How do I set up PR reminders in Slack?

Install PullNotifier on your GitHub org, connect your Slack workspace, then create a daily reminder: choose the repositories, pick a Slack channel, and set a stale threshold. Each day PullNotifier scans your open pull requests and posts a digest of the ones that need attention.

What counts as a stale pull request?

A stale PR is a non-draft, open pull request with no activity - no new commits, comments, reviews, or label changes - for longer than your stale threshold (3 days by default). Any activity on the PR resets the clock, so a PR that got a comment yesterday will not be flagged.

Can the reminder @mention the right reviewers?

Yes. PullNotifier maps GitHub users and teams to Slack, so each reminder @mentions the PR author and the pending reviewers. The reminder lands on the person who can actually move the PR forward, not just the channel.

Can I remind only about PRs that are missing approvals?

Yes. Set a minimum-approvals rule and the reminder adds an "Awaiting Approval" section listing every open PR with fewer approvals than required, along with who it is waiting on. It counts each reviewer’s latest review state, so a dismissed approval no longer counts.

Does the official GitHub Slack app send PR reminders?

Only a rigid one. /github subscribe required-reviewers pings every PR with a pending review, every day, with no cadence based on how old or stale a PR is. PullNotifier’s reminders are configurable by staleness, by required approvals, and by which channel each repo reports to.

Will it spam the channel when there is nothing to review?

No. When there are no stale or under-approved PRs, the reminder sends a single "all clear" message so the team knows the queue is empty - not a wall of noise.

PullNotifier

Slack PR Reminders

Stop pull requests from going stale

Slack PR reminders are an automated daily digest that posts your open GitHub pull requests which have gone stale or are still waiting on a review into a Slack channel - @mentioning the author and the reviewers who can move each one, so nothing quietly rots at the bottom of the queue.

No credit card required · Works with GitHub Enterprise · 5 min setup

How Slack PR reminders work

1. Detects stale PRs

Every day it scans your open PRs and flags the non-draft ones with no activity - commits, comments, reviews, or labels - for longer than your threshold (3 days by default).

2. Catches missing approvals

Set a minimum-approvals rule and it adds an "Awaiting Approval" section for PRs below the bar, counting each reviewer’s latest state so dismissed approvals don’t count.

3. Pings the right people

It maps GitHub users and teams to Slack and @mentions the author and pending reviewers - in the channel that owns each repo.

What the reminder looks like

A single, scannable digest - not one ping per event

PR Reminder - [webapp, api] · Manage reminder

⏳ Awaiting Approval (2 PRs need 2+ approvals)

[#412] Refactor checkout session handling (@dana)

1/2 approvals · open 3 days · Waiting on: @maria, @sam

Stale Pull Requests (>3 days without activity)

[#398] Add rate limiting to the public API (@leo)

4 days stale · 9 days old · Reviewers: @dana

When nothing is stale or under-approved, it posts a single ✅ “all clear” message instead.

Tune it to your team

Stale threshold

Choose how many days without activity make a PR "stale." Default is 3. Activity on a PR resets its clock.

Minimum approvals

Optionally surface every open PR with fewer than N approvals in a dedicated "Awaiting Approval" section.

Per-repo routing

Send each repository’s reminders to the channel that owns it, so teams only see what’s theirs.

Reviewer @mentions

Map GitHub users and teams to Slack so the reminder tags real people - or shows a name without pinging, if you prefer.

vs. the official GitHub Slack app

The official app has one rigid reminder. This is built for the review queue.

Capability	PullNotifier	Official app
Reminds about stale PRs (no recent activity)	Configurable threshold	No
Reminds about PRs missing approvals	Min-approvals rule	No
@mentions the author + pending reviewers	Via user mapping	Requested reviewers only
Per-repo channel routing	Yes	No
"All clear" message when the queue is empty	Yes	No
Cadence based on PR age	Yes	Every PR, every day

The official /github subscribe required-reviewers pings every PR with a pending review, every day, with no sense of PR age. PullNotifier reminds by staleness and approvals instead.

Frequently asked questions

Never let a PR go stale again

Set up your first Slack PR reminder in under 5 minutes - no credit card, no sales call.