Pull Request

Pull Request Creator

Creates a comprehensive GitHub Pull Request with authentication validation and structured documentation.

Usage

/pull-request [target_branch] [gh_user]

Arguments:

• target_branch: Base branch for PR (default: main)
• gh_user: Expected GitHub username (default: $GH_USER env var)

Examples:

/pull-request                    # Uses main, $GH_USER
/pull-request master             # Target master branch
/pull-request main my-username   # Explicit user override

Workflow Steps

Step 1: Authentication Verification (CRITICAL - DO FIRST)

INSTRUCTION: Verify GitHub CLI authentication before any other operation.

ROOT=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)
BRANCH=$(git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD)

# Get authenticated user
echo "Checking GitHub authentication..."
GH_AUTH_OUTPUT=$(gh auth status 2>&1)
echo "$GH_AUTH_OUTPUT"

# Extract authenticated username
AUTH_USER=$(echo "$GH_AUTH_OUTPUT" | grep -oE "Logged in to github.com account [^ ]+ " | sed 's/Logged in to github.com account //' | tr -d ' ' || echo "")
# Alternative extraction if format differs
if [ -z "$AUTH_USER" ]; then
  AUTH_USER=$(echo "$GH_AUTH_OUTPUT" | grep -oE "account [^(]+" | head -1 | sed 's/account //' | tr -d ' ')
fi

echo "Authenticated as: $AUTH_USER"

Validation Logic:

1. Extract AUTH_USER from gh auth status output
2. Determine expected user:
   • If gh_user argument provided -> use it
   • Else if $GH_USER env var set -> use it
   • Else -> skip user validation (proceed with warning)
3. Compare AUTH_USER with expected user
4. If mismatch: STOP immediately with error:

   ERROR: GitHub authentication mismatch
   - Authenticated as: <AUTH_USER>
   - Expected user: <EXPECTED_USER>
   
   Please run: gh auth login
   Or switch accounts: gh auth switch
   

5. If match: Proceed with success message

Step 2: Pre-Flight Validation

# Check not on protected branch
if [ "$BRANCH" = "master" ] || [ "$BRANCH" = "main" ]; then
  echo "ERROR: Cannot create PR from protected branch: $BRANCH"
  exit 1
fi

# Determine target branch
TARGET="${1:-main}"  # Default to main

# Verify target exists on remote
if ! git -C "$ROOT" rev-parse --verify "origin/$TARGET" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  echo "ERROR: Target branch 'origin/$TARGET' does not exist"
  echo "Available remote branches:"
  git -C "$ROOT" branch -r | grep -v HEAD
  exit 1
fi

# Check for uncommitted changes
if [ -n "$(git -C "$ROOT" status --porcelain)" ]; then
  echo "WARNING: Uncommitted changes detected"
  git -C "$ROOT" status --short
fi

Step 3: Context Gathering

3.1 Fetch Latest Target

echo "Fetching latest $TARGET from origin..."
git -C "$ROOT" fetch origin "$TARGET"

3.2 Gather Commit Information

echo "Commits on this branch (since $TARGET):"
echo "========================================"
git -C "$ROOT" log "origin/$TARGET..HEAD" --oneline
echo ""

COMMITS_AHEAD=$(git -C "$ROOT" rev-list --count "origin/$TARGET..HEAD")
echo "Total commits: $COMMITS_AHEAD"

3.3 Gather File Changes

echo ""
echo "Files changed (summary):"
echo "========================"
git -C "$ROOT" diff "origin/$TARGET...HEAD" --stat
echo ""

echo "Detailed diff:"
echo "=============="
git -C "$ROOT" diff "origin/$TARGET...HEAD"

3.4 Check for CHANGELOG

CWD_FROM_ROOT=${PWD#$ROOT/}

# Search for CHANGELOG files
for changelog in "CHANGELOG.md" "changelog.md" "CHANGES.md"; do
  CHANGELOG_PATH="$CWD_FROM_ROOT/$changelog"
  if git -C "$ROOT" ls-files "$CHANGELOG_PATH" 2>/dev/null | grep -q .; then
    echo ""
    echo "CHANGELOG found: $CHANGELOG_PATH"
    echo "Recent entries:"
    git -C "$ROOT" show "HEAD:$CHANGELOG_PATH" 2>/dev/null | head -80
    break
  fi
done

3.5 Check Remote Status

echo ""
echo "Remote tracking status:"
git -C "$ROOT" status -sb

Step 4: Analyze & Draft PR

INSTRUCTION: Analyze all gathered context to create a comprehensive PR.

4.1 Analysis Checklist

• Review all commits since target branch
• Identify version bumps (CHANGELOG, package.json, pyproject.toml)
• Identify spec files modified/added
• Categorize changes by type (features, fixes, refactors, docs)
• Identify affected components/modules
• Detect breaking changes
• Extract ticket/issue references from commit messages or branch name

4.2 PR Title Generation

Format: <type>(<scope>): <concise description>

Type Classification (from changes):

Scope: Derive scope from primary modified paths. Use consistent naming (e.g., component/subcomponent). Omit scope if changes span unrelated areas.

4.3 PR Body Template

CRITICAL: Use this EXACT structure for the PR body.

## Summary

<1-3 sentence overview explaining WHAT this PR does and WHY>

<Bulleted list of key changes/improvements>

### Root Cause (if applicable)
<What problem was being solved - include error traces, user reports, or investigation findings>

### Key Changes
<Detailed breakdown organized by component/area>

**Component 1:**
- Change description with context

**Component 2:**
- Change description with context

## Test Plan

- [ ] <Specific test case 1>
- [ ] <Specific test case 2>
- [ ] Run existing test suite: `pytest <path>`
- [ ] Deploy to staging environment
- [ ] Verify in staging with sample data

## Files Changed

**Category 1 (e.g., Core Logic):**
- `path/to/file.py` - Brief description of changes

**Category 2 (e.g., Configuration):**
- `path/to/config.json` - Brief description of changes

**Category 3 (e.g., Documentation):**
- `path/to/spec.md` - Brief description of changes

## Related

- **Spec**: `path/to/spec.md` (if applicable)
- **Ticket**: [TICKET-123](link) (if applicable)
- **Trace**: `trace-id` (if applicable)
- **Previous PR**: `#123` (if applicable)

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

Step 5: Create Pull Request

5.1 Push Branch if Needed

# Check if branch needs to be pushed
UPSTREAM=$(git -C "$ROOT" rev-parse --abbrev-ref --symbolic-full-name @{upstream} 2>/dev/null || echo "")

if [ -z "$UPSTREAM" ]; then
  echo "Pushing branch to origin with upstream tracking..."
  git -C "$ROOT" push -u origin "$BRANCH"
else
  # Check if local is ahead of remote
  LOCAL_SHA=$(git -C "$ROOT" rev-parse HEAD)
  REMOTE_SHA=$(git -C "$ROOT" rev-parse "@{upstream}" 2>/dev/null || echo "")

  if [ "$LOCAL_SHA" != "$REMOTE_SHA" ]; then
    echo "Pushing latest commits to origin..."
    git -C "$ROOT" push origin "$BRANCH"
  else
    echo "Branch is up-to-date with remote"
  fi
fi

5.2 Create PR with gh CLI

CRITICAL FORMATTING RULES:

1. Use HEREDOC for body to preserve multi-line formatting
2. Escape or backtick-wrap # characters that could be interpreted as issue references
   • Headers (## Summary) are OK - GitHub interprets these correctly
   • Standalone #123 without context MUST be escaped: \#123 or wrapped: `#123`
3. Wrap code paths in backticks to prevent interpretation

gh pr create \
  --base "$TARGET" \
  --title "<GENERATED_TITLE>" \
  --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
<GENERATED_PR_BODY>
EOF
)"

Step 6: Report Results

After PR creation, output:

========================================
PR CREATED
========================================

PR URL: <URL from gh pr create>
Branch: <BRANCH> -> <TARGET>
Title: <PR_TITLE>

Summary:
- <Key point 1>
- <Key point 2>
- <Key point 3>

Files included: <N> files changed

Next steps:
1. Review PR: <URL>
2. Request reviewers if needed: gh pr edit --add-reviewer <user>
3. Monitor CI checks
========================================

Design Decisions

1. Authentication-First Approach

   • Validates GitHub auth BEFORE any other operation
   • Prevents wasted effort if credentials are wrong
   • Supports both argument override and env var default

2. Default to main (not master)

   • Modern GitHub default is main
   • Override available via argument for legacy repos

3. HEREDOC for PR Body

   • Preserves markdown formatting correctly
   • Handles multi-line content without escaping issues
   • Single-quoted 'EOF' prevents variable expansion in body

4. Comprehensive Context Gathering

   • Analyzes full diff, not just commit messages
   • Checks CHANGELOG for version context
   • Reviews specs for documentation links

5. Structured PR Template

   • Consistent format for all PRs
   • Sections optimized for reviewer experience
   • Test plan with actionable checkboxes

6. Claude Code Attribution

   • Footer indicates AI-assisted PR creation
   • Links to Claude Code for transparency

Edge Cases

No Commits Ahead of Target

WARNING: No commits ahead of $TARGET
Branch may already be merged or rebased.

Prompt user to verify before proceeding.

Branch Already Has Open PR

Check with gh pr list --head $BRANCH and warn if PR exists:

WARNING: Open PR already exists for this branch
PR #123: <title>
URL: <url>

Would you like to update the existing PR instead?

Target Branch Not Found

ERROR: Target branch 'origin/$TARGET' not found
Available branches:
- origin/main
- origin/master
- origin/develop

Please specify correct target: /pull-request <branch>

Safety Checks Summary

• Verify GitHub authentication matches expected user
• Confirm not on protected branch
• Verify target branch exists
• Check for uncommitted changes (warn, don't block)
• Push branch before PR creation
• Use HEREDOC for safe body formatting