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About this tool
Build a CODEOWNERS file with path patterns and team handles, validate owners, and preview which rule wins for any file path.
This generator builds a CODEOWNERS file — the file GitHub, GitLab and Bitbucket use to auto-request reviewers when matching files change — from path patterns and owner handles. It validates each owner as @username, @org/team or an email, applies the gitignore-style pattern rules from GitHub's documentation (minus the unsupported ! negation and [..] ranges), and includes a live match preview showing which rule wins for any file path, since the last matching rule takes precedence.
Open CODEOWNERS File Generator on AltFTool — it loads instantly in your browser.
Upload or drag in the file you want to work with.
Adjust the settings and preview the result.
Download the finished file to your device.
Type any path and see exactly which rule wins — the subtlety that breaks most hand-written files.
Rejects handles that are not @username, @org/team or an email before GitHub silently ignores them.
Enforces GitHub's documented limits: no ! negation, no [..] character ranges.
In the repository's root, the .github/ directory, or docs/ — on the branch being targeted; GitHub uses the copy on the base branch of each pull request. If files exist in more than one location, the .github/ copy wins, then root, then docs/.
The last matching pattern in the file takes precedence — order matters, unlike gitignore where more specific rules do not simply win by position for ownership. That is why a catch-all * rule must be the first line: every later, more specific rule then overrides it for its paths.
GitHub accepts @username, @org/team-name, or an email address associated with a GitHub account. Users must have write access to the repository, and teams must have explicit write access — otherwise the entry is silently ignored and no review is requested.
Almost. The same wildcard rules apply — * (not crossing /), ** (crossing directories), ?, root-anchoring with a leading or embedded slash — but GitHub's docs state two exceptions: you cannot negate a pattern with ! and you cannot use character ranges like [0-9]. A trailing slash matches everything inside the directory.