manages the repository ruleset; it does not assign Copilot licenses or enable paid usage.
2. *For an automatically triggered review, the AI-credit usage is attributed to the PR author*. *For a manually requested review, it is attributed to the person who requested it*. GitHub Docs (under "Code review usage") <https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/concepts/agents/code-review#code-review-usage> 3. Copilot review also uses GitHub Actions for agentic capabilities such as full-repository context gathering and tool use. Those Actions minutes are *attributed to the repository*, and then to its enterprise or cost center where applicable—not to the PR author. GitHub Docs (under "Code review usage") <https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/concepts/agents/code-review> 4. *Users without a Copilot license that includes code review*—including Copilot Free users—do not have a monthly AI-credit allowance for review. An organization can separately allow reviews for these users by enabling both *paid AI-credit usage* and *code review for users without a license*. In that case, the AI credits are billed directly to the organization or enterprise. GitHub Docs (under "Copilot code review without a Copilot license") <https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/concepts/agents/code-review#copilot-code-review-without-a-copilot-license> and Github Docs (under "Users without a Copilot license or plan that includes Copilot code review") <https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/concepts/agents/code-review#users-without-a-copilot-license-or-plan-that-includes-copilot-code-review> - If those two organization-level policies are not enabled, *automatic review will not run for an author* who lacks access to Copilot code review. I believe ASF org does NOT have these settings enabled, so copilot review will simply not run for pr where the author does not have copilot review. Others can still manually request reviews. Verifying the org level settings with ASF infra (https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/INFRA-28138) Now that we understand the cost structure, I think we can move forward and give it a try. On Thu, Jul 16, 2026 at 10:31 PM Kevin Liu <[email protected]> wrote: > Since other apache repos have enabled it, i think it's safe for us to > experiment. Let me try to find out where the Copilot resource credit comes > from, I'll report back. > For the GitHub Actions minutes, we have spare minutes thanks to all the > great work already done to improve our CI. > > I approved the iceberg-cpp pr to enable copilot review. Please report back > on your experience, I think it can benefit other repos too. > > > > On Thu, Jul 16, 2026 at 9:47 PM Scott Haines <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> +1. >> Still good to understand the limitations. Having a first line of review, >> or just using co-pilot to classify or tag a PR is also a good use of the >> free credits. >> >> >> *Scott Haines* >> Engineer >> 408.768.3799 >> >> >> On Thu, Jul 16, 2026 at 8:59 PM Gang Wu <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> From GitHub's billing docs, Copilot code review consumes both AI credits >>> and GitHub Actions minutes (which are free for public repos.) >>> >>> The AI credit quota depends on ASF's GitHub/Copilot billing setup, which >>> does not seem to be publicly documented. >>> >>> On Fri, Jul 17, 2026 at 11:22 AM Kevin Liu <[email protected]> >>> wrote: >>> >>>> Good to see this is now enabled by ASF! I wanted to give this a try >>>> before but it wasn't available yet in the Apache org. I think it's very >>>> helpful as a first review for PRs. >>>> >>>> One thing though: >>>> > before enabling such features, projects should discuss the >>>> workflow/resource impact with the project team >>>> >>>> What's our quota for Copilot Reviews? Will it eat into our CI >>>> resources? What happens if we use it up? >>>> Would be good to know these before enabling it. I could find anything >>>> from the ASF docs above >>>> >>>> >>>> On Thu, Jul 16, 2026 at 7:52 PM vaquar khan <[email protected]> >>>> wrote: >>>> >>>>> +1 >>>>> Good one 👍 >>>>> >>>>> Regards, >>>>> Viquar Khan >>>>> >>>>> On Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 8:33 PM Junwang Zhao <[email protected]> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> +1, this can help catch bugs or inconsistencies early in the PR >>>>>> process. >>>>>> >>>>>> On Thu, Jul 16, 2026 at 11:20 PM Jones, Danny <[email protected]> >>>>>> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> +1 on trialling something like GH Copilot for review. I was thinking >>>>>>> about proposing this for iceberg-rust – for the same reasons others >>>>>>> raised >>>>>>> on reviewer bandwidth. I look forward to hearing how it goes for >>>>>>> iceberg-cpp, and wonder if anyone on the Arrow project can share how >>>>>>> it’s >>>>>>> been for them so far. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> One thing raised by Andrew Lamb on one of the Arrow tuning PRs[1] is >>>>>>> to define how contributors should respond to the feedback from Copilot. >>>>>>> I >>>>>>> think this would be useful for us too – in particular, I’d encourage >>>>>>> contributors and reviewers alike to be vocal on the comments in PRs such >>>>>>> that this can be fed back in for tuning the custom guidance – positive >>>>>>> and >>>>>>> negative! Treat it a bit like providing feedback for a retrospective. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Danny >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> [1]: https://github.com/apache/arrow/pull/50117 >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> *From: *Renjie Liu <[email protected]> >>>>>>> *Reply to: *"[email protected]" <[email protected]> >>>>>>> *Date: *Thursday, 16 July 2026 at 07:04 >>>>>>> *To: *"[email protected]" <[email protected]> >>>>>>> *Subject: *RE: [EXTERNAL] [DISCUSS] Enable GitHub Copilot code >>>>>>> review >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> *CAUTION*: This email originated from outside of the organization. >>>>>>> Do not click links or open attachments unless you can confirm the sender >>>>>>> and know the content is safe. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> +1 for this. Reviewer bandwidth is limited and if it works well for >>>>>>> iceberg-cpp, I'm looking forward to introduce it to other repos. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> On Thu, Jul 16, 2026 at 1:18 PM Gang Wu <[email protected]> wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Hi all, >>>>>>> >>>>>>> I would like to discuss enabling ASF-managed GitHub Copilot code >>>>>>> review for >>>>>>> Iceberg repositories, starting with iceberg-cpp as a small trial: >>>>>>> >>>>>>> https://github.com/apache/iceberg-cpp/pull/833 >>>>>>> >>>>>>> This would enable automatic Copilot review on non-draft PRs, using >>>>>>> the ASF >>>>>>> `.asf.yaml` `github.copilot_code_review` setting. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Apache Arrow recently enabled and tuned this feature: >>>>>>> https://github.com/apache/arrow/pull/50117 >>>>>>> >>>>>>> ASF Infra documents this as a supported `.asf.yaml` feature: >>>>>>> https://github.com/apache/infrastructure-asfyaml#copilot-code-review >>>>>>> >>>>>>> The `.asf.yaml` docs also say that before enabling such features, >>>>>>> projects >>>>>>> should discuss the workflow/resource impact with the project team: >>>>>>> >>>>>>> https://github.com/apache/infrastructure-asfyaml#before-you-start-using-asfyaml >>>>>>> >>>>>>> I suggest starting with iceberg-cpp first as a trial, because >>>>>>> reviewer bandwidth >>>>>>> is limited there and Copilot may provide useful first-pass feedback. >>>>>>> If it works >>>>>>> well, other Iceberg repositories can adopt a similar setup later. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Any concerns or objections? >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Thanks, >>>>>>> Gang >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> -- >>>>>> Regards >>>>>> Junwang Zhao >>>>>> >>>>>
