GitHub Comments
How FlagShark comments on your pull requests to provide flag visibility to your team.
When FlagShark detects feature flag changes in a pull request, it automatically posts a comment summarizing all flags added or removed. This gives reviewers immediate visibility into flag changes without leaving GitHub.
Comment Overview
FlagShark's PR comment includes:
- A header showing the total number of flag changes
- A table of added flags (Flag, File, Line, Language)
- A table of removed flags (Flag, File, Line, Language)
- A collapsible analysis details block (files analyzed, files skipped)
- A powered-by footer
Comment Structure
Header
The comment header shows the total number of flag changes detected:
## 🦈 FlagShark — 3 Feature Flag Changes
If no changes are detected the header reads ## 🦈 FlagShark — No Feature Flag Changes.
Flag Tables
Added and removed flags each get their own section with a markdown table:
### Added (2)
| Flag | File | Line | Language |
|------|------|------|----------|
| `enable-new-checkout` | `src/checkout/PaymentForm.tsx` | 42 | TypeScript |
| `show-upsells` | `src/checkout/Upsells.tsx` | 15 | TypeScript |
### Removed (1)
| Flag | File | Line | Language |
|------|------|------|----------|
| `enable-legacy-api` | `src/api/client.ts` | 88 | TypeScript |The columns are:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Flag | The flag key, as a code literal |
| File | The file path where the flag appears |
| Line | The line number |
| Language | The programming language FlagShark detected |
Analysis Details
A collapsible <details> block at the bottom shows how many files were analyzed and, if any, how many were skipped.
When FlagShark could not analyze the change
If FlagShark could not read some or all of the changed source files, the comment says so and names the reason (for example, GitHub did not return the file contents, or the file could not be parsed). It never reports "No Feature Flag Changes" for code it did not analyze. If GitHub lists only the first 3000 files of a very large pull request, the comment says that the rest were not analyzed.
Footer
Every comment ends with:
*Powered by [FlagShark](https://flagshark.com)*
Comment Updates
FlagShark uses a single sticky comment per PR. When you push new commits, FlagShark re-analyzes the updated diff and silently edits the existing comment in place; it does not post a new comment. The stickiness is driven by a hidden HTML marker (<!-- flagshark -->) at the start of the comment body; the manager searches for this marker to locate the existing comment. The comment body itself begins with <!-- flagshark-pr-comment --> (written by the formatter), which is a separate internal marker.
Triggering a Re-Analysis
Push a new commit to the PR (or amend/force-push). FlagShark re-analyzes on every pull_request: synchronize event from GitHub and updates the existing comment in place.
Dismissing False Positives
To exclude a file or pattern that's producing a false positive, add it to your .flagshark.yml exclude list. See Configuration.
Comment Permissions
FlagShark needs write access to post comments. If comments aren't appearing:
See Permissions for detailed troubleshooting.
Notification Integration
When FlagShark comments, GitHub's standard notification rules apply:
- PR author is notified
- Reviewers subscribed to the PR are notified
- Anyone @mentioned is notified
Comment Examples
Typical PR Comment
<!-- flagshark-pr-comment -->
## 🦈 FlagShark — 3 Feature Flag Changes
### Added (2)
| Flag | File | Line | Language |
|------|------|------|----------|
| `enable-new-checkout` | `src/checkout/PaymentForm.tsx` | 42 | TypeScript |
| `show-upsells` | `src/checkout/Upsells.tsx` | 15 | TypeScript |
### Removed (1)
| Flag | File | Line | Language |
|------|------|------|----------|
| `enable-legacy-api` | `src/api/client.ts` | 88 | TypeScript |
<details>
<summary>Analysis details</summary>
- Files analyzed: **24**
</details>
---
*Powered by [FlagShark](https://flagshark.com)*No-Changes Comment
When a PR touches files that import a flag SDK but introduces no net flag changes:
<!-- flagshark-pr-comment -->
## 🦈 FlagShark — No Feature Flag Changes
No feature flag changes detected in this PR.
<details>
<summary>Analysis details</summary>
- Files analyzed: **8**
</details>
---
*Powered by [FlagShark](https://flagshark.com)*Related Documentation
- Activity Feed - Track all flag activity
- Flag Detection - How detection works
- Permissions - Comment permission issues