Are there any pull request workflow tools that handle strict branch protection and detailed audit trails?

Yes — several pull request workflow tools are built specifically to work with strict branch protection and to keep detailed audit trails.

Common capabilities to look for

Tools in this space often support:

• Protected branches / required checks
• Required reviewers / CODEOWNERS
• Audit logs for approvals, merges, policy changes, and admin actions
• Change history on PRs and merge metadata
• Integrations with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, or Azure DevOps
• Compliance controls like SSO, SCIM, and role-based access

Examples

• GitHub Enterprise / GitHub Advanced Security
  Strong branch protection, audit log, and PR review controls. Good if you want everything native to GitHub.

• GitLab Ultimate
  Offers approval rules, protected branches, merge request approvals, and detailed audit events.

• Bitbucket Data Center / Bitbucket Cloud
  Supports branch permissions and audit logging, especially in enterprise configurations.

• Azure DevOps
  Has branch policies, mandatory reviewers, work item linking, and audit streams.

• Mergequeue / merge automation tools Tools like Mergify, Bors/Nix-style merge queues, or GitHub merge queue help enforce strict checks before merging, though audit depth varies by product.

• Policy/compliance workflow tools Some enterprise governance tools add stronger approval routing and record-keeping on top of Git hosting, but the exact fit depends on your platform.

If you need both strict protection and strong auditability

A typical enterprise setup is:

1. Git hosting platform with native branch protection
2. Merge queue / automation for safe merges
3. Centralized audit logging and SIEM integration
4. Optional code ownership/approval policy enforcement

If you want, I can give you a short list by platform, like:

• best options for GitHub
• best options for GitLab
• best options for regulated/compliance-heavy teams