GitHub MCP: "Review Can not approve your own pull request"
Error: Review Can not approve your own pull request
What causes it
In our Oct 21, 2026 test of GitHub's remote MCP server (api.githubcopilot.com/mcp), pull_request_review_write with event APPROVE on a PR opened with the same personal access token failed with this message. It is a GitHub rule, not an MCP or token-scope problem: nobody can approve or request changes on their own pull request. A COMMENT review and line comments on the same PR worked, and so did a squash merge with merge_pull_request.
How to fix it
- Leave a COMMENT review instead (event COMMENT), or let the agent merge directly if branch protection allows it.
- For agent approvals, run the reviewing agent under a different GitHub identity: a second account, or a GitHub App installed on the repo.
- If branch protection requires an approving review, the PR author (including an agent using your token) cannot satisfy it alone.
- For line comments, use three calls: pull_request_review_write create with no event, add_comment_to_pending_review, then submit_pending with an event.
Where we hit it
- GitHub MCP test report (tested Oct 21, 2026). Setup: Claude, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, ChatGPT
Related fixes
- MCP error: "Incompatible auth server: does not support dynamic client registration"
- MCP Inspector keeps failing after a bad OAuth attempt
- GitHub MCP issue_write shows a form and creates nothing
- GitHub MCP: "403 Resource not accessible by personal access token" on create_pull_request
- GitHub MCP sub_issue_write: "404 Not Found" or "403 Resource not accessible" when adding a sub-issue
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