Spec-Driven Development: PR Creation Skill

Overview

The sdd-pr skill creates professional, comprehensive pull requests by analyzing your completed specs and git history. Instead of manually writing PR descriptions, this skill uses AI to analyze all available context and generate detailed, well-structured PR descriptions that make code review more effective.

When to Use This Skill

Use Skill(sdd-toolkit:sdd-pr) to:

• After Spec Completion: Create PRs when handed off from sdd-update
• Comprehensive PRs: Generate detailed PR descriptions that reviewers will appreciate
• Save Time: Automate the tedious task of writing thorough PR descriptions
• Maintain Quality: Ensure consistent, high-quality PR documentation

When NOT to use:

• For quick, trivial changes (just use gh CLI directly)
• When you need a very specific custom PR format
• For PRs that don't have an associated spec

Core Philosophy

From Template to Intelligence

Traditional PR creation uses static templates that miss important context. The sdd-pr skill:

1. Analyzes Multiple Sources

   • Spec metadata (what you planned)
   • Git diffs (what you actually changed)
   • Commit history (how it evolved)
   • Journal entries (why you made decisions)

2. Generates Context-Aware Descriptions

   • Explains the "why" not just the "what"
   • Highlights key decisions from journal entries
   • Provides technical depth from git diffs
   • Maintains professional tone and structure

3. Requires User Approval

   • Always shows draft before creation
   • User reviews and can request revisions
   • No PRs created without explicit confirmation

Workflow

Step 1: Invocation

The skill is typically invoked via handoff from sdd-update after spec completion:

Skill(sdd-toolkit:sdd-pr) "Create PR for spec my-feature-2025-11-03-001"

Step 2: Context Gathering

The skill gathers context from multiple sources:

Spec Metadata

{
  "title": "Add user authentication",
  "description": "Implement OAuth 2.0 authentication...",
  "objectives": ["Support GitHub and Google OAuth providers", ...]
}

Completed Tasks

• File paths modified
• Changes made in each file
• Task completion status

Commit History

• Commit messages and SHAs
• Task associations
• Development progression

Journal Entries

• Technical decisions
• Implementation notes
• Challenges overcome

Git Diff

• Actual code changes
• File-level summary if diff is large

Step 3: AI Analysis

The agent analyzes all gathered context to:

• Understand the feature's purpose and scope
• Identify key changes and their impact
• Extract important decisions from journals
• Synthesize technical details from diffs

Step 4: Draft Generation

The agent generates a comprehensive PR description following best practices:

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Pull Request Draft
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Title: Add user authentication with OAuth 2.0

Branch: feat-auth → main

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

## Summary

Adds user authentication using OAuth 2.0, supporting GitHub and Google
providers. Includes login/logout flows, session management, and profile access.

## What Changed

### Key Features
- OAuth 2.0 integration with GitHub and Google
- Secure session management with httpOnly cookies
- User profile endpoint with auth middleware

### Files Modified
- `src/auth/oauth.py`: OAuth provider implementation
- `src/auth/middleware.py`: Auth middleware
- `src/api/routes.py`: Login/logout/profile endpoints

## Technical Approach

Chose OAuth 2.0 over JWT-based auth for better security and simpler
implementation. OAuth handles token refresh automatically and provides
better user experience with provider-managed consent screens.

## Implementation Details

### Phase 1: OAuth Integration
- ✅ Implement OAuth provider classes
- ✅ Add callback URL handling
- ✅ Store tokens securely

### Phase 2: Session Management
- ✅ Create session middleware
- ✅ Implement logout functionality

## Testing

- Added 15 unit tests for OAuth providers
- Verified login/logout flows manually
- Tested with both GitHub and Google accounts

## Commits

- abc1234: task-1-1: Implement OAuth providers
- def5678: task-1-2: Add session middleware
- ghi9012: task-2-1: Create profile endpoint

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Step 5: User Review

The agent shows the draft and asks for user approval:

Agent: "Here's the PR description I've generated:

[shows full PR with title and body]

Would you like me to create this PR, or would you like me to revise it?"

Step 6: PR Creation

Once approved, the agent invokes the creation command:

sdd create-pr spec-id --approve --title "PR Title" --description "$(cat <<'EOF'
[full PR body]
EOF
)"

The skill then:

1. Pushes branch to remote
2. Creates PR via gh CLI immediately (no additional confirmation)
3. Updates spec metadata with PR URL and number

Context Sources

The skill analyzes four key sources:

1. Spec Metadata

High-level information about the feature/change:

• Title and description
• Objectives and success criteria
• Phase and task structure

2. Completed Tasks

Granular details about implementation:

• File paths modified
• Changes made in each file
• Task completion timestamps

3. Commit History

Development progression:

• Commit messages and SHAs
• Task-to-commit associations
• Chronological flow

4. Journal Entries

Decision logs and notes:

• Technical approach decisions
• Challenges and solutions
• Implementation rationale

5. Git Diff

Actual code changes:

• Full diff or file-level summary
• Code-level understanding
• Verification of changes

PR Description Structure

The generated PR follows this structure:

1. Title (50-80 characters)

Add user authentication with OAuth 2.0

Action-oriented, specific, concise.

2. Summary (2-3 sentences)

High-level overview of what changed and why it matters.

3. What Changed

• Key Features: Bullet list of main features
• Files Modified: File-by-file change summary

4. Technical Approach

Explains key decisions and technical rationale from journal entries.

5. Implementation Details

Breakdown by phase with completed tasks.

6. Testing

Verification steps and test coverage.

7. Commits

Development history showing progression.

Best Practices

For Better PR Descriptions

1. Write Detailed Journal Entries The AI uses journal entries to explain technical decisions:

   sdd journal my-spec --content "Chose approach X because of Y..."
   

2. Use Clear Commit Messages Commit messages help explain the development flow:

   git commit -m "task-1-1: Implement OAuth provider classes"
   

3. Review Before Approving Always review the draft and ask for revisions if needed:

   "Can you emphasize the security aspects more?"
   

4. Keep Specs Updated Ensure spec metadata is current before completion:

   • All tasks marked completed
   • Journal entries added
   • Objectives reflect actual work

Examples

Example 1: Feature Addition

# Skill invoked after spec completion
Skill(sdd-toolkit:sdd-pr) "Create PR for oauth-feature-2025-11-03-001"

# Agent analyzes context and shows draft
# User reviews and approves
# PR created automatically

Generated PR: Comprehensive description with OAuth implementation details, security considerations, and testing approach.

Example 2: Bug Fix

# Skill invoked for bug fix spec
Skill(sdd-toolkit:sdd-pr) "Create PR for memory-leak-fix-2025-11-03-002"

# Agent analyzes and shows draft
# PR explains root cause, fix approach, and verification

Generated PR: Detailed bug analysis with root cause from journal entries, fix implementation, and memory usage improvements.

Example 3: Manual Invocation

# Invoke skill directly with prompt
Skill(sdd-toolkit:sdd-pr) "Create PR for spec refactor-api-2025-11-03-003"

# Agent gathers context, analyzes, and shows draft
# Review and approve
# PR created

Troubleshooting

"gh CLI not found"

Problem: GitHub CLI (gh) not installed

Solution:

# Install gh CLI
brew install gh  # macOS
sudo apt install gh  # Linux

# Authenticate
gh auth login

"Spec missing git.branch_name metadata"

Problem: Spec doesn't have branch information

Solution: Ensure git integration is enabled when creating the spec. The spec must have branch metadata.

"Branch push failed"

Problem: Git push errors

Solution:

# Check remote
git remote -v

# Check credentials
git push -u origin <branch-name>

"Diff too large"

Problem: Git diff exceeds size limit

Solution: Skill automatically shows file-level summary instead of full diff when it's too large.

Related Skills

• sdd-plan: Create detailed specs before implementation
• sdd-next: Find next task to work on
• sdd-update: Track progress and complete tasks
• sdd-validate: Validate spec structure

Summary

The sdd-pr skill transforms PR creation from a manual, time-consuming task into an automated, AI-powered workflow that:

✅ Saves Time: No more writing detailed PR descriptions manually ✅ Improves Quality: Comprehensive, well-structured PRs every time ✅ Provides Context: Reviewers get full context from all sources ✅ Maintains Control: User approval required before creation ✅ Integrates Seamlessly: Works with sdd-update workflow

Use this skill to create professional PRs that make code review more effective and your development workflow more efficient.