DEVOPS

Quarantine a flaky test on demand from a PR comment

When an engineer comments a quarantine command on a pull request, the bot adds the named test to the skip list, opens a tracking ticket.

CategoryDevOps
Enginesim
Difficultyintermediate
Triggerevent
Steps5
Setup~15 min

How it runs

The automated pipeline, trigger to output.

  • TriggerPR comment receivedGitHubGitHub
  • LogicMatch /quarantine command and authorize
  • ActionCommit test to skip listGitHubGitHub
  • ActionOpen un-quarantine tracking ticketLinearLinear
  • OutputReply on PR with confirmationGitHubGitHub

What it does

This template gives engineers a one-line escape hatch. Commenting something like `/quarantine FooTest.shouldRetry` on a PR tells the bot to add that test to the project's quarantine skip list, commit the change, and open a tracking ticket so the flake is fixed later instead of forgotten.

When to use it

Use it when a flaky test is blocking an urgent merge and you want a fast, auditable way to skip it without hand-editing config and losing track of the debt.

How it works

  1. 1A GitHub issue_comment event on a PR fires the trigger.
  2. 2A logic step checks for the `/quarantine` command and extracts the test identifier and authorizes the commenter.
  3. 3GitHub commits the test to the quarantine skip-list file on the PR branch.
  4. 4Linear opens a ticket to un-quarantine and fix the test, linking the PR.
  5. 5The bot replies on the PR confirming the test is quarantined and the merge is unblocked.

Set it up

What you configure once, before turning it on.

  1. 1
    Connect GitHubRepos, issues, pull requests, actions.
  2. 2
    Connect LinearIssues, projects, cycles, triage.
  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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