Gate Recommend Reviewers catalog visibility behind the dap_powered_recommend_reviewers flag

Phase A. Decides whether Beta gets a catalog-visibility gate at all.

Problem

This issue was originally framed as preserving the Beta gate once the project setting is gone. Verification against the code shows the flag never gated catalog visibility in the first place:

  • recommend_reviewers/v1 declares no feature_flag (ee/app/models/ai/catalog/foundational_flow/items.rb:186-205), so the flow is already visible today to every group with beta flows enabled — available_for_group only applies beta/ultimate gating plus blocked_by_feature_flag?, which is a no-op without a declared flag (foundational_flow.rb:38-48).
  • The merge_request_ready trigger worker is not flag-gated either, so those groups can already create the trigger and execute the flow — currently without reviewer_data (#607673 (closed)).

What dap_powered_recommend_reviewers actually gates today is the bespoke execution branch in MergeRequests::AutoAssignReviewersWorker (via Project#dap_powered_recommend_reviewers_available?, project actor) and the settings-page radio group. Once the setting and bespoke path are removed, that method goes with them and the flag gates nothing.

So the decision here is whether Beta should add a catalog gate, not whether to preserve one. /cc @phikai — if the current ungated availability is acceptable for Beta, this issue can be closed and the flag retired in Phase D (#607679 (closed)).

Implementation (if a gate is wanted) — with verified blast radius

Declare the flag on the item, matching the single existing precedent (business_context_security_guidelines/experimental → feature_flag: "sdlc_context_agent_trigger", items.rb:293):

# ee/app/models/ai/catalog/foundational_flow/items.rb (recommend_reviewers/v1 block)
feature_flag: "recommend_reviewers_flow",

This is a hard availability gate, not cosmetic visibility. blocked_by_feature_flag? (foundational_flow.rb:58-64) has three callers, and one of them blocks execution:

  1. EE::Groups::SettingsHelper#available_foundational_flows_json (settings_helper.rb:222) — flow disappears from the group Duo settings list. Actor: the root group.
  2. Ai::Catalog::ItemConsumerPolicy condition foundational_flow_feature_flag_disabled (item_consumer_policy.rb:88-93, 119-127) — prevents :execute_ai_catalog_item, :read_ai_catalog_item_consumer, and :admin_ai_catalog_item_consumer. Ai::Catalog::Flows::ExecuteService#allowed? checks :execute_ai_catalog_item (flows/execute_service.rb:65-67), so a disabled flag stops trigger-driven runs, not just visibility. Actor: project&.root_ancestor || group&.root_ancestor.
  3. EE::Groups::UpdateService#strip_feature_flag_gated_foundational_flows! (update_service.rb:479-484) — silently drops the flow from enabled_foundational_flows on group-settings save. Actor: root group.

The bespoke path is not affected by an item-level flag (CreateAndStartWorkflowService checks only flow_configured_for_container?, not the policy), so existing dap_powered rows keep working through Phases B–C regardless.

Use a fresh flag, not dap_powered_recommend_reviewers. Through Phases B–C the existing flag still gates bespoke runtime with a project actor, while all three call sites above evaluate with a root-group actor. Reusing it means one flag, two actor types, two meanings that need flipping independently. Flag YAML template (ee/config/feature_flags/gitlab_com_derisk/recommend_reviewers_flow.yml, patterned on sdlc_context_agent_trigger.yml):

---
name: recommend_reviewers_flow
description: Gates availability of the Recommend Reviewers foundational flow in the AI catalog
feature_issue_url: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/work_items/607676
rollout_issue_url: <new rollout issue>
milestone: '19.4'
group: group::code review
type: gitlab_com_derisk
default_enabled: false

Rollout sequencing is the risky part. The flag defaults off, and via caller 2 that blocks execution — so before merging, every group currently relying on the flow (trigger-based setups and the root groups of the dap_powered projects on #602418 (closed)) must be enabled by root-group actor. Get the group list from the Phase C audit (#607678) or Ai::FlowTrigger rows joined to the recommend_reviewers item consumer.

Acceptance criteria

  • Product decision recorded: does Beta need a catalog gate at all?
  • If yes: recommend_reviewers/v1 declares a fresh feature_flag, all three call-site behaviours verified per group (settings list, policy/execution, enabled-flows stripping), and every currently-functioning group enabled before the flag ships
  • If no: issue closed, and the flag retirement noted on #607679 (closed)
Edited by 🤖 GitLab Bot 🤖