The merge gate
The merge gate is an ordinary status check. Dicast publishes it; your branch protection decides whether it matters.
Making it required
In GitHub, go to Settings → Branches → Branch protection rules, edit the rule for your default branch, and add dicast / merge-gate under required status checks.
Until you do this, the check appears and reports its verdict but cannot stop anything. Leaving it advisory for the first week or two is the recommended path — see reading your first review.
The review check reports what was posted and always passes. Only merge-gate is meaningful as a required check; requiring both adds nothing and makes an incident block your merges.
When it fails
The gate fails when a finding reaches block_at votes — by default, unanimity. Path overrides apply, so a repository can block on two votes in src/billing and never block in docs. See per-path panels.
Overriding a verdict
Dicast has no override of its own, on purpose. Use the mechanism your team already has: dismiss the finding with @dicast dismiss if it is wrong, or use your repository’s administrator bypass if you need to ship anyway. Both leave a record in a place your team already audits.
If Dicast is down
A required check that never reports blocks merges indefinitely, so the gate fails open: if a hearing cannot complete, the check is published as neutral with an explanation rather than left pending. Reviews are queued and heard when service resumes. See the status page.