Pr Refresh

Refresh PR Description

Bring an existing PR description back in sync with what the branch currently does — non-destructively. The description's structure, formatting, links, and hand-written customizations are preserved; only content that the branch's evolution has made stale is updated.

This command is content-only. It never restructures the description, never applies a template, and never discusses structure or templates. If the user asks for a different structure or mentions a template, reply in one line that restructuring is the pr-rewrite skill's job, then continue with the content-only refresh (or stop, if restructuring was the sole request).

User input: $ARGUMENTS

Context

Current branch — run this command and read the output:

git branch --show-current

PR for current branch (if any) — run this command and read the output:

gh pr view --json number,title,url,baseRefName 2>/dev/null || echo "(no PR for current branch — expect a PR number/URL in the argument)"

Procedure

1. Resolve the PR and its target

• If $ARGUMENTS contains a PR number or URL, use it; otherwise use the current branch's PR. No PR found → report that and stop.
• Fetch the full PR:

  gh pr view <number> --json number,title,body,url,baseRefName,headRefName,state
  

• The diff base is the PR's baseRefName — this is what makes the command stack-aware. A PR targeting a sibling branch in a stack is diffed against that branch, never against trunk.
• Gather the net change:

  git fetch origin <baseRefName>
  

  git log origin/<baseRefName>..HEAD --oneline
  

  git diff origin/<baseRefName>...HEAD --stat
  

  git diff origin/<baseRefName>...HEAD
  

2. Back up the current description

Before any analysis, save the existing body verbatim:

mkdir -p .git/pr-backups/$(date -u +%Y%m%d-%H%M%SZ)-pr<number>

Write the fetched body to body.md and the title to title.txt inside that directory, and tell the user the backup path. If the edit is later regretted, the old description can be restored with gh pr edit <number> --body-file <backup>/body.md.

3. Map the description against the current diff

Read the existing body section by section and classify every claim:

• Still accurate — describes something the net diff still does. Leave it byte-for-byte untouched, including phrasing you'd have written differently. Refresh fixes staleness, not style.
• Stale — describes behavior, files, flags, or approaches the branch no longer contains, or understates/misstates what it now does. Rewrite minimally, in the section's existing voice and format.
• Missing — a change in the net diff that the description doesn't cover. Add it to the existing section where it belongs, matching that section's format (bullet style, bold-label pattern, table shape). Never create a new section for it.
• Unverifiable — hand-written content whose accuracy can't be judged from the diff: reviewer commitments, deployment notes, screenshots, benchmark numbers, external links, checked task-list items. Preserve by default. If the diff suggests one of these is now wrong (e.g., a screenshot of a UI the branch since changed), ask the user before touching it — never silently drop or edit it.

Preserve throughout: section order and headings, link targets and link text, images, badges, HTML comments, task-list check states, issue keywords (Fixes #N), and @-mentions.

4. Ambiguity gate

When it is unclear whether a piece of existing content is stale or load-bearing, ask via ask-user-choice with the specific text quoted and the options: keep as-is, update (showing the proposed replacement), or remove. Batch related uncertainties into one question set rather than asking serially. Never resolve ambiguity by guessing.

5. Present and apply

• Show the proposed edit as an old → new comparison, quoting only the sections that change; state explicitly which sections are untouched.
• Update the title only if it is factually stale; keep its style.
• Ask whether to apply. On approval:

  gh pr edit <number> --body-file <file>
  

  Write the new body to a file first (in the backup directory, as body.new.md) so formatting survives shell quoting.
• Confirm with the PR URL and repeat the backup path.

Rules

• Non-destructive: every run backs up the existing body before editing; the smallest edit that restores accuracy wins.
• Content-only: never add, remove, rename, or reorder sections; never discuss structure or templates.
• Stack-aware: the diff base is the PR's baseRefName, never an assumed trunk.
• Ask on ambiguity: unverifiable or uncertain content is kept unless the user says otherwise.
• Whole-branch perspective: refreshed content describes the net result against the base, not the branch's internal history.
• No brittle details: don't introduce test counts, SHAs, line numbers, or file-changed counts while refreshing.
• Never force-push, push, or run destructive git commands; the only write is gh pr edit after approval.

Portability notes

• ask-user-choice — present the listed options and wait for the user to pick one. Hosts with a structured multiple-choice tool (Claude Code's AskUserQuestion) should use it; otherwise print a numbered list and wait for a numbered reply. Never proceed on an assumed answer.
• $ARGUMENTS — the text the user passed when invoking this skill. If your host does not substitute it, read it as the user's request in the current turn, and ask when there is none.