The `approvals_before_merge` field has been made redundant within: - Issue: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/11132. - Merge request: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/merge_requests/16121 ### Steps 1. Deprecate it properly via documentation: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/352181. Currently, it's mentioned in: - https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/api/merge_request_approvals.html#merge-request-level-mr-approvals - https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/api/merge_request_approvals.html#change-configuration 2. Make sure that `approvals_before_merge` replacement works properly and is not used in the database! 3. Ignore the column following [the 3-release approach](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/development/avoiding_downtime_in_migrations.html#dropping-columns): https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/353094 4. Remove the column: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/353096 5. Remove the ignore rule for the column: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/353096 6. Remove `approvals_before_merge` field from public API (must be done for v5) 7. Cleanup the remaining parts of `approvals_before_merge` field usage