---
title: "No CODEOWNERS file in a data repository | Metacenta"
description: "Without a CODEOWNERS file, a change to a critical model can merge unseen by the people who depend on it. Where the file must sit, and when to skip it."
url: "https://metacenta.com/rules/repo-no-codeowners"
updated: "2026-10-14"
tokens: 499
---

Repository hygiene · rule repo-no-codeowners

# No CODEOWNERS file in a data repository

A Metacenta review checks this under the rule **The repo declares code owners**. Everything below applies whether or not you ever commission one.

## What this rule checks

This rule flags a repository with no `CODEOWNERS` file where its host reads it: the root, `.github/`, `.gitlab/`, `.bitbucket/` or `docs/`. A file with that name anywhere else does not count, because the host ignores it and requests no review.

## Why it matters

No review is requested from anyone automatically. A change to a critical model can merge without the people who depend on it ever seeing it.

## How to fix it

**Declare code owners so changes reach the people who depend on them.** Add `.github/CODEOWNERS` on GitHub or `.gitlab/CODEOWNERS` on GitLab, mapping each model directory to the team that owns it. On Bitbucket Cloud, add `CODEOWNERS` or set default reviewers.

## When it is fine to leave

A small team where everyone reviews every pull request gains little from routing. Write that down in the README, so the absence reads as a decision rather than a gap.

## What we need to check it

Read-only access to the repository's file list. Ownership of dbt models is a separate rule with its own evidence. If the listing was truncated, we decline rather than report.

[Ask about a review](https://metacenta.com/enquire?src=rule-repo-no-codeowners&via=md)

## Related pages

- [Credential files committed to a data repository](https://metacenta.com/rules/repo-committed-credential-file)
- [Data repository with no CI pipeline](https://metacenta.com/rules/repo-no-ci)
- [Archived repositories under review](https://metacenta.com/rules/repo-archived)
- [Data repository with no tests](https://metacenta.com/rules/repo-no-tests)
- [A sample review, as a client reads it](https://metacenta.com/sample)
- [All published rules](https://metacenta.com/rules)
- [How a review is assessed](https://metacenta.com/standard)