review-pr

name	review-pr
description	Review a specific vscode-containers pull request on demand from the CLI (or any interactive agent), the way a Container Tools maintainer would. Use when asked to review a PR by number, URL, or "the current branch", to produce a written review and, only when explicitly asked, post comments on the PR. Fetches the PR with the GitHub CLI and applies the shared review rubric.

Review a Container Tools PR (on demand)

You are reviewing a pull request to microsoft/vscode-containers the way a maintainer would. Apply the shared grading rubric in ../code-review/rubric.md -- read it first; it is the single source of truth for what to look for and how to grade. This skill only adds how to get the PR and, optionally, how to post.

Modes

Default to report unless the user explicitly asks you to comment on / review the PR on GitHub.

• report (default): produce a written review; touch nothing on GitHub.
• post: publish review comments on the PR (see Posting). Only when explicitly requested.

Never approve (gh pr review --approve) in either mode -- approval is a human decision.

Get the PR

Accept a PR number (123), a URL (https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-containers/pull/123), or "the current branch". Resolve with the GitHub CLI:

gh pr view <n> --json number,title,body,author,files,url,state,isDraft,headRefOid
gh pr diff <n>

For prior review threads and discussion (so you do not repeat points already made, and can see what the author pushed back on):

gh api repos/microsoft/vscode-containers/pulls/<n>/comments   # inline review comments
gh pr view <n> --comments                                     # issue-level discussion

If the PR references an issue, read it (gh issue view <n>) to confirm the PR addresses it.

If the PR is already merged or closed, do a retrospective review in report mode only -- do not try to post change requests on it.

If gh is unavailable, use the equivalent read-only GitHub tools exposed by the current host; tool names vary between hosts.

Produce the review

Apply the rubric to the diff and emit its Verdict shape (verdict, blocking issues, non-blocking suggestions, what looks good, open questions). Ground every point in the diff or a concrete repo convention and cite the helper/pattern to use.

Posting (post mode only)

Keep each comment specific and actionable; reference the exact file/line.

• Prefer one summary review so comments are submitted together. Use inline comments only when the user explicitly asks for them; the REST endpoint below posts each comment immediately.
• Inline comment on a changed line (GitHub rejects lines outside the PR diff): gh api repos/microsoft/vscode-containers/pulls/<n>/comments -f body='...' -f commit_id='<headRefOid>' -f path='<file>' -F line=<n> -f side=RIGHT
• Summary review (comment, or request changes when the author must act -- never approve): gh pr review <n> --comment --body '...' / gh pr review <n> --request-changes --body '...'
• Prefix each agent-posted review comment with a clear reviewer marker (e.g. a magnifying glass or detective emoji) so it is distinguishable from a human review.

When using host-provided GitHub tools, prefer their pending-review workflow so inline comments are submitted as one review.

Rules

• Never approve. Read-only otherwise: do not modify code, commit, or push as part of a review.
• In report mode, post nothing to GitHub.
• Prefer asking over asserting when intent is genuinely unclear.