PR Lifecycle Management

Enforce project hygiene throughout the pull request lifecycle. This skill provides checklists, validation commands, and templates to ensure PRs properly close issues and follow project conventions.

Critical Constraints - Session Statelessness

IMPORTANT: You are operating in a stateless session. Each Claude Code session is isolated.

You CANNOT:

• Track issues across sessions
• Remember to do something later
• Follow up on tasks in the future
• Promise to handle something "in a follow-up"

You MUST NOT say things like:

• "I'll track this in a follow-up issue"
• "I'll remember to fix this later"
• "I'll handle this in a subsequent PR"

PR Comment Response Decision Framework

When addressing review comments, choose ONE of these options:

Option 1: Implement Now (Preferred)

When: Change is small-ish and worth doing. Action: Implement fix, commit, reply with: "Fixed in commit {sha}: {description}"

Option 2: Defer with Issue (Expensive - use sparingly)

When: Change is large AND worth doing AND not critical to PR. Action:

1. Create GitHub issue NOW using gh issue create
2. Add to same milestone as PR's issue
3. Add as sub-issue using gh sub-issue add
4. Reply: "Created #XYZ to track this. Not addressing in this PR because {reason}."

Option 3: Disagree / Won't Fix

When: Suggestion is nitpicky, negligible, or you disagree. Action: Reply explaining why not addressing. Be professional. NEVER use for: Test failures, errors, security concerns.

Overview

Project Hygiene Invariant: Each PR should:

1. Close exactly one GitHub issue
2. Include "Fixes #XYZ" (or similar keyword) in PR body
3. Be created from a proper worktree using the .claude/skills/git-worktrees skill (you should not be in /workspace, which should always be kept up to date with origin main - instead you should be in wip/<feature branch>)
4. Follow branch naming convention: m<milestone_id>-p<parent_issue_id>-i<issue_num>-<slug> (with appropriate variations)
5. Use Conventional Emoji Commits for PR title

Why This Matters: PRs #221 and #222 didn't include "Fixes #XYZ" keywords, causing issues to remain open after merge. This skill prevents such "orphan PRs."

Tmux Window Naming Convention

When working in a tmux session, window names reflect the current PR lifecycle phase for quick visual reference.

Format: <emoji><prefix><number>

Prefix Conventions:

• i = Issue number (e.g., 💻i483 = coding on issue #483)
• pr = Pull request number (e.g., 🔧pr485 = maintaining PR #485)

Examples:

• 💻i483 - Coding on issue #483
• 🚀i483 - Submitting PR for issue #483
• 🔧pr485 - Maintaining PR #485
• ⏳pr485 - Waiting for tests on PR #485

Phase Emojis:

Phase	Emoji	When Used	Format Example	Command
1. Gathering information	🔍	Research/discovery	🔍i483	Manual
2. Coding	💻	Active development	💻i483	/gh-start-issue
3. Waiting for tests	⏳	CI/CD checks running	⏳pr485	/pr-workflow
4. Waiting for user	❓	Needs input/clarification	❓i483 or ❓pr485	Manual
5. Submitting PR	🚀	Creating/pushing PR	🚀i483	/pr-workflow
6. PR maintenance	🔧	Addressing feedback/fixes	🔧pr485	/pr-workflow
7. Cleanup	🧹	Post-merge cleanup	🧹pr485	Manual

Automatic Updates:

• /gh-start-issue sets tmux to 💻i<issue_num> (coding phase on issue)
• /pr-workflow updates tmux through phases:
  • 🚀i<issue_num> → (PR created) → 🔧pr<pr_num> → ⏳pr<pr_num> → 🔧pr<pr_num>
  • Note: Transitions from issue number to PR number after PR is created

Manual Updates:

# Update tmux window name manually for issue work
ISSUE_NUM=<your_issue_number>
tmux rename-window "🔍i${ISSUE_NUM}"  # Research phase on issue

# Update tmux window name manually for PR work
PR_NUM=<your_pr_number>
tmux rename-window "🔧pr${PR_NUM}"  # PR maintenance

Why This Convention:

• Information density: Maximizes useful info in limited tmux window title space (5-7 chars vs 50+)
• Clear distinction: Instantly know if you're working on issue or PR
• Visual status: Emoji provides at-a-glance phase indication
• WCAG compliance: Window title colors meet AAA accessibility standards (see .devcontainer/.tmux.conf)

Phase 1: Before Creating PR

Pre-PR Checklist

Run these validations before creating a PR:

# 1. Verify you're in a worktree (not main)
pwd | grep -q "wip/" && echo "In worktree" || echo "WARNING: Not in wip/ worktree"

# 2. Check branch name follows convention
BRANCH=$(git branch --show-current)
echo "Current branch: $BRANCH"
# Should match: m<id>-p<id>-i<num>-<slug> or variants (p<id>-i<num>-<slug>, i<num>-<slug>)

# 3. Extract issue number from branch (look for i<num> pattern)
ISSUE_NUM=$(echo "$BRANCH" | grep -oP 'i\K[0-9]+' || echo "$BRANCH" | grep -oE '[0-9]+' | head -1)
echo "Issue number: $ISSUE_NUM"

# 4. Verify issue exists and is open
gh issue view "$ISSUE_NUM" --json state,title

# 5. Check commits for "Fixes #" keyword
git log origin/main..HEAD --oneline | grep -i "fixes #\|closes #\|resolves #" || echo "WARNING: No 'Fixes #' keyword found in commits"

Validation Details

Worktree Verification

Why: Feature work should happen in worktrees, not the main worktree.

# List all worktrees
git worktree list

# Verify current directory is in wip/
pwd | grep -q "wip/" && echo "In worktree" || echo "WARNING: Not in wip/ worktree"

Expected: You should be in a wip/<branch-name>/ directory.

Branch Naming Convention

Format variations:

• With milestone & parent: m<milestone_id>-p<parent_id>-i<issue_num>-<issue_slug>
• With parent only: p<parent_id>-i<issue_num>-<issue_slug>
• With milestone only: m<milestone_id>-i<issue_num>-<issue_slug>
• Standalone: i<issue_num>-<issue_slug>

Examples:

• m8-p123-i234-add-authentication
• p123-i234-add-authentication
• i42-add-authentication

Validation:

BRANCH=$(git branch --show-current)

# Check format: must contain i<number> pattern
if [[ "$BRANCH" =~ i[0-9]+ ]]; then
  echo "Branch name follows convention"
else
  echo "WARNING: Branch name '$BRANCH' doesn't follow convention (missing i<number>)"
fi

Issue Verification

Check issue exists and is open:

ISSUE_NUM=$(git branch --show-current | grep -oE '[0-9]+' | head -1)

# View issue details
gh issue view "$ISSUE_NUM" --json number,title,state,labels

# Verify it's open
STATE=$(gh issue view "$ISSUE_NUM" --json state -q '.state')
if [ "$STATE" = "OPEN" ]; then
  echo "Issue #$ISSUE_NUM is open"
else
  echo "WARNING: Issue #$ISSUE_NUM is $STATE"
fi

Commit Message Check

Verify commits reference the issue:

# Check for GitHub closing keywords in commits
git log origin/main..HEAD --pretty=format:"%s" | \
  grep -iE "(fix(es)?|close[sd]?|resolve[sd]?)\s*#\d+" || \
  echo "WARNING: No GitHub closing keywords found in commit messages"

GitHub closing keywords: close, closes, closed, fix, fixes, fixed, resolve, resolves, resolved

Phase 2: Creating PR

PR Title Convention

Format: <emoji> <type>[scope]: <description>

Common Types:

Type	Emoji	Use For
feat	✨	New features
fix	🩹	Bug fixes
docs	📚	Documentation
refactor	♻️	Code refactoring
test	🧪	Tests
build	🔧	Build system
perf	⚡️	Performance
release	🔖	Releases

Examples:

• ✨ feat(cli): add deployment management commands
• 🩹 fix: resolve race condition in thread handler
• 📚 docs: add PR lifecycle skill

PR Body Template

Always include "Fixes #XYZ" to auto-close the issue:

## Summary
<1-3 bullet points describing the changes>

## Changes
- <specific change 1>
- <specific change 2>

## Related Issues
Fixes #<issue_number>

## Test Plan
- [ ] <test item 1>
- [ ] <test item 2>

---
Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Adding PR to Milestone

If the issue that the PR fixes is part of a milestone, add the PR to that milestone.

Create PR Command

Using gh CLI with proper body:

ISSUE_NUM=$(git branch --show-current | grep -oE '[0-9]+' | head -1)

gh pr create \
  --title "✨ feat: <description>" \
  --body "$(cat <<EOF
## Summary
- <summary point>

## Changes
- <change 1>
- <change 2>

## Related Issues
Fixes #$ISSUE_NUM

## Test Plan
- [ ] <test item>

---
Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
EOF
)"

Verify PR Will Close Issue

After creating PR, verify the link:

# Get PR number
PR_NUM=$(gh pr view --json number -q '.number')

# Check closing issues
gh pr view "$PR_NUM" --json closingIssuesReferences -q '.closingIssuesReferences[].number'

# Should output the issue number

Phase 3: After PR Creation

Monitor for Automated Reviews

Copilot and other automated reviewers may add comments. Monitor and address them:

PR_NUM=$(gh pr view --json number -q '.number')

# Get owner/repo dynamically from current repository
REPO=$(gh repo view --json nameWithOwner -q .nameWithOwner)

# Check for Copilot comments (use --paginate to get ALL comments)
gh api repos/$REPO/pulls/$PR_NUM/comments --paginate \
  --jq '.[] | select(.user.login == "copilot") | {id, body, path, line}'

# Check for all review comments (use --paginate to get ALL comments)
gh api repos/$REPO/pulls/$PR_NUM/comments --paginate \
  --jq '.[] | {id, user: .user.login, body: .body[0:100]}'

Reply to Review Comments

After addressing feedback, reply with commit reference:

Note: Do not at-mention copilot in your reply, otherwise copilot will try to implement something.

PR_NUM=$(gh pr view --json number -q '.number')
COMMENT_ID=<comment_id>
COMMIT_SHA=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD)
REPO=$(gh repo view --json nameWithOwner -q .nameWithOwner)

gh api repos/$REPO/pulls/$PR_NUM/comments/$COMMENT_ID/replies \
  -f body="Fixed in commit $COMMIT_SHA: <brief description>"

Check PR Status

PR_NUM=$(gh pr view --json number -q '.number')

# View PR checks
gh pr checks "$PR_NUM"

# View PR status
gh pr view "$PR_NUM" --json state,mergeable,reviewDecision

Phase 4: After PR Merge

Verify Issue Closure

Check if the issue was auto-closed:

ISSUE_NUM=<issue_number>

# Check issue state
STATE=$(gh issue view "$ISSUE_NUM" --json state -q '.state')
echo "Issue #$ISSUE_NUM state: $STATE"

if [ "$STATE" = "CLOSED" ]; then
  echo "Issue #$ISSUE_NUM was auto-closed"
else
  echo "WARNING: Issue #$ISSUE_NUM is still OPEN"
  echo "Manually close with: gh issue close $ISSUE_NUM"
fi

Manual Issue Closure (If Needed)

If the issue wasn't auto-closed:

Ask the user first before doing this:

ISSUE_NUM=<issue_number>
PR_NUM=<pr_number>

# Close with reference to PR
gh issue close "$ISSUE_NUM" --comment "Closed via PR #$PR_NUM"

Cleanup: Remove Worktree

After PR merge, clean up the worktree:

# Switch to main worktree first
cd /workspace

# Remove the worktree
WORKTREE_PATH="wip/<branch-name>"  # e.g., wip/i42-add-auth or wip/m8-p123-i234-add-auth
git worktree remove "$WORKTREE_PATH"

# Prune stale references
git worktree prune --verbose

Cleanup: Delete Branch

Delete local and remote branches:

BRANCH="<branch_name>"  # e.g., i42-add-auth or m8-p123-i234-add-auth

# Delete local branch
git branch -d "$BRANCH"

# If not fully merged, force delete
# git branch -D "$BRANCH"

# Delete remote branch (GitHub usually does this automatically)
git push origin --delete "$BRANCH" 2>/dev/null || echo "Remote branch already deleted"

Cleanup: Ensure /workspace is up to date

• /workspace should be kept up to date with origin main
• after merging, cd /workspace then ensure workspace is refreshed from origin main
  • in the unlikely case that another agent has put WIP in /workspace (instead of wip/<feature branch>) that would be affected by this action, ask user what to do

Complete Cleanup Workflow

# Variables
ISSUE_NUM=225
BRANCH="claude/225-pr-lifecycle-skill"
WORKTREE_PATH="wip/claude-225-pr-lifecycle-skill"

# 1. Verify issue closed
gh issue view "$ISSUE_NUM" --json state -q '.state'

# 2. Switch to main worktree
cd /workspace

# 3. Pull latest changes
git checkout main
git pull origin main

# 4. Remove worktree
git worktree remove "$WORKTREE_PATH"

# 5. Delete local branch
git branch -d "$BRANCH"

# 6. Prune
git worktree prune --verbose

# 7. Verify cleanup - should only show main worktree
git worktree list

# Show only non-main branches (should be empty after cleanup)
git branch | grep -v "^\*" | grep -v "main\|master"

Quick Reference

Pre-PR Checklist

Check	Command	Expected
In worktree	pwd | grep wip/	In wip/ directory
Branch format	git branch --show-current	user/num-slug
Issue open	gh issue view N --json state	OPEN
Has "Fixes #"	git log | grep -i "fixes #"	Found keyword

GitHub Closing Keywords

Any of these in PR body will auto-close the linked issue:

• close, closes, closed
• fix, fixes, fixed
• resolve, resolves, resolved

Format: Fixes #123 or Fixes owner/repo#123

PR Title Emojis

Emoji	Type	Triggers
✨	feat	MINOR bump
🩹	fix	PATCH bump
🚨	BREAKING	MAJOR bump
📚	docs	No bump
♻️	refactor	No bump
🧪	test	No bump
🔧	build	No bump
🔖	release	N/A

Common API Commands

# Get owner/repo for API calls
REPO=$(gh repo view --json nameWithOwner -q .nameWithOwner)

# View issue
gh issue view <num> --json number,title,state

# View PR
gh pr view --json number,title,state,closingIssuesReferences

# PR comments (for reviews) - use --paginate to get ALL comments
gh api repos/$REPO/pulls/<num>/comments --paginate

# Reply to comment
gh api repos/$REPO/pulls/<num>/comments/<id>/replies -f body="message"

# Close issue manually
gh issue close <num> --comment "Closed via PR #N"

Integration with Other Skills

With git-worktrees Skill

Use git-worktrees skill to create proper worktrees before starting work:

# Create worktree for new issue
git worktree add -b alice/42-new-feature wip/alice-42-new-feature main

With gh-sub-issue Skill

For issues with parent-child relationships, verify PR targets:

# Check if issue has parent
gh sub-issue list 42 --relation parent

# If parent exists, PR should target parent branch, not main

Troubleshooting

"Issue not closed after merge"

Cause: Missing "Fixes #N" keyword in PR body.

Solution:

# Close manually
gh issue close <num> --comment "Closed via PR #<pr_num>"

# Prevent future issues: always include "Fixes #N" in PR body

"Branch name doesn't match issue"

Cause: Branch created without following convention.

Solution: Rename branch before PR:

git branch -m old-name i42-proper-name
git push origin -u i42-proper-name
git push origin --delete old-name

"Can't determine issue number"

Cause: Branch name doesn't contain issue number.

Solution: Check branch name, rename if needed:

git branch --show-current
# If no number, rename branch to include issue number

"PR shows wrong closing issues"

Cause: Wrong issue number in PR body.

Solution: Edit PR body on GitHub or:

gh pr edit <num> --body "$(cat updated-body.md)"

See Also

• git-worktrees skill - Create and manage worktrees for issue branches
• gh-sub-issue skill - Manage parent-child issue relationships
• GitHub Workflow Documentation - @docs/dev/github-workflow.md
• Git SCM Conventions - @docs/dev/git-scm-conventions.md
• GitHub Keywords Docs - https://docs.github.com/en/issues/tracking-your-work-with-issues/linking-a-pull-request-to-an-issue