Github Pr Workflow

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

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# 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"
  if [ -z "${GITHUB_TOKEN:-}" ]; then
    echo "GITHUB_TOKEN is not set; use gh auth login or an approved secure environment setup."
  fi
fi
echo "Using: $AUTH"

Extracting Owner/Repo from the Git Remote

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

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# 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:

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# 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:

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# 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):

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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)

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git push -u origin HEAD

Create the PR

With gh:

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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:

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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:

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# One-shot check
gh pr checks

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

With git + curl:

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# 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)

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# 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:

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# 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:

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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:

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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:

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# 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:

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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)

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# 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

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# 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

Public support files

• templates/pr-body-bugfix.md
• templates/pr-body-feature.md