Open PR

A structured PR preparation workflow: tests → create PR → code review → CI → hand off to merge.

Announce at start: "I'm using the open-pr skill to get this PR ready."

---

Step 1: Pre-flight — Run Local Tests

Run the test suite before touching anything else. Detect the right command from project files:

Indicator	Command
CLAUDE.md test command	Use that (takes precedence over all below)
go.mod	go test ./...
package.json	npm test or yarn test
pyproject.toml / setup.py	pytest
Cargo.toml	cargo test

If tests fail: Stop. Show the failures clearly. Don't proceed — fix them or ask the user how to handle. Do not skip or bypass test hooks.

If tests pass: Continue.

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Step 2: Check for Existing PR

gh pr view --json number,url,state 2>/dev/null

• PR already open: Skip to Step 4 — Code Review.
• No PR: Continue to Step 3.

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Step 3: Create the PR

Push the branch

git push -u origin $(git branch --show-current)

Title

Use the most meaningful commit message as a starting point, cleaned up to be concise. Follow conventional commit format (feat:, fix:, refactor:, etc.) if the repo uses it — check recent commits with git log --oneline -10.

Auto-detect labels

Infer labels from the branch name and commits — apply with --label if the label exists in the repo:

Pattern	Label
fix/, bug/, "fix" in commits	bug
feat/, feature/	enhancement
refactor/, chore/	refactor
docs/	documentation

Skip labels that don't exist in the repo rather than erroring.

PR description template

Fill in every section based on the actual changes — no unfilled placeholders:

## Summary
<!-- What this PR does and why — 2-4 sentences. Lead with intent, not implementation. -->

## Changes
<!-- Key changes. Be specific — not "updated code" but what and why. -->
-

## Test Plan
<!-- How this was verified -->
- [ ] Local tests pass
- [ ] CI checks pass
- [ ] <any manual or integration steps>

## Notes
<!-- Edge cases, follow-ups, known limitations, or anything a reviewer should know -->

Create

gh pr create \
  --title "<title>" \
  --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
<filled-template>
EOF
)"

Leave --reviewer and --assignee unset.

---

Step 4: Code Review

Invoke the review skill (use the Skill tool) to review all changes in this PR.

The review should cover:

• Baseline: correctness, security, error handling, performance, naming clarity
• Test coverage: flag any new functionality that lacks tests
• Codebase-specific: scan CLAUDE.md for any ## Code Review, ## Standards, or ## Gotchas sections and incorporate those requirements

After the review, present a clear report:

Code Review Report
──────────────────
[MUST FIX] <issue> — <file>:<line>
[SUGGESTION] <issue>
No blocking issues found.

If MUST FIX items: Address them, commit, push. Once resolved, continue to Step 5.

If only suggestions: Note them for the user to follow up post-merge at their discretion.

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Step 5: CI Status

gh pr checks

All passing: Continue.

Failing:

1. Read the failure output — identify root cause
2. Quick fix (lint, formatting, import, typo): Fix it, commit, push, wait for CI to rerun, then continue
3. Complex failure (logic error, architecture issue, flaky infra): Stop and report clearly:

   "CI is failing due to [X]. This needs a dedicated fix before merging — let's plan it out."

Never proceed to merge with failing CI.

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Step 6: Report and Hand Off

Once tests, review, and CI are all green, report the PR status and suggest the next step:

PR #<N> is ready to merge.
──────────────────────────
Title:  <title>
Branch: <branch> → <base>
URL:    <url>

✓ Local tests pass
✓ Code review clean (or: N suggestions noted for follow-up)
✓ CI passing

Run /merge-pr to squash merge and clean up.

Do not merge, rebase, or push anything further. Hand off cleanly.

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Quick Reference

Step	Action	Block on failure?
1. Local tests	Run test suite	Yes — fix first
2. PR check	Exists?	Skip to review
3. Create PR	Push + gh pr create	—
4. Code review	review skill	Yes for MUST FIX
5. CI	gh pr checks	Yes — fix or stop
6. Report	PR summary + /merge-pr suggestion	—

Rules

Never:

• Proceed with failing tests or CI
• Merge, rebase, or force-push anything
• Use --no-verify to bypass hooks
• Leave PR template sections unfilled
• Set reviewer or assignee

Always:

• Address MUST FIX review items before handing off
• Suggest /merge-pr at the end