@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ below and to the page that documents the feature properly.
 
 | Version | What changed | Documented in |
 |---|---|---|
+| [2.19.5](#v2195) | GitHub merge queue branches accepted by default; aider's default co-author trailer recognised; exit 2 when git cannot read the repository | [CC201](rules.md#cc201) · [CC013](rules.md#cc013) · [Exit codes](troubleshoot.md#exit-codes) |
 | [2.19.4](#v2194) | `agents/` branches accepted by default; Cursor's `Made-with: Cursor` trailer recognised | [CC201](rules.md#cc201) · [CC013](rules.md#cc013) |
 | [2.19.3](#v2193) | A quoted `"false"` for a true/false setting refused instead of read as true | [Every option](configuration.md#every-option) |
 | [2.19.2](#v2192) | Copilot coding agent commits recognised; config values of the wrong type refused; commit text printed inert | [CC013](rules.md#cc013) · [Every option](configuration.md#every-option) · [Color and links](example.md#color-and-links) |
@@ -35,6 +36,36 @@ below and to the page that documents the feature properly.
 | [2.5.0](#v250) | Organization-wide config with `inherit_from` | [Across an organization](guides/organization.md) |
 | [2.0.0](#v200) | Configuration moved from YAML to TOML — breaking | [Migrating from v1](migration.md) |
 
+## v2.19.5 (2026-11-04) { #v2195 }
+
+### Fixed
+
+* **GitHub merge queue branches are accepted by default** — the merge queue
+  runs its `merge_group` checks on a branch it creates,
+  `gh-readonly-queue/<base>/pr-<N>-<sha>`, and [CC201](rules.md#cc201)
+  rejected it. A repository with a merge queue and Commit Check as a required
+  check failed every queue entry. The name is now accepted next to `main`,
+  `master`, `develop`, `HEAD` and `PR-*`, whatever `allow_branch_types` or
+  `allow_branch_names` say.
+  See PR [#653](https://github.com/commit-check/commit-check/pull/653).
+
+* **[CC013](rules.md#cc013)–[CC016](rules.md#cc016) recognise aider's default
+  co-author trailer** — since v0.85 aider adds
+  `Co-authored-by: aider (<model>) <aider@aider.chat>` to every commit, and the
+  model in parentheses kept it from matching, so `forbid` and `disclose` let
+  it through. It is now matched by its address, whatever model it names, and
+  under `disclose` the correction is `Assisted-by: aider (<model>)`.
+  See PR [#652](https://github.com/commit-check/commit-check/pull/652).
+
+* **A directory git cannot read stops the run with exit 2** — outside a
+  repository, or in one git refuses for "dubious ownership" (common in
+  containers and on self-hosted agents), every check was skipped and the run
+  exited 0, so CI went green without checking anything. Now git's own reason
+  is printed, including its `safe.directory` hint, and the run exits 2. A
+  piped or file message, and a repository with no commits yet, work as before.
+  See PR [#654](https://github.com/commit-check/commit-check/pull/654) and
+  [Exit codes](troubleshoot.md#exit-codes).
+
 ## v2.19.4 (2026-10-29) { #v2194 }
 
 ### Changed
 
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ Replace the hook:
 ```yaml title=".pre-commit-config.yaml"
 repos:
   - repo: https://github.com/commit-check/commit-check
-    rev: v2.19.4
+    rev: v2.19.5
     hooks:
       - id: check-message
 ```
 
@@ -274,7 +274,7 @@ Used from a hook definition, with no config file anywhere in the repository:
 ```yaml title=".pre-commit-config.yaml"
 repos:
   - repo: https://github.com/commit-check/commit-check
-    rev: v2.19.4
+    rev: v2.19.5
     hooks:
       - id: check-message
         args:
@@ -406,7 +406,7 @@ the same thing twice, so read the description rather than the cell:
 | branch | conventional_branch | bool | true | Enforce Conventional Branch specification. |
 | branch | allow_branch_types | list[str] | ["feature", "bugfix", "hotfix", "release", "chore", "feat", "fix", "build", "ci", "docs", "perf", "refactor", "style", "test", "ai", "claude", "codex", "copilot", "cursor", "agents", "dependabot", "renovate"] | Allowed branch types when `conventional_branch` is true. The default is a superset of the [Conventional Branch spec](https://conventionalbranch.org/): the spec's types (`feature`, `bugfix`, `hotfix`, `release`, `chore`, their aliases `feat` and `fix`, and the AI agent prefixes `ai`, `claude`, `codex`, `copilot`, `cursor`) plus the other Conventional Commit types (`build`, `ci`, `docs`, `perf`, `refactor`, `style`, `test`), `agents` (the prefix VS Code's Agents window uses) and bot prefixes (`dependabot`, `renovate`). For strict spec-only validation, set this option explicitly to the spec's types; [CC201](rules.md#cc201) has the full config. |
 | branch | require_description_grammar | bool | false | Also hold the description after `<type>/` to the Conventional Branch grammar: lowercase letters and digits, words joined by single hyphens, dots only inside a word. Off by default, because bot branches such as `dependabot/npm_and_yarn/lodash-4.17.21` do not follow it. See [CC201](rules.md#cc201). |
-| branch | allow_branch_names | list[str] | [] (empty list) | Additional standalone branch names allowed when conventional_branch is true (e.g., ["staging", "production"]). By default, main, master, develop, HEAD, and PR-* are always allowed. |
+| branch | allow_branch_names | list[str] | [] (empty list) | Additional standalone branch names allowed when conventional_branch is true (e.g., ["staging", "production"]). By default, main, master, develop, HEAD, PR-* and gh-readonly-queue/* (GitHub merge queue branches) are always allowed. |
 | branch | require_rebase_target | str | "" (no requirement) | Target branch for rebase requirement. If not set, no rebase validation is performed. |
 | push | allow_force_push | bool | true | Allow force pushes. Set to `false` to block force pushes when used as a pre-push hook or with `--no-force-push`. |
 | branch | ignore_authors | list[str] | [] (none ignored) | List of authors to ignore (i.e., always allow). |
 
@@ -112,8 +112,8 @@ $ commit-check --branch
 ```
 
 Runs [CC201](rules.md#cc201), and [CC202](rules.md#cc202) if
-`require_rebase_target` is set. `main`, `master`, `develop`, `HEAD` and `PR-*` are
-always accepted; everything else needs a `<type>/<description>` shape:
+`require_rebase_target` is set. `main`, `master`, `develop`, `HEAD`, `PR-*` and
+`gh-readonly-queue/*` (GitHub merge queue branches) are always accepted; everything else needs a `<type>/<description>` shape:
 
 ```text
 fix/empty-config-crash
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ pushed:
 ```yaml title=".pre-commit-config.yaml"
 repos:
   - repo: https://github.com/commit-check/commit-check
-    rev: v2.19.4
+    rev: v2.19.5
     hooks:
       - id: check-no-force-push
         stages: [pre-push]
 
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ Add Commit Check to `.pre-commit-config.yaml`:
 ```yaml title=".pre-commit-config.yaml"
 repos:
   - repo: https://github.com/commit-check/commit-check
-    rev: v2.19.4
+    rev: v2.19.5
     hooks:
       - id: check-message
       - id: check-branch
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ Options can be passed as hook arguments, which keeps everything in one file:
 ```yaml title=".pre-commit-config.yaml"
 repos:
   - repo: https://github.com/commit-check/commit-check
-    rev: v2.19.4
+    rev: v2.19.5
     hooks:
       - id: check-message
         args:
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ colon, and lets the commit through:
 ```yaml title=".pre-commit-config.yaml"
 repos:
   - repo: https://github.com/commit-check/commit-check
-    rev: v2.19.4
+    rev: v2.19.5
     hooks:
       - id: check-message
         args: [--fix]
 
@@ -428,7 +428,7 @@ conventional_branch  = <span class="cc-t-pass">true</span></div>
 <li><b>160+</b><span>repositories run the Action</span></li>
 <li><b>Apache</b><span>allowlists the Action for its projects' CI</span></li>
 </ul>
-<p class="cc-users"><span>In the CI of</span><a href="https://github.com/apache">Apache</a><a href="https://github.com/TexasInstruments">Texas Instruments</a><a href="https://github.com/mila-iqia">Mila</a><a href="https://github.com/istio-ecosystem">Istio Ecosystem</a><a href="https://github.com/OpenDriveLab">OpenDriveLab</a><a href="https://github.com/commit-check/commit-check-action/network/dependents">and more →</a></p>
+<p class="cc-users"><span>In the CI of</span><a href="https://github.com/apache">Apache</a><a href="https://github.com/freebsd">FreeBSD</a><a href="https://github.com/TexasInstruments">Texas Instruments</a><a href="https://github.com/mila-iqia">Mila</a><a href="https://github.com/istio-ecosystem">Istio Ecosystem</a><a href="https://github.com/OpenDriveLab">OpenDriveLab</a><a href="https://github.com/commit-check/commit-check-action/network/dependents">and more →</a></p>
 </div>
 </section>
 
 
@@ -802,7 +802,8 @@ Checks that the current branch name follows the
 [Conventional Branch](https://conventionalbranch.org/) specification:
 `<type>/<description>`.
 
-`main`, `master`, `develop`, `HEAD`, and `PR-*` are always accepted.
+`main`, `master`, `develop`, `HEAD`, `PR-*`, and the `gh-readonly-queue/*`
+branches GitHub's merge queue creates are always accepted.
 
 By default only the type is checked, and any description after the `/` is
 accepted. With `require_description_grammar` the description has to follow
 
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ broken policy from a bad commit. Commit Check keeps them apart:
 |---|---|
 | `0` | Every enforced check passed, or every check was skipped. |
 | `1` | A check failed. This is a verdict on the commit. |
-| `2` | The run could not start, so nothing was validated: bad usage, a `--rev` that does not resolve, a setting whose regex does not compile or whose value has the wrong type, or a config file that is missing, is not valid TOML, or names an unknown rule. |
+| `2` | The run could not start, so nothing was validated: bad usage, a `--rev` that does not resolve, a directory git cannot read as a repository (not a repository, or refused for dubious ownership), a setting whose regex does not compile or whose value has the wrong type, or a config file that is missing, is not valid TOML, or names an unknown rule. |
 
 A configuration error names the file it came from: