How do Approval Rules affect merge requests in GitLab?

Approval Rules play a crucial role in the merge request process in GitLab by establishing specific conditions that must be satisfied before a merge request can be merged into the main branch. These conditions can include requirements such as a minimum number of approvals from designated team members, mandatory reviews from certain roles or teams, or even passing certain status checks on the code.

This mechanism ensures that multiple stakeholders have reviewed the proposed changes, helping to maintain code quality, security, and adherence to project guidelines. By implementing Approval Rules, teams can enforce a collaborative review process, making it less likely for unreviewed or potentially problematic code to be integrated into the main codebase.

The other options do not accurately reflect the purpose of Approval Rules. For instance, they do not automatically approve requests nor are they irrelevant to the merging process, as they are a fundamental part of ensuring proper oversight before changes are incorporated. Additionally, while approval can influence deployment indirectly, the rules are specifically designed for managing the merge request review and approval stages.