PR Automation Skill

Purpose: Automate the complete PR creation workflow using GitHub CLI (gh) with minimal token usage.

Token Budget: <2k per PR creation

Reference: See reference.md for full examples, error handling, and troubleshooting.

Core Principles

1. Efficiency First - Single command chains, no redundant operations
2. Concise PRs - Bullet points, not essays
3. HEREDOC for bodies - Proper formatting without escaping issues

Prerequisites

which gh >/dev/null || echo "gh not installed"
gh auth status
git rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree

Standard Workflow

Step 1: Analyze Changes

git status --short
git diff --stat

Step 2: Create Feature Branch (if needed)

CURRENT=$(git branch --show-current)
if [[ "$CURRENT" == "main" || "$CURRENT" == "develop" ]]; then
  git checkout -b feature/descriptive-name
fi

Branch naming:

• feature/ - New features
• fix/ - Bug fixes
• refactor/ - Code refactoring
• docs/ - Documentation only
• chore/ - Maintenance tasks

Step 3: Stage Changes

git add file1.tsx file2.tsx && git rm old.jpg

Step 4: Commit with HEREDOC

git commit -m "$(cat <<'EOF'
Redesign auth pages for visual consistency

- Unified login/register layouts with landing page
- Reduced card sizes, improved typography
- Created RedrLinkButton component (DRY)

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
EOF
)"

Critical: Use <<'EOF' (quoted) to prevent variable expansion.

Step 5: Push to Remote

git push -u origin feature-branch-name

Step 6: Create PR

gh pr create \
  --base main \
  --head feature-branch-name \
  --title "Concise PR title" \
  --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
## Changes
- Bullet point summary of changes
- What was modified and why

## Files Modified
- `path/to/file.tsx` - Brief description

## Testing
- ✅ Test criterion 1
- ✅ Test criterion 2

🤖 Generated with Claude Code
EOF
)"

PR Body Template

## Changes
- High-level summary (WHY, not just WHAT)

## Files Modified
- `path/to/file` - Brief description

## Visual Changes (if UI)
- Before/after comparison

## Testing
- ✅ Criterion 1
- ✅ Criterion 2

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

Keep body <300 words. Reviewers skim.

Efficiency Optimizations

Batch Git Operations

# Bad
git add file1.tsx
git add file2.tsx

# Good
git add file1.tsx file2.tsx

Use HEREDOC for Multi-line

# Bad
git commit -m "Title\n\n- Point 1"

# Good
git commit -m "$(cat <<'EOF'
Title

- Point 1
EOF
)"

Skip Interactive Prompts

Always use --title and --body flags.

Token Budget Breakdown

Common Errors

Best Practices

1. Small, Focused PRs

One feature/fix per PR.

2. Descriptive Titles

Good: "Redesign auth pages for mobile responsiveness" Bad: "Update files"

3. Test Before Creating PR

npm run lint && npm run build && npm test

4. Clean Commit History

git rebase -i HEAD~3  # Squash before PR

5. Update Branch Before PR

git checkout main && git pull
git checkout feature-branch && git rebase main

Integration

Skill Status: ✅ Active Maintainer: LC Scheepers Last Updated: 2025-11-06

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