How do I get someone to review docs without a GitHub account?
Short answer
Give the reviewer an email sign-in or a review link instead of a GitHub seat. With DraftView they open a rendered page, comment and suggest edits, and never see a raw source diff. A teammate with GitHub access pushes their feedback into the pull request.
Option 1: invite them by email
Invite the reviewer to your DraftView organization with their email address. They sign in with a magic link, so there is no password and no GitHub login.
They read the repository through your organization's GitHub App connection, so you do not add them to the repo. You choose their role: viewer, reviewer, approver or owner.
Option 2: send a review link
If the person is outside your company, such as a client or a freelance expert, create a shareable review link for a pull request. You can add a password, an expiry date and a limit on submissions.
The reviewer enters a name, reads the rendered pages, and leaves comments or edits. You decide when to push what they wrote to GitHub.
Option 3: review files straight from your repository
Not every review starts with a pull request. A doc review lets you pick a branch and a set of files, then share one link. DraftView pins the exact commit, so the review stays stable even if the branch moves on for three weeks.
When a maintainer finishes the review, the accepted edits become one pull request.
How the feedback gets back to GitHub
GitHub only accepts suggested changes from a real GitHub account. So a reviewer without one cannot post a suggestion directly.
DraftView holds their review as pending. A teammate who is linked to GitHub checks it and pushes it with their own account, and it shows up as native review comments and Suggested Changes on the pull request.
What to know before you rely on this
- A reviewer without GitHub cannot post to GitHub themselves. A linked teammate has to push their review.
- Review links are for reading and giving feedback. They do not give anyone access to your repository.
- The free plan limits how many people can review. Check the pricing page for the current numbers.
Common questions
- Does the reviewer need to install anything?
- No. They use a web page in their browser. Email sign-in uses a one-time link that expires after 15 minutes.
- Can they see private repositories?
- Members you invite can read the repositories your GitHub App is connected to, through DraftView. A review link only shows the files in that review.
- Do they need to know Markdown, AsciiDoc or MDX?
- No. They edit the rendered page, and DraftView turns their changes back into the file's own format, whether that is Markdown, AsciiDoc or MDX.
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Last updated 2026-10-17