github-pr-workflow

Original source / Raw SKILL.md

---
name: github-pr-workflow
description: Full pull request lifecycle — create branches, commit changes, open PRs, monitor CI status, auto-fix failures, and merge. Works with gh CLI or falls back to git + GitHub REST API via curl.
version: 1.1.0
author: Hermes Agent
license: MIT
metadata:
  hermes:
    tags: [GitHub, Pull-Requests, CI/CD, Git, Automation, Merge]
    related_skills: [github-auth, github-code-review]
---

# GitHub Pull Request Workflow

Complete guide for managing the PR lifecycle. Each section shows the `gh` way first, then the `git` + `curl` fallback for machines without `gh`.

## Prerequisites

- Authenticated with GitHub (see `github-auth` skill)
- Inside a git repository with a GitHub remote

### Quick Auth Detection

```bash
# Determine which method to use throughout this workflow
if command -v gh &>/dev/null && gh auth status &>/dev/null; then
  AUTH="gh"
else
  AUTH="git"
  # Ensure we have a token for API calls
  if [ -z "$GITHUB_TOKEN" ]; then
    GITHUB_TOKEN=$(grep "github.com" ~/.git-credentials 2>/dev/null | head -1 | sed 's|https://[^:]*:\([^@]*\)@.*|\1|')
  fi
fi
echo "Using: $AUTH"
```

### Extracting Owner/Repo from the Git Remote

Many `curl` commands need `owner/repo`. Extract it from the git remote:

```bash
# Works for both HTTPS and SSH remote URLs
REMOTE_URL=$(git remote get-url origin)
OWNER_REPO=$(echo "$REMOTE_URL" | sed -E 's|.*github\.com[:/]||; s|\.git$||')
OWNER=$(echo "$OWNER_REPO" | cut -d/ -f1)
REPO=$(echo "$OWNER_REPO" | cut -d/ -f2)
echo "Owner: $OWNER, Repo: $REPO"
```

---

## 1. Branch Creation

This part is pure `git` — identical either way:

```bash
# Make sure you're up to date
git fetch origin
git checkout main && git pull origin main

# Create and switch to a new branch
git checkout -b feat/add-user-authentication
```

Branch naming conventions:
- `feat/description` — new features
- `fix/description` — bug fixes
- `refactor/description` — code restructuring
- `docs/description` — documentation
- `ci/description` — CI/CD changes

## 2. Making Commits

Use the agent's file tools (`write_file`, `patch`) to make changes, then commit:

```bash
# Stage specific files
git add src/auth.py src/models/user.py tests/test_auth.py

# Commit with a conventional commit message
git commit -m "feat: add JWT-based user authentication

- Add login/register endpoints
- Add User model with password hashing
- Add auth middleware for protected routes
- Add unit tests for auth flow"
```

Commit message format (Conventional Commits):
```
type(scope): short description

Longer explanation if needed. Wrap at 72 characters.
```

Types: `feat`, `fix`, `refactor`, `docs`, `test`, `ci`, `chore`, `perf`

## 3. Pushing and Creating a PR

### Push the Branch (same either way)

```bash
git push -u origin HEAD
```

### Create the PR

**With gh:**

```bash
gh pr create \
  --title "feat: add JWT-based user authentication" \
  --body "## Summary
- Adds login and register API endpoints
- JWT token generation and validation

## Test Plan
- [ ] Unit tests pass

Closes #42"
```

Options: `--draft`, `--reviewer user1,user2`, `--label "enhancement"`, `--base develop`

**With git + curl:**

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

curl -s -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/$OWNER/$REPO/pulls \
  -d "{
    \"title\": \"feat: add JWT-based user authentication\",
    \"body\": \"## Summary\nAdds login and register API endpoints.\n\nCloses #42\",
    \"head\": \"$BRANCH\",
    \"base\": \"main\"
  }"
```

The response JSON includes the PR `number` — save it for later commands.

To create as a draft, add `"draft": true` to the JSON body.

## 4. Monitoring CI Status

### Check CI Status

**With gh:**

```bash
# One-shot check
gh pr checks

# Watch until all checks finish (polls every 10s)
gh pr checks --watch
```

**With git + curl:**

```bash
# Get the latest commit SHA on the current branch
SHA=$(git rev-parse HEAD)

# Query the combined status
curl -s \
  -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/$OWNER/$REPO/commits/$SHA/status \
  | python3 -c "
import sys, json
data = json.load(sys.stdin)
print(f\"Overall: {data['state']}\")
for s in data.get('statuses', []):
    print(f\"  {s['context']}: {s['state']} - {s.get('description', '')}\")"

# Also check GitHub Actions check runs (separate endpoint)
curl -s \
  -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/$OWNER/$REPO/commits/$SHA/check-runs \
  | python3 -c "
import sys, json
data = json.load(sys.stdin)
for cr in data.get('check_runs', []):
    print(f\"  {cr['name']}: {cr['status']} / {cr['conclusion'] or 'pending'}\")"
```

### Poll Until Complete (git + curl)

```bash
# Simple polling loop — check every 30 seconds, up to 10 minutes
SHA=$(git rev-parse HEAD)
for i in $(seq 1 20); do
  STATUS=$(curl -s \
    -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
    https://api.github.com/repos/$OWNER/$REPO/commits/$SHA/status \
    | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['state'])")
  echo "Check $i: $STATUS"
  if [ "$STATUS" = "success" ] || [ "$STATUS" = "failure" ] || [ "$STATUS" = "error" ]; then
    break
  fi
  sleep 30
done
```

## 5. Auto-Fixing CI Failures

When CI fails, diagnose and fix. This loop works with either auth method.

### Step 1: Get Failure Details

**With gh:**

```bash
# List recent workflow runs on this branch
gh run list --branch $(git branch --show-current) --limit 5

# View failed logs
gh run view <RUN_ID> --log-failed
```

**With git + curl:**

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

# List workflow runs on this branch
curl -s \
  -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.github.com/repos/$OWNER/$REPO/actions/runs?branch=$BRANCH&per_page=5" \
  | python3 -c "
import sys, json
runs = json.load(sys.stdin)['workflow_runs']
for r in runs:
    print(f\"Run {r['id']}: {r['name']} - {r['conclusion'] or r['status']}\")"

# Get failed job logs (download as zip, extract, read)
RUN_ID=<run_id>
curl -s -L \
  -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/$OWNER/$REPO/actions/runs/$RUN_ID/logs \
  -o /tmp/ci-logs.zip
cd /tmp && unzip -o ci-logs.zip -d ci-logs && cat ci-logs/*.txt
```

### Step 2: Fix and Push

After identifying the issue, use file tools (`patch`, `write_file`) to fix it:

```bash
git add <fixed_files>
git commit -m "fix: resolve CI failure in <check_name>"
git push
```

### Step 3: Verify

Re-check CI status using the commands from Section 4 above.

### Auto-Fix Loop Pattern

When asked to auto-fix CI, follow this loop:

1. Check CI status → identify failures
2. Read failure logs → understand the error
3. Use `read_file` + `patch`/`write_file` → fix the code
4. `git add . && git commit -m "fix: ..." && git push`
5. Wait for CI → re-check status
6. Repeat if still failing (up to 3 attempts, then ask the user)

## 6. Merging

**With gh:**

```bash
# Squash merge + delete branch (cleanest for feature branches)
gh pr merge --squash --delete-branch

# Enable auto-merge (merges when all checks pass)
gh pr merge --auto --squash --delete-branch
```

**With git + curl:**

```bash
PR_NUMBER=<number>

# Merge the PR via API (squash)
curl -s -X PUT \
  -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/$OWNER/$REPO/pulls/$PR_NUMBER/merge \
  -d "{
    \"merge_method\": \"squash\",
    \"commit_title\": \"feat: add user authentication (#$PR_NUMBER)\"
  }"

# Delete the remote branch after merge
BRANCH=$(git branch --show-current)
git push origin --delete $BRANCH

# Switch back to main locally
git checkout main && git pull origin main
git branch -d $BRANCH
```

Merge methods: `"merge"` (merge commit), `"squash"`, `"rebase"`

### Enable Auto-Merge (curl)

```bash
# Auto-merge requires the repo to have it enabled in settings.
# This uses the GraphQL API since REST doesn't support auto-merge.
PR_NODE_ID=$(curl -s \
  -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/$OWNER/$REPO/pulls/$PR_NUMBER \
  | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['node_id'])")

curl -s -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  https://api.github.com/graphql \
  -d "{\"query\": \"mutation { enablePullRequestAutoMerge(input: {pullRequestId: \\\"$PR_NODE_ID\\\", mergeMethod: SQUASH}) { clientMutationId } }\"}"
```

## 7. Complete Workflow Example

```bash
# 1. Start from clean main
git checkout main && git pull origin main

# 2. Branch
git checkout -b fix/login-redirect-bug

# 3. (Agent makes code changes with file tools)

# 4. Commit
git add src/auth/login.py tests/test_login.py
git commit -m "fix: correct redirect URL after login

Preserves the ?next= parameter instead of always redirecting to /dashboard."

# 5. Push
git push -u origin HEAD

# 6. Create PR (picks gh or curl based on what's available)
# ... (see Section 3)

# 7. Monitor CI (see Section 4)

# 8. Merge when green (see Section 6)
```

## Useful PR Commands Reference

| Action | gh | git + curl |
|--------|-----|-----------|
| List my PRs | `gh pr list --author @me` | `curl -s -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" "https://api.github.com/repos/$OWNER/$REPO/pulls?state=open"` |
| View PR diff | `gh pr diff` | `git diff main...HEAD` (local) or `curl -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.diff" ...` |
| Add comment | `gh pr comment N --body "..."` | `curl -X POST .../issues/N/comments -d '{"body":"..."}'` |
| Request review | `gh pr edit N --add-reviewer user` | `curl -X POST .../pulls/N/requested_reviewers -d '{"reviewers":["user"]}'` |
| Close PR | `gh pr close N` | `curl -X PATCH .../pulls/N -d '{"state":"closed"}'` |
| Check out someone's PR | `gh pr checkout N` | `git fetch origin pull/N/head:pr-N && git checkout pr-N` |


---

## Skill Companion Files

> Additional files collected from the skill directory layout.

### references/ci-troubleshooting.md

```markdown
# CI Troubleshooting Quick Reference

Common CI failure patterns and how to diagnose them from the logs.

## Reading CI Logs

```bash
# With gh
gh run view <RUN_ID> --log-failed

# With curl — download and extract
curl -sL -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/$GH_OWNER/$GH_REPO/actions/runs/<RUN_ID>/logs \
  -o /tmp/ci-logs.zip && unzip -o /tmp/ci-logs.zip -d /tmp/ci-logs
```

## Common Failure Patterns

### Test Failures

**Signatures in logs:**
```
FAILED tests/test_foo.py::test_bar - AssertionError
E       assert 42 == 43
ERROR tests/test_foo.py - ModuleNotFoundError
```

**Diagnosis:**
1. Find the test file and line number from the traceback
2. Use `read_file` to read the failing test
3. Check if it's a logic error in the code or a stale test assertion
4. Look for `ModuleNotFoundError` — usually a missing dependency in CI

**Common fixes:**
- Update assertion to match new expected behavior
- Add missing dependency to requirements.txt / pyproject.toml
- Fix flaky test (add retry, mock external service, fix race condition)

---

### Lint / Formatting Failures

**Signatures in logs:**
```
src/auth.py:45:1: E302 expected 2 blank lines, got 1
src/models.py:12:80: E501 line too long (95 > 88 characters)
error: would reformat src/utils.py
```

**Diagnosis:**
1. Read the specific file:line numbers mentioned
2. Check which linter is complaining (flake8, ruff, black, isort, mypy)

**Common fixes:**
- Run the formatter locally: `black .`, `isort .`, `ruff check --fix .`
- Fix the specific style violation by editing the file
- If using `patch`, make sure to match existing indentation style

---

### Type Check Failures (mypy / pyright)

**Signatures in logs:**
```
src/api.py:23: error: Argument 1 to "process" has incompatible type "str"; expected "int"
src/models.py:45: error: Missing return statement
```

**Diagnosis:**
1. Read the file at the mentioned line
2. Check the function signature and what's being passed

**Common fixes:**
- Add type cast or conversion
- Fix the function signature
- Add `# type: ignore` comment as last resort (with explanation)

---

### Build / Compilation Failures

**Signatures in logs:**
```
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'some_package'
ERROR: Could not find a version that satisfies the requirement foo==1.2.3
npm ERR! Could not resolve dependency
```

**Diagnosis:**
1. Check requirements.txt / package.json for the missing or incompatible dependency
2. Compare local vs CI Python/Node version

**Common fixes:**
- Add missing dependency to requirements file
- Pin compatible version
- Update lockfile (`pip freeze`, `npm install`)

---

### Permission / Auth Failures

**Signatures in logs:**
```
fatal: could not read Username for 'https://github.com': No such device or address
Error: Resource not accessible by integration
403 Forbidden
```

**Diagnosis:**
1. Check if the workflow needs special permissions (token scopes)
2. Check if secrets are configured (missing `GITHUB_TOKEN` or custom secrets)

**Common fixes:**
- Add `permissions:` block to workflow YAML
- Verify secrets exist: `gh secret list` or check repo settings
- For fork PRs: some secrets aren't available by design

---

### Timeout Failures

**Signatures in logs:**
```
Error: The operation was canceled.
The job running on runner ... has exceeded the maximum execution time
```

**Diagnosis:**
1. Check which step timed out
2. Look for infinite loops, hung processes, or slow network calls

**Common fixes:**
- Add timeout to the specific step: `timeout-minutes: 10`
- Fix the underlying performance issue
- Split into parallel jobs

---

### Docker / Container Failures

**Signatures in logs:**
```
docker: Error response from daemon
failed to solve: ... not found
COPY failed: file not found in build context
```

**Diagnosis:**
1. Check Dockerfile for the failing step
2. Verify the referenced files exist in the repo

**Common fixes:**
- Fix path in COPY/ADD command
- Update base image tag
- Add missing file to `.dockerignore` exclusion or remove from it

---

## Auto-Fix Decision Tree

```
CI Failed
├── Test failure
│   ├── Assertion mismatch → update test or fix logic
│   └── Import/module error → add dependency
├── Lint failure → run formatter, fix style
├── Type error → fix types
├── Build failure
│   ├── Missing dep → add to requirements
│   └── Version conflict → update pins
├── Permission error → update workflow permissions (needs user)
└── Timeout → investigate perf (may need user input)
```

## Re-running After Fix

```bash
git add <fixed_files> && git commit -m "fix: resolve CI failure" && git push

# Then monitor
gh pr checks --watch 2>/dev/null || \
  echo "Poll with: curl -s -H 'Authorization: token ...' https://api.github.com/repos/.../commits/$(git rev-parse HEAD)/status"
```

```

### references/conventional-commits.md

```markdown
# Conventional Commits Quick Reference

Format: `type(scope): description`

## Types

| Type | When to use | Example |
|------|------------|---------|
| `feat` | New feature or capability | `feat(auth): add OAuth2 login flow` |
| `fix` | Bug fix | `fix(api): handle null response from /users endpoint` |
| `refactor` | Code restructuring, no behavior change | `refactor(db): extract query builder into separate module` |
| `docs` | Documentation only | `docs: update API usage examples in README` |
| `test` | Adding or updating tests | `test(auth): add integration tests for token refresh` |
| `ci` | CI/CD configuration | `ci: add Python 3.12 to test matrix` |
| `chore` | Maintenance, dependencies, tooling | `chore: upgrade pytest to 8.x` |
| `perf` | Performance improvement | `perf(search): add index on users.email column` |
| `style` | Formatting, whitespace, semicolons | `style: run black formatter on src/` |
| `build` | Build system or external deps | `build: switch from setuptools to hatch` |
| `revert` | Reverts a previous commit | `revert: revert "feat(auth): add OAuth2 login flow"` |

## Scope (optional)

Short identifier for the area of the codebase: `auth`, `api`, `db`, `ui`, `cli`, etc.

## Breaking Changes

Add `!` after type or `BREAKING CHANGE:` in footer:

```
feat(api)!: change authentication to use bearer tokens

BREAKING CHANGE: API endpoints now require Bearer token instead of API key header.
Migration guide: https://docs.example.com/migrate-auth
```

## Multi-line Body

Wrap at 72 characters. Use bullet points for multiple changes:

```
feat(auth): add JWT-based user authentication

- Add login/register endpoints with input validation
- Add User model with argon2 password hashing
- Add auth middleware for protected routes
- Add token refresh endpoint with rotation

Closes #42
```

## Linking Issues

In the commit body or footer:

```
Closes #42          ← closes the issue when merged
Fixes #42           ← same effect
Refs #42            ← references without closing
Co-authored-by: Name <email>
```

## Quick Decision Guide

- Added something new? → `feat`
- Something was broken and you fixed it? → `fix`
- Changed how code is organized but not what it does? → `refactor`
- Only touched tests? → `test`
- Only touched docs? → `docs`
- Updated CI/CD pipelines? → `ci`
- Updated dependencies or tooling? → `chore`
- Made something faster? → `perf`

```