DEVOPS

Gate GitHub deploys on Honeycomb error-budget burn rate

On every pull request, checks the service's remaining error budget in Honeycomb and posts a pass/fail GitHub status check that blocks merges when the budget is too depleted…

CategoryDevOps
Enginesim
Difficultyintermediate
Triggerevent
Steps4
Setup~15 min

How it runs

The automated pipeline, trigger to output.

  • TriggerPR opened or synchronizedGitHubGitHub
  • ActionQuery Honeycomb SLO budget remaining + burn rateHoneycomb
  • LogicCompare budget to block/warn thresholds
  • OutputPost commit status check to PR head SHAGitHubGitHub

What it does

Turns your SLO error budget into a merge gate. When a pull request opens or updates, this workflow queries Honeycomb for the target service's current SLO compliance and remaining budget, then writes a GitHub commit status that GitHub branch protection can require before merge.

When to use it

Use it when you run SLO-based release management and want to stop shipping risky changes while a service is already burning budget. Ideal for teams that practice error-budget policies but currently enforce them manually in standup.

How it works

  1. 1A pull request opened or synchronized event arrives from GitHub.
  2. 2The flow reads the SLO budget remaining and recent burn rate for the mapped service from Honeycomb.
  3. 3A logic step compares remaining budget against your threshold (e.g. block below 20 percent, warn below 40 percent).
  4. 4It posts a commit status to the PR head SHA via the GitHub Checks API with state success, neutral, or failure plus the budget number in the description.
  5. 5Branch protection requiring that check then allows or blocks the merge automatically.

Set it up

What you configure once, before turning it on.

  1. 1
    Connect GitHubRepos, issues, pull requests, actions.
  2. 2
    Connect HoneycombDistributed traces and queries.
  3. 3
    Set each agent's modelWe leave models unset so you pick the tier — fast + cheap, or top-quality.
  4. 4
    Tune it to your dataEdit the prompts, filters, and field mappings so it matches how your team works.
  5. 5
    Test, then turn it onRun once against a sample, confirm the output, then enable the trigger.

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