> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://zeropath.com/docs/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # PR Scanning > Catch vulnerabilities before they reach your main branch with automated pull request scanning ## How It Works ZeroPath PR scanning analyzes the code changes in your pull requests and merge requests, catching security issues before they're merged. Scans run automatically when a PR is opened or updated, and results appear directly in your VCS. Only changed files and surrounding context are analyzed — fast and targeted. Large diffs are handled gracefully: the AI agent can inspect specific file diffs through tools rather than requiring the entire diff inline, so even very large pull requests receive full agent-based analysis. Scans both target and PR branches, surfacing only *new* findings in the PR. SAST, SCA, Secrets, and IaC run simultaneously on changed code. If the AI analysis times out or encounters an error, findings from independently completed tools (such as secrets and SCA) are preserved. Every finding is validated in the context of the diff to minimize false positives. ## Supported Platforms | Platform | Trigger | Check Status | Inline Comments | | -------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | -------------------------- | --------------- | | **GitHub** (Cloud & Enterprise Server) | GitHub App webhook | GitHub Check Runs | Yes | | **GitLab** (Cloud & Self-hosted) | Merge Request webhook / Pipeline webhook | Commit Statuses / Pipeline | Yes | | **Bitbucket** (Cloud & Data Center) | Pull Request webhook | Build Statuses | Yes | | **Azure DevOps Services** | Service hook | Build Statuses | Yes | All four platforms support the full PR scanning feature set: automatic triggering, status reporting, and inline code review comments. Want to verify that your PR fixes a known vulnerability? See [Fix Verification](/scanning/fix-verification) to learn how to reference issues in your PR description. ## What Gets Analyzed PR scanning is strictly diff-focused. It does not re-scan your entire codebase on every PR. Retrieves the unified diff from your VCS API (falls back to `git diff` if needed). When the PR branch shares no common ancestor with the target branch (for example, orphan branches or force-pushed histories), ZeroPath automatically falls back to a direct tree comparison so the scan can still proceed. Maps every changed hunk to its file and line numbers. On changed files only: * **SAST** — static analysis on both target and PR branches, surfacing only new findings. If your organization has configured [custom natural-language SAST rules](/platform/scanner-settings#custom-sources--sinks), those rules are also enforced on the changed code — the same rules that run during full scans are applied to the files touched by the PR, so violations are caught before merge. * **SCA** — dependency analysis when manifests/lockfiles changed (AI pre-screen skips if not relevant) * **Secrets** — scans the diff for hardcoded credentials * **IaC** — checks changed infrastructure files Only findings that directly overlap with actually changed lines in the diff are reported — there is no proximity buffer, so nearby-but-unrelated findings are excluded. New files are included entirely; deleted files are excluded. AI validation removes false positives. When a previously reported issue is re-evaluated and determined to be a false positive, it can be automatically resolved. Results are posted to your VCS as check statuses and inline comments. When a PR is updated after a previous scan was skipped (for example, because the earlier diff was not security-relevant), ZeroPath excludes the skipped scan from the refresh baseline. This ensures the incremental comparison covers the full set of PR changes rather than only the most recent update. ## Check Status & Feedback Results are reported through multiple channels: A pass/fail check status is posted on your PR. This integrates with branch protection rules so you can **require ZeroPath checks to pass** before merging. | Status | Meaning | | ----------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Success** | No security-relevant issues found (or only below threshold) | | **Failure** | Confirmed vulnerabilities found above configured threshold | | **Neutral** | Scan timed out (does not block merges by default). Timeout statuses are posted consistently across all supported VCS platforms, including for scans that time out while queued. | | **Skipped** | Infrastructure error (deliberately not a failure to avoid blocking merges). Error messages are specific to the failure type — for example, distinguishing repository access issues from transient service errors — for easier troubleshooting. | When you triage an issue (for example, marking it as false positive or resolved) on a PR that has been updated and rescanned, ZeroPath refreshes the check status on the PR's current head commit rather than the scan where the issue was originally detected. This ensures that triage actions immediately reflect in the branch protection check your team sees, even after subsequent commits have been pushed to the PR. ### Blocking Pull Requests The default ZeroPath check name is `ZeroPath Security Scan`. If your organization uses a custom or white-labeled integration, require the exact check name that appears on a test PR. #### GitHub Use GitHub branch protection rules to require the ZeroPath check before merging. Enable PR scanning and **Check status posting** in ZeroPath, then open or update a test pull request so GitHub has seen the `ZeroPath Security Scan` check at least once. In GitHub, go to your repository's **Settings > Branches**, then add or edit the branch protection rule for the branch you want to protect, such as `main`. Select **Require status checks to pass before merging**, search for `ZeroPath Security Scan`, and select it. If GitHub asks for the expected source, choose the ZeroPath GitHub App rather than "any source". Save the rule, push a commit to the test PR, and confirm GitHub blocks the merge until the ZeroPath check reports success. See GitHub's official steps for requiring status checks in a branch protection rule. #### GitLab Use GitLab's merge checks to require the pipeline that contains the ZeroPath status to succeed before merging. Enable PR scanning and **Check status posting** in ZeroPath, then open or update a test merge request so GitLab shows `ZeroPath Security Scan` in the merge request's pipeline or status area. In GitLab, go to the project and select **Settings > Merge requests**. In **Merge checks**, select **Pipelines must succeed**, then save your changes. GitLab will block the merge until the relevant pipeline, including the ZeroPath status, is successful. Push a commit to the test merge request and confirm the `ZeroPath Security Scan` status appears in the pipeline that GitLab evaluates for the merge request. If you run both branch and merge request pipelines, make sure the ZeroPath status is attached to the merge request pipeline GitLab uses for the merge gate. See GitLab's official steps for requiring a successful pipeline before merge. See how GitLab represents statuses from external systems inside pipelines. #### Bitbucket Use Bitbucket merge checks to require successful build statuses before merging. Enable PR scanning and **Check status posting** in ZeroPath, then open or update a test pull request so Bitbucket shows the `ZeroPath Security Scan` build status on the latest commit. For Bitbucket Cloud, open the repository settings and go to **Branch restrictions** under **Workflow**. For Bitbucket Data Center, open **Repository settings > Merge checks** or **Repository settings > Required builds**. In Bitbucket Cloud, add a branch restriction for the protected branch and enable **Minimum number of successful builds for the last commit with no failed builds**. Set the minimum to at least `1`. On Bitbucket Cloud Premium, enable **Prevent a merge with unresolved merge checks** so the successful-build requirement blocks merging. Without that setting, Bitbucket warns users about unresolved merge checks but may still allow the merge. In Bitbucket Data Center, enable **Minimum successful builds** or add a **Required builds** rule for the ZeroPath build key if your instance supports required builds. Push a commit to the test PR and confirm Bitbucket blocks the merge until the latest commit has a successful ZeroPath build status. See Bitbucket Cloud's official steps for requiring successful builds before merge. See Bitbucket Data Center's official merge check and required build documentation. #### Azure DevOps Services Use Azure Repos branch policies to require the ZeroPath status before completing a pull request. Enable PR scanning and **Check status posting** in ZeroPath, then open or update a test pull request so Azure DevOps Services receives the `ZeroPath Security Scan` status. In Azure DevOps Services, open the repository's **Repos > Branches** page, select the target branch, and open **Branch policies**. Add a status policy for the ZeroPath status context used in your environment. Configure it as required if the branch should block merges until the scan passes. Push a commit to the test pull request and confirm Azure DevOps blocks completion until the ZeroPath status reports success. Azure DevOps PR scans require an Azure DevOps Services connection in ZeroPath. See the [Azure DevOps integration guide](/integrations/azure-devops) for OAuth and PAT setup. ZeroPath posts **inline comments directly on the affected diff lines** showing: * The vulnerability type and severity * A description of the issue and its impact * If auto-patching is enabled, a fix suggestion that can be applied with one click When a previously reported finding is no longer detected in a subsequent scan of the same PR, ZeroPath automatically resolves the corresponding inline comment, keeping your review thread clean and up to date. The original comment text is struck through and replaced with a **"Resolved"** banner indicating the issue was not detected in the latest scan. On platforms that support it, the review thread is also collapsed or marked as resolved. Comment threads are also resolved automatically when you mark the underlying issue as **false positive**, **resolved**, or any other closed state from the ZeroPath dashboard, API, or via a bot command. This works across GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Azure DevOps Services, so your PR review stays in sync with your triage decisions. Inline comments are enabled by default and can be disabled per repository. An optional summary comment listing all findings, grouped by severity. You can control summary comments separately for scans that find issues and scans that come back clean, so your team only receives the notifications that matter. When more than 10 issues are found, the summary shows the top 10 and includes a link to view all results in the ZeroPath dashboard. The summary header now displays the exact number of issues detected (e.g., "3 possible security issues detected") for quick at-a-glance triage. If a finding has an associated Jira ticket, the summary includes the Jira issue ID (linked directly to Jira when a URL is available) and ticket title alongside the finding. This gives your team immediate visibility into existing tracking without leaving the PR. If the PR comment body exceeds VCS size limits, it is automatically truncated at a clean boundary and a link to the full scan results in the ZeroPath dashboard is appended so you can always access the complete findings. When a PR is merged with open vulnerabilities, ZeroPath fires notifications via your configured channels (Slack, webhooks, etc.) alerting the team. The notification includes all confirmed and unresolved findings from the PR, including findings that were carried forward from earlier scans of the same PR through the deduplication system. You also receive real-time notifications when new SCA issues are created during a PR scan. These notifications include the vulnerability title, affected package name, and CVE identifier so your team can assess impact immediately. When auto-patching is enabled, ZeroPath tracks the status of each patch PR. When a patch PR is merged, every linked vulnerability is automatically marked as **patched**. If the PR is closed without merging, the vulnerabilities are marked as **denied**. This works correctly even in monorepo configurations where a single patch PR may address multiple vulnerabilities at once. Both outcomes trigger notifications through your configured channels. When a patch PR is merged, you receive a **vulnerability patched** notification including the vulnerability title and branch name. When a patch PR is closed without merging, you receive a **patch PR denied** notification so your team can follow up on unresolved findings. ## Bot Commands You can drive ZeroPath directly from your PR or merge request by mentioning the bot in a comment — triage findings, assign tickets, generate patches, rescan, or ask natural-language questions. The bot acknowledges immediately and updates the same comment in-place when the action completes. When the job finishes, ZeroPath also posts a follow-up reply in the same thread with a summary of the result (or an error message if the job failed), so the outcome is visible inline without navigating to the dashboard. A few common examples: ```text PR comment theme={null} @ZeroPath fp issue 2 because input is sanitized upstream @ZeroPath assign issue 3 to alice@example.com @ZeroPath generate patch issue 2 @ZeroPath rescan force @ZeroPath retriage because we added input validation ``` When a command includes an explicit target (such as `issue 2`), that target always takes priority — even if the command is posted as a reply under a different finding's comment thread. The thread context is used as a fallback only when no target is written in the command text. For example, `@ZeroPath fp issue 2` posted as a reply under issue 5's thread will act on issue 2, not issue 5. For the full command reference — every keyword, alias, target form, the `because` modifier, RBAC requirements, and platform support — see [Bot Commands](/scanning/bot-commands). When you change an issue's status via a bot command, a **vulnerability status changed** notification is sent through your configured notification channels. The notification includes the previous status, new status, and who made the change, so your team has full visibility into triage decisions made from PR comments. Bot commands are supported on **GitHub** and **GitLab**. **Bitbucket** and **Azure DevOps** support PR scanning but not bot commands yet. Use `@ZeroPath` as a universal alias, or replace it with your environment's configured bot username. Comments that appear to contain prompt injection content are automatically blocked. If you receive a rejection message, rephrase your question as a direct inquiry about the reported issue. Bot commands must come from a human account. Comments from bot accounts (including other GitHub Apps) are automatically ignored to prevent feedback loops and ensure that every command is attributable to a real user. When the bot answers questions about secrets findings, the raw secret value is automatically masked in its reply. The assistant receives and posts only the redacted form, so cleartext credentials are never echoed back into your pull request comments. Bot commands require your VCS account to be linked to a ZeroPath user. On **GitHub**, you can link your account by setting your GitHub public email (Settings → Public profile) to match your ZeroPath account email, then commenting on a PR. The link is saved permanently, so you can switch the email back to private afterward. On **GitLab**, contact your org admin to link your account. If the PR references specific vulnerabilities using `ZP-ID` tags or dashboard issue URLs (see [Fix Verification](/scanning/fix-verification)), `retriage` re-runs fix verification against the latest PR code instead of the standard investigation flow. This checks whether the current PR changes actually resolve the referenced issues. If a fix verification is already in progress for the PR, the bot will let you know rather than creating a duplicate. ## Configuration All PR scanning settings follow an **Organization → Tag → Repository** inheritance cascade. Repository-level overrides take precedence. | Setting | Default | What It Controls | | ------------------------------- | ------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **PR scanning enabled** | Off | Master on/off switch for PR scanning on a repository. The current status is visible in the repository detail view and API response. | | **Inline review comments** | On | Post inline comments on affected diff lines | | **PR summary (issues found)** | On | Post a summary comment when the scan finds issues | | **PR summary (clean scan)** | On | Post a summary comment when the scan finds no issues | | **Detailed vulnerability info** | Not set | Include vulnerability descriptions, severity scores, and remediation details in PR summary comments. When not explicitly set, downstream settings apply. | | **Check status posting** | On | Post pass/fail check status to VCS | | **Result inclusion threshold** | 0 | Minimum score for a finding to appear in PR feedback | | **Check failure threshold** | 75 | Priority score at which the check is marked as failing. Must be greater than or equal to the result inclusion threshold. | | **Scan timeout** | 10 min | Maximum time before the scan is marked as timed out. When the scan runs out of time before the AI agent can complete, ZeroPath preserves any findings already produced by other tools (such as secrets and SCA) rather than discarding the entire scan. | | **Auto-patching on PR scans** | On | Generate fix suggestions for findings in the PR | | **Scan draft MRs** | Off | Whether to scan draft pull requests and merge requests. By default, drafts are skipped and scanned automatically once marked ready for review. Enable to scan them immediately when opened or updated. | | **Scan bot PRs** | Off | Whether to scan PRs opened by automation/bots | | **Allow PR check bypass** | On | When enabled, a **Bypass Check** button appears on failing PR security checks, allowing authorized developers to override a blocking result. Disable this to remove the button entirely and prevent any bypass. In monorepo or multi-repository setups where a single PR triggers scans for more than one repository, the button is shown only when **every** repository involved in the PR allows bypass — if any repository has bypass disabled, the button is suppressed across all partitions of that PR check. | | **Tool toggles** | All on | Enable/disable SAST, SCA, Secrets, and IaC individually for PR scans | ## Automatic Repository Sync (GitHub) ZeroPath automatically keeps your repository metadata in sync when changes happen on GitHub. The following events are detected and handled in real time via webhooks: | Event | What Happens | | -------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Repository renamed** | The repository name is updated across ZeroPath, including all linked scan configurations | | **Repository transferred** | Ownership and URL are updated to reflect the new organization or user | | **Repository archived** | The repository is marked as archived in ZeroPath — no new scans will be triggered | | **Repository unarchived** | The repository is restored to active status and scans resume normally | | **Repository deleted** | The repository and its associated data are removed from ZeroPath | No manual action is required — these changes propagate automatically as long as the ZeroPath GitHub App is installed. ## How PR Scanning Differs From Full Scans | Aspect | PR Scan | Full Scan | | ---------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------- | | **Scope** | Changed files only (diff-focused) | Entire repository | | **Trigger** | Automatic on PR open/update | Manual, scheduled, or on push | | **Speed** | Fast (minutes) | Thorough (longer) | | **Differential** | Yes — subtracts existing target-branch findings | No | | **Results** | VCS check + inline comments + dashboard | Dashboard only | | **SCA gate** | AI decides if dependency files changed | Always runs | | **Timeout** | 10 minutes (configurable) | Longer timeouts | ## Adoption Guide Toggle it on in your repository's scanner settings. Ensure your GitHub App, GitLab installation, Bitbucket integration, or Azure DevOps connection is configured. ZeroPath will automatically scan it and post results. Add the ZeroPath check as a required status check in your VCS branch protection rules. Adjust the check failure threshold and result inclusion threshold to match your team's tolerance. Address findings directly in your code review workflow.