Gates

Gate steps pause pipeline execution. Wave supports four gate types:

• approval — Wait for human decision with choices (approve, revise, abort)
• timer — Pause for a fixed duration
• pr_merge — Poll until a GitHub PR is merged
• ci_pass — Wait for CI checks to pass on a branch

For approval gates, reviewers can approve, revise, or abort — with optional freeform text feedback.

Basic Gate

steps:
  - id: plan
    persona: navigator

  - id: approve
    gate:
      prompt: "Review the implementation plan"
      choices:
        - label: "Approve"
          key: "a"
          target: implement
        - label: "Revise"
          key: "r"
          target: plan          # loops back
        - label: "Abort"
          key: "q"
          target: _fail         # fails the pipeline
      freeform: true            # allow text input
      default: "a"              # used on timeout
      timeout: "1h"
    dependencies: [plan]

  - id: implement
    persona: craftsman
    dependencies: [approve]

Timer Gate

Pause pipeline execution for a fixed duration:

- id: cooldown
  gate:
    type: timer
    timeout: 5m
    message: "Cooling down before next phase"

PR Merge Gate

Poll GitHub PR status until merged or closed:

- id: wait-merge
  gate:
    type: pr_merge
    pr_number: 123
    # repo: owner/repo  # optional, auto-detected from git
    interval: 30s      # optional, default 30s
    timeout: 10m        # optional, default 10m

The gate resolves when the PR is merged. If the PR is closed without merging, the step fails.

CI Pass Gate

Wait for CI checks to pass on a branch:

- id: wait-ci
  gate:
    type: ci_pass
    branch: main        # optional, auto-detected from git
    # repo: owner/repo  # optional, auto-detected
    interval: 30s       # optional, default 30s
    timeout: 15m        # optional, default 10m

Polls the most recent CI run for the branch. Resolves when all checks pass or are skipped. Fails if any check fails or is cancelled.

Interaction Channels

Gates work across all Wave interfaces:

• CLI: Keyboard shortcuts ([A] Approve / [R] Revise / [Q] Abort)
• TUI: Bubble Tea modal with selection
• WebUI: Button panel with freeform text input
• API: POST /api/runs/:id/gates/:step/approve

Auto-Approve for CI

Skip gates in automated environments:

wave run --auto-approve impl-issue -- "..."

Uses the default choice for each gate.

Gate Context

After a decision, downstream steps can access:

• {{ gate.<step>.choice }} — selected choice label
• {{ gate.<step>.text }} — freeform text (if provided)

- id: implement
  exec:
    source: |
      Implement based on the plan.
      Reviewer feedback: {{ "{{ gate.approve.text }}" }}

Example Pipeline

See .wave/pipelines/plan-approve-implement.yaml for a complete working example.

Automated Gates

timer

Waits for a specified duration before allowing the pipeline to continue. Useful for cooldown periods or rate limiting between steps.

- id: cooldown
  gate:
    type: timer
    timeout: "30s"

Field	Required	Description
type	yes	timer
timeout	yes	Duration to wait (e.g., 30s, 5m, 1h)

pr_merge

Polls a forge (GitHub/GitLab) until a specified pull request is merged or closed. Fails if the PR is closed without merging.

- id: wait-for-merge
  gate:
    type: pr_merge
    pr_number: 42
    interval: "30s"
    timeout: "2h"

Field	Default	Description
type	-	pr_merge
pr_number	-	PR number to watch (required)
repo	auto-detected	owner/repo slug; auto-detected from git remotes if omitted
interval	system default	Poll frequency (e.g., 30s)
timeout	system default	Maximum wait time (e.g., 2h)

ci_pass

Polls CI status for a branch until checks pass or fail. Resolves when the most recent CI run completes successfully; fails if the run fails.

- id: wait-for-ci
  gate:
    type: ci_pass
    branch: "feature/my-branch"
    interval: "1m"
    timeout: "30m"

Field	Default	Description
type	-	ci_pass
branch	current branch	Branch to check CI status for
repo	auto-detected	owner/repo slug; auto-detected from git remotes if omitted
interval	system default	Poll frequency (e.g., 1m)
timeout	system default	Maximum wait time (e.g., 30m)