CODEOWNERS

CODEOWNERS is a text file used by code hosting platforms to designate owners for different parts of a repository. It enables automatic review requests from those owners when changes affect specific files or directories, supporting accountability and streamlined code governance.

The CODEOWNERS file can be placed in the repository root, in the .github directory, or in the docs directory. The location of the file determines which parts of the codebase it governs, and the file must be named CODEOWNERS. Lines that begin with a hash are treated as comments.

Each non-comment line contains a path pattern followed by one or more owners. Patterns can target directories or files and may use simple wildcards. Owners are GitHub users or teams, written as @username or @org/team. If multiple owners are listed, any of them can review changes. The most specific pattern that matches a file determines its owners.

Example lines:

# This is a comment

docs/ @docs-team

src/frontend/ @frontend-team

src/frontend/Button.js @alice @design-team

How it works in practice: when a pull request changes files covered by CODEOWNERS, GitHub automatically requests reviews from the associated owners. You can combine CODEOWNERS with branch protection rules to require code owner reviews before merging.

Notes: CODEOWNERS supports both individuals and teams as owners. It applies to review assignment on GitHub and is one mechanism to enforce ownership and review discipline within a project.