# Mcore Split Pr > Split a PR into multiple PRs to reduce the number of required CODEOWNERS reviewer groups. - Skill: `nvidia/mcore-split-pr-3` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 5 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add nvidia/mcore-split-pr-3` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/nvidia/mcore-split-pr-3/raw - Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - License: Apache-2.0 - Author: NVIDIA (https://skillmd.com/u/nvidia) - Updated: 2026-09-22 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/nvidia/mcore-split-pr-3 --- # Split PR by CODEOWNERS Groups Split a large pull request into multiple smaller PRs, where each PR touches the fewest possible CODEOWNERS reviewer groups. The goal is to reduce review burden: a PR that only touches `megatron/core/` needs only the core reviewers, while a PR that also touches `examples/`, `tools/`, and `megatron/training/` pulls in many additional groups. ## Answer-First Constraints For split-planning questions, lead with these constraints before the full workflow: - Minimize CODEOWNERS reviewer groups per PR, but each resulting PR must still be independently mergeable and reviewable. - Tests travel with the production code they validate; do not split tests into a separate PR just to reduce reviewer groups. - If PR B depends on symbols renamed in PR A, call out the dependency and put backward-compatible aliases, re-exports, or shims in PR A when needed. - [GitHub's standard stacked-PR flow](https://docs.github.com/en/pull-requests/how-tos/create-pull-requests/creating-stacked-pull-requests) — push each branch to the upstream repo and base each PR on the previous branch — does not work here: contributors cannot push branches to `NVIDIA/Megatron-LM`, and a PR's base must be an upstream branch. The only upstream refs containing a fork PR's commits are the `pull-request/` mirrors that copy-pr-bot creates, so stacking goes through them. - Create every PR with base `main`; the `pull-request/` mirror refs do not exist until a vetter comments `/ok to test ` (copy-pr-bot). Once the mirror exists, stack a dependent PR with `gh pr edit --base pull-request/`. - Never merge a PR while its base is a `pull-request/*` ref: the squash lands in the bot's scratch ref, not `main`, and the PR ends up MERGED and unreopenable. Retarget to `main` first. - Wait for user approval before execution. - Execution creates draft PRs from the right base, applies file-scoped diffs with `git diff upstream/main.. -- | git apply`, pushes to the user's fork, and never pushes directly to upstream. ## Workflow ### 1. Analyze the PR 1. Fetch the PR details: `gh pr view --repo NVIDIA/Megatron-LM --json title,body,headRefName,author` and `gh pr diff --repo NVIDIA/Megatron-LM --stat`. Also determine the current GitHub user with `gh api user --jq .login`. 2. Parse `.github/CODEOWNERS` to build a mapping from file path patterns to owner groups. 3. For each changed file in the PR, determine which CODEOWNERS groups would be required to review it. 4. Build a summary table grouped by CODEOWNERS group, showing which files pull in which groups. 5. Count the total number of distinct reviewer groups the PR currently requires. ### 2. Propose a split that minimizes reviewer groups per PR The primary optimization goal: **minimize the number of CODEOWNERS reviewer groups required for each resulting PR**. Strategy: 1. Cluster files by their CODEOWNERS groups. Files owned by the same set of groups naturally belong together. 2. Identify the largest cluster — this becomes the first (and usually largest) PR. 3. Remaining files form one or more additional PRs, each ideally requiring only one or two reviewer groups. 4. If a split creates a dependency (e.g., PR B uses symbols renamed in PR A), the dependent PR must be merged after the first. Note this explicitly. 5. Each PR must be independently mergeable to main — no broken imports, no missing symbols. Backward-compatible aliases and re-export stubs in the first PR can make this possible. Present the proposed split as a table: - PR name/description - Files included - CODEOWNERS groups required - Dependencies on other PRs (if any) Wait for user approval before proceeding. ### 3. Execute the split (after user approval) For each new PR: 1. Create a new branch from the appropriate local base (`main`, or a dependency PR's branch). 2. Extract the relevant changes: `git diff upstream/main.. -- | git apply`. 3. Stage, commit with a clear message, and push to the user's fork. 4. Create the PR as a **draft** with base `main` (per repo contributing guidelines). Retarget dependent PRs to `pull-request/` only after a vetter's `/ok to test` has created that mirror ref. 5. If the original PR needs to be narrowed in scope, confirm with the user before force-pushing. 6. Report all PR URLs when done. ## Important guidelines - Always create PRs as **drafts** and push to the user's fork, never directly to upstream. - Backward-compatible changes (aliases, re-exports, deprecation shims) should go in the first PR so subsequent PRs can depend on them. - Test files should go with the production code they test, not in a separate PR. - Prefer a single clean commit per split PR over replaying the original commit history. - If a file is hard to categorize (e.g., it touches two groups), ask the user which PR it should go in. - If the current GitHub user is not the author of the original PR, each new PR's description must explicitly credit the original author (e.g., "Original changes by @ in #").