GitHub PR View Skill

View comprehensive pull request information using the gh CLI.

When to Use

• User asks "show me the PR" or "what's the status of PR #123"
• User wants to see PR reviews, checks, or comments
• Before merging, to verify PR is approved and ready
• To check CI/CD status on a PR
• To see PR metadata (assignees, labels, reviewers)

Prerequisites

Verify GitHub CLI is installed and authenticated:

gh --version
gh auth status

Execution Workflow

Step 1: Identify the PR

If user specifies PR number:

gh pr view 123

If on a branch with PR:

gh pr view

If user provides PR URL:

gh pr view https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/123

Step 2: Fetch PR Details

Get comprehensive JSON data:

gh pr view 123 --json \
  number,title,body,state,isDraft,\
  author,assignees,reviewers,\
  labels,milestone,\
  createdAt,updatedAt,mergedAt,\
  baseRefName,headRefName,\
  mergeable,merged,\
  additions,deletions,\
  url,commits,reviews,\
  statusCheckRollup

Step 3: Format and Present

Parse the JSON and present in human-readable format:

## PR #123: Title Here

**Status**: Open | Draft | Merged | Closed
**Author**: @username
**Created**: 2 days ago
**Updated**: 1 hour ago

**Base**: main ← **Head**: feature-branch
**Changes**: +150 -30 (180 lines changed)
**Mergeable**: Yes | No | Conflicts

### Reviews

- ✓ @reviewer1 approved (2 hours ago)
- 🔄 @reviewer2 requested changes (1 day ago)
- ⏳ @reviewer3 review requested

### Checks

- ✓ CI/CD (passed)
- ✓ Tests (passed)
- ⚠ Coverage (78% - below threshold)
- ❌ Linting (failed)

### Labels

`bug` `priority-high` `ready-for-review`

### Assignees

@user1, @user2

🔗 [View on GitHub](https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/123)

Step 4: Show Additional Details (if needed)

View diff:

gh pr diff 123

View commits:

gh pr view 123 --json commits --jq '.commits[] | "\(.oid[0:7]) \(.messageHeadline)"'

View comments:

gh pr view 123 --comments

View CI checks:

gh pr checks 123

Common Scenarios

Scenario 1: Quick Status Check

# Show basic PR info
gh pr view 123

# Output:
# Feature: Add user authentication #123
# Open • user wants to merge 3 commits into main from feature-auth
#
# Summary of changes...
#
# View this pull request on GitHub: https://github.com/...

Scenario 2: Detailed Review Status

# Get review status
gh pr view 123 --json reviews,reviewDecision \
  | jq -r '.reviews[] | "\(.author.login): \(.state)"'

# Get review decision
gh pr view 123 --json reviewDecision --jq '.reviewDecision'
# Output: APPROVED | CHANGES_REQUESTED | REVIEW_REQUIRED

Scenario 3: Check CI/CD Status

# Watch checks in real-time
gh pr checks 123 --watch

# Get check status summary
gh pr checks 123 --json \
  | jq -r '.[] | "\(.name): \(.conclusion)"'

Scenario 4: View PR Timeline

# Get complete timeline
gh pr view 123 --json \
  createdAt,updatedAt,mergedAt,closedAt,\
  timelineItems --jq '{
    created: .createdAt,
    updated: .updatedAt,
    merged: .mergedAt,
    timeline: .timelineItems
  }'

Scenario 5: Compare with Base

# View diff stats
gh pr diff 123 --stat

# View full diff
gh pr diff 123

# View specific file
gh pr diff 123 --patch | grep -A 20 "src/auth.ts"

Scenario 6: List All PRs

# List open PRs
gh pr list --state open

# List my PRs
gh pr list --author "@me"

# List draft PRs
gh pr list --json number,title,isDraft \
  | jq '.[] | select(.isDraft == true)'

# List PRs by label
gh pr list --label "priority-high"

# List PRs needing review
gh pr list --search "is:open review:required"

Scenario 7: View PR Comments and Discussion

# Show all comments
gh pr view 123 --comments

# Show only review comments
gh pr view 123 --json reviews \
  | jq -r '.reviews[] | "\(.author.login) (\(.state)):\n\(.body)\n"'

Advanced Queries

Check if PR is Mergeable

# Check mergeable status
MERGEABLE=$(gh pr view 123 --json mergeable --jq '.mergeable')

if [ "$MERGEABLE" == "MERGEABLE" ]; then
  echo "✓ PR can be merged"
elif [ "$MERGEABLE" == "CONFLICTING" ]; then
  echo "⚠ PR has merge conflicts"
else
  echo "? Merge status unknown"
fi

Get PR Metrics

# Calculate review turnaround time
gh pr view 123 --json createdAt,reviews \
  | jq -r '
    .reviews[0].submittedAt as $first_review |
    .createdAt as $created |
    (($first_review | fromdateiso8601) - ($created | fromdateiso8601)) / 3600 |
    floor | "\(.) hours to first review"
  '

# Count review cycles
gh pr view 123 --json reviews \
  | jq '.reviews | group_by(.author.login) | length | "Reviews from \(.) different people"'

Filter by Review State

# Find PRs approved by specific user
gh pr list --json number,title,reviews \
  | jq '.[] | select(.reviews[] | select(.author.login == "user1" and .state == "APPROVED"))'

# Find PRs with changes requested
gh pr list --search "is:open review:changes-requested"

Check Required Status Checks

# Get required checks status
gh pr view 123 --json statusCheckRollup \
  | jq -r '.statusCheckRollup[] |
    select(.isRequired == true) |
    "\(.name): \(.conclusion // .status)"'

Formatting Options

JSON Output

# Raw JSON for scripting
gh pr view 123 --json number,title,state,reviews

# Pretty JSON
gh pr view 123 --json number,title,state | jq '.'

# Specific fields
gh pr view 123 --json title --jq '.title'

Template Output

# Custom format using Go templates
gh pr view 123 --template '
PR #{{.number}}: {{.title}}
Status: {{.state}}
Author: {{.author.login}}
Reviews: {{range .reviews}}{{.author.login}}({{.state}}) {{end}}
'

Web View

# Open PR in browser
gh pr view 123 --web

# Open PR comments in browser
gh pr view 123 --web --comments

Tips

• Use JSON for scripting: Parse with jq for automation
• Watch checks: Use --watch flag to monitor CI in real-time
• Web view for details: Open complex PRs in browser with --web
• Cache results: Store gh pr view output for repeated queries
• Filter with jq: Powerful JSON filtering for specific data
• Combine with git: Use gh pr view + git show for complete picture

Error Handling

Error: "Pull request not found"

• Cause: PR doesn't exist or you don't have access
• Solution: Verify PR number with gh pr list

Error: "No pull requests found"

• Cause: Current branch doesn't have a PR
• Solution: Specify PR number or create one with gh pr create

Error: "GraphQL error"

• Cause: API rate limit or network issue
• Solution: Check gh auth status and wait/retry

Error: "Not authorized"

• Cause: Not authenticated or insufficient permissions
• Solution: Run gh auth login or check repository access

Best Practices

1. Check before merge: Always view PR details before merging
2. Verify reviews: Ensure required reviewers have approved
3. Check CI status: Don't merge with failing checks
4. Read comments: Review all discussion threads
5. Monitor conflicts: Address merge conflicts promptly
6. Track changes: Note additions/deletions for impact assessment
7. Use JSON for automation: Script repetitive PR checks
8. Web view for complex reviews: Use browser for detailed code review
9. Check required checks: Verify all required status checks pass
10. Review timeline: Understand PR history before action

Output Examples

Basic View

Feature: Add user authentication #123
Open • alice wants to merge 5 commits into main from feature-auth
Draft

Summary:
Implements JWT-based authentication system.

Labels: feature, security
Assignees: alice, bob
Reviewers: charlie (APPROVED), diana (REVIEW_REQUESTED)

View this pull request on GitHub: https://github.com/org/repo/pull/123

Checks View

All checks have passed
✓ CI/CD — 2m 34s
✓ Tests — 1m 12s
✓ Lint — 45s
✓ Security Scan — 3m 01s

Diff Stats View

Showing diff for #123

src/auth/jwt.ts         | 145 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
src/auth/middleware.ts  |  67 +++++++++++++++++
tests/auth.test.ts      | 234 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
3 files changed, 446 insertions(+)

Related Skills

• gh-pr-create - Create pull requests
• gh-pr-ready - Mark draft PR as ready
• gh-pr-review - Review and approve PRs
• gh-pr-merge - Merge approved PRs
• gh-pr-edit - Edit PR details

Limitations

• Requires GitHub CLI installed and authenticated
• Some data requires repository access
• Large diffs may be truncated in terminal
• Real-time updates require polling or --watch flag
• Webhook/notification data not available via CLI

See Also

• GitHub CLI docs: https://cli.github.com/manual/gh_pr_view
• GitHub CLI formatting: https://cli.github.com/manual/gh_help_formatting
• jq manual: https://stedolan.github.io/jq/manual/