Connect a repository

Connecting a repository tells Orbi which repository’s Issues it may work on, and which branch to open pull requests against. Orbi Cloud works in one active repository at a time. Connecting is self-service: you pick the repository and the base branch on the connect page, and provisioning starts immediately.

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Connect

From the status page, click Connect repository (or Connect / change repository in the Connected repository card).

1. Repository — pick from the repositories your GitHub App installation covers.
2. Base branch — the branch Orbi opens pull requests against. Selecting a repository loads its real branches and preselects its default branch, so usually you just confirm.
3. Click Connect repository.

You return to the status page, where the Connected repository card now lists the repository with an Active chip, and provisioning begins.

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Requirements a repository has to meet

A repository can only be connected if:

• It is covered by your GitHub App installation. Orbi only sees repositories you authorized.
• It has Issues enabled. Orbi’s entire input channel is Issues, so a repository with Issues turned off is rejected.

Both are checked when you submit, not just when the page renders — so a repository that was de-authorized in between is caught.

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When your repository is not listed

The dropdown only contains repositories your App installation covers. If yours is missing, open Cannot find your repository? on the connect page: it explains the cause and links to GitHub’s App settings, where you can add the repository to the installation. You can also use Enter manually in either dropdown to type an OWNER/REPO value directly. That is useful when the listing is temporarily unavailable, but it does not bypass the authorization check — a repository the App cannot access is still rejected on submit. If GitHub’s repository listing cannot be read at all, the page degrades to manual entry and tells you why, rather than blocking you.

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Branch protection that blocks every merge

If your base branch requires approving reviews before merge, the connect page warns you in red immediately, because this setting stops every delivery at the merge step. The reason is identity: Orbi opens the pull request and merges it as the same GitHub App, and GitHub does not let a pull request’s author approve their own pull request. With required approvals in force, each delivery gets as far as a reviewed, ready pull request and then cannot merge it. Three ways to resolve it — pick whichever suits your policy:

1. Approve each delivery yourself. You or a colleague clicks Approve on the pull request, and the merge proceeds. Keeps a human in the loop on every change.
2. Let admins bypass. Under Settings → Branches → Branch protection rules (or Settings → Rules → Rulesets), enable Allow admins to bypass, or add the account to the ruleset’s bypass list.
3. Set required approvals to 0 in the same setting.

Changing it does not require reconnecting — the next delivery’s pull request merges normally.

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Changing the connected repository

Use Connect / change repository and connect a different one. The new repository becomes active and the previous one moves to history — it is not deleted, and it still appears under Historical repositories on the status page. Changing repositories provisions a fresh environment for the new one, which again takes a minute or two.

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What the errors mean

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What happens next

Connecting starts provisioning — Orbi builds the isolated environment your deliveries run in and installs the ai-* labels into your repository. Watch the Provisioning status column until it shows Provisioned, then file your first Issue.