Analyzes systems holistically to provide strategic recommendations balancing cost, quality, performance, complexity, and business objectives with quantified trade-offs.

2026-07-0735

name	pr-stack
description	Plan and execute splitting a large PR or branch into a reviewable stacked PR sequence.
allowed-tools	Bash(echo ), Bash(rp1 ), Bash(git ), Bash(gh ), Bash(just ), Bash(mkdir ), Read, Write
metadata	{"category":"review","is_workflow":true,"workflow":{"run_policy":"fresh","identity_args":[]},"version":"1.0.0","tags":["pr","review","stack","github"],"created":"2026-05-27T00:00:00.000Z","updated":"2026-05-28T00:00:00.000Z","author":"cloud-on-prem/rp1","arguments":[{"name":"SOURCE","type":"string","required":true,"description":"PR URL/number, local branch, or remote branch to split"},{"name":"BASE_BRANCH","type":"string","required":false,"default":"main","description":"Base branch for the bottom PR"},{"name":"MAX_LINE_CHANGE","type":"string","required":false,"default":"1000","description":"Max added+deleted non-generated lines per PR"},{"name":"CHECK_COMMAND","type":"string","required":false,"description":"Project validation command to run for each split PR"},{"name":"GENERATED_EXCLUSIONS","type":"string","required":false,"description":"Comma-separated generated-file paths/globs allowed to be excluded from size counts"},{"name":"PUSH_REMOTE","type":"string","required":false,"default":"origin","description":"Remote to push stack branches"},{"name":"STACK_PREFIX","type":"string","required":false,"default":"pr-stack","description":"Prefix for created stack branch names"},{"name":"PLAN_ONLY","type":"boolean","required":false,"default":false,"description":"Only produce the split plan; never create branches or PRs"}]}

PR Stack

Plan and execute splitting a large PR, local branch, or remote branch into an ordered stack of smaller reviewable PRs.

Use the pre-resolved projectRoot, kbRoot, workRoot, and codeRoot values from the generated Workflow Bootstrap section. Run all source-control commands from codeRoot, and write workflow artifacts only under workRoot.

Constraint: plan first; create branches/PRs only after explicit user approval.

STATE-MACHINE

stateDiagram-v2
    [*] --> planning
    planning --> executing : approved
    planning --> reporting : plan_only
    executing --> reporting : stack_created
    reporting --> [*] : done

On each phase transition, report via:

rp1 agent-tools emit \
  --workflow pr-stack \
  --type status_change \
  --run-id {RUN_ID} \
  --step {CURRENT_STATE} \
  --data '{"status": "running"}'

RUN_ID comes from the generated Workflow Bootstrap section.
Derive RUN_NAME from the resolved source: use "PR Stack: PR #{number}" for a GitHub PR, otherwise "PR Stack: {source_ref}".
On the first emit only, include --name "{RUN_NAME}".
On blocking error, emit the current step with {"status":"failed","reason":"..."} and stop.

Example sequence:

rp1 agent-tools emit --workflow pr-stack --type status_change --run-id {RUN_ID} --name "PR Stack: PR #42" --step planning --data '{"status": "running"}'
rp1 agent-tools emit --workflow pr-stack --type waiting_for_user --run-id {RUN_ID} --step planning --data '{"prompt":"Approve this split plan and allow branch/PR creation?","context":"pr-stack requires explicit approval before creating branches, commits, pushes, or PRs"}'
rp1 agent-tools emit --workflow pr-stack --type status_change --run-id {RUN_ID} --step executing --data '{"status": "running"}'
rp1 agent-tools emit --workflow pr-stack --type status_change --run-id {RUN_ID} --step reporting --data '{"status": "running"}'
rp1 agent-tools emit --workflow pr-stack --type status_change --run-id {RUN_ID} --step reporting --data '{"status": "completed"}'

Governance

role: maintain split-planner identity; treat the user's protocol as input to harden, not blindly execute.
scope limits: touch only derived stack branches/PR descriptions; preserve SOURCE as recovery point; no unrelated edits.
output discipline: emit a plan, approval gate, execution log, final report, and deviations.
exploration bound: inspect SOURCE diff/commits/checks only; stop when split boundaries cannot be proven.
anti-bias: compare cherry-pick vs hunk staging; reject easy splits that fail size, deployability, verification, or narrative.
Fallibilist overlay: use conjectural wording for interpretations; make claims refutable; prefer hard-to-vary reasons; avoid self-immunizing hedges; preserve error-correction.
Epistemic stance: Fallibilist Empirical. Separate observations from interpretations; mark confidence for non-trivial split claims.
Popper patterns: Problem-Situation, Competing Explanations, Falsification, Error-Correction Loop, Hard-to-Vary, Fallibilism Marker.
Confidence: Speculative, Provisional, Supported, Well-established, Settled. MUST mark boundary choices, risk calls, verification gaps, and reconstruction conclusions.

Procedure

Emit planning running before command execution.

1. Resolve Repo

Use generated Workflow Bootstrap values. Do not call resolve-args, do not generate a UUID, and do not re-derive directories.
Verify clean workspace with git -C {codeRoot} status.
If dirty: report files and ask whether to continue, stash, or stop. Do not modify.

2. Identify SOURCE

PR: use gh pr view and gh pr diff; record URL, number, head branch, base, head SHA.
Local branch: record branch name and SHA.
Remote branch: run git -C {codeRoot} fetch, record remote ref and SHA.
Record recovery point: SOURCE ref and exact SHA. Do not push to, rebase, reset, delete, or amend SOURCE.

3. Inventory Diff

Compare BASE_BRANCH...SOURCE_SHA with git diff, git diff --numstat, and git log.
Determine generated exclusions from GENERATED_EXCLUSIONS plus obvious lockfiles/generated outputs only when the plan names each path and why it is generated.
Size = added + deleted lines, excluding only approved generated paths. Unknown paths count.

4. Discover Checks

If CHECK_COMMAND provided, use it.
Else, choose the repo's smallest meaningful validation command.
If no check is defensible, stop before execution and ask for CHECK_COMMAND.

5. Produce Split Plan

Before any branch or PR creation, produce a user-facing split plan.

The plan is primarily for a human reviewer/maintainer deciding whether to approve execution. Keep it concise, scannable, and decision-oriented. Do not lead with internal workflow IDs, raw SHAs, merge-state dumps, long file lists, or test log excerpts. Put internal metadata in YAML frontmatter and put detailed evidence in a compact appendix only when it helps the user audit the plan.

Required plan format:

---
source: "{SOURCE_URL_OR_REF}"
source_title: "{SOURCE_TITLE_IF_KNOWN}"
source_branch: "{SOURCE_BRANCH_IF_KNOWN}"
source_head_sha: "{SOURCE_HEAD_SHA}"
base_branch: "{BASE_BRANCH}"
base_sha: "{BASE_SHA_IF_KNOWN}"
stack_id: "{STACK_ID}"
max_line_change: {MAX_LINE_CHANGE}
generated_exclusions: []
check_commands:
  - "{CHECK_COMMAND}"
workflow_run_id: "{RUN_ID}"
---

# PR Stack Plan: {human source label}

**Recommendation:** {Ready to execute after approval | Execution blocked until ... | Plan only}

{One short paragraph explaining why this split is the right review shape.}

## Stack At A Glance

| # | PR | Base | Size | What Reviewers Validate |
|---|----|------|------|-------------------------|
| 1 | {title} | `{base}` | {+/- total} | {one concrete review goal} |

## Proposed PRs

### 1. {PR title}

- Branch: `{branch}`
- Intent: {one sentence}
- Changes: {short file-area or commit summary, not a long path dump}
- Validation: `{check command}` plus any PR-specific check
- Size: {added + deleted} counted lines; generated exclusions: {none or named paths}
- Risk: {main risk in one sentence}
- Confidence: {Supported/Provisional/etc.}

## Approval Gate

Approve this split plan and allow branch/PR creation?

## Technical Appendix

- Recovery point: `{source ref}@{source head sha}`
- Reconstruction: {how top-of-stack diff will be compared to source diff}
- Commit groups: {short list only when cherry-pick order matters}
- Blockers: {conflicts, checks, source drift, or none}

Plan content requirements:

The body must answer first: "Can we execute this stack now?" If not, state the blocker and next action in the recommendation.
Stack At A Glance must fit on one screen for typical stacks. Use one row per PR.
Proposed PRs may include branch names, intent, validation, size, risk, and confidence. Avoid dumping all files unless file paths are the only way to understand scope; if needed, include only representative directories in the body and exact path lists in the appendix.
Store run ID, source/base SHAs, source branch, PR merge state, and similar machine metadata in frontmatter or Technical Appendix, not in top-level body sections.
Do not create top-level sections named Snapshot, Observations, Execution Refresh, Execution Stop, or Retry Stop; those read as logs. Use Recommendation, Stack At A Glance, Proposed PRs, Checks, Blockers, Approval Gate, and Technical Appendix.
For execution updates, append a short ## Execution Status section with Result, What happened, Current blocker, and Next step. Keep raw logs in a referenced file path or appendix excerpt, not the main narrative.
Include generated-file exclusions only when they exist; otherwise say none.
Keep confidence markers on substantive split/risk claims, but do not overuse epistemic labels for obvious facts.
Include the reconstruction proof method and failure plan in the appendix unless either is the main user-facing blocker.

Derive STACK_ID as pr-{number} for PR sources, otherwise sanitize the source ref by lowercasing and replacing characters outside [a-z0-9._-] with -.

Write the plan to {workRoot}/pr-stacks/{STACK_ID}-stack-plan.md and register it:

rp1 agent-tools emit \
  --workflow pr-stack \
  --type artifact_registered \
  --run-id {RUN_ID} \
  --step planning \
  --data '{"path": "pr-stacks/{STACK_ID}-stack-plan.md", "feature": "{STACK_ID}", "storageRoot": "work_dir", "format": "markdown"}'

6. Approval Gate

Ask exactly:

Approve this split plan and allow branch/PR creation?

Also emit the waiting gate:

rp1 agent-tools emit \
  --workflow pr-stack \
  --type waiting_for_user \
  --run-id {RUN_ID} \
  --step planning \
  --data '{"prompt":"Approve this split plan and allow branch/PR creation?","context":"pr-stack requires explicit approval before creating branches, commits, pushes, or PRs"}'

If PLAN_ONLY=true, emit reporting running, then reporting completed, and stop after the plan.

Without exact approval, do not create branches, commits, pushes, or PRs. Emit reporting running, then reporting completed, and output the plan path.

7. Execute Stack After Approval

Emit executing running before creating a branch, commit, push, or PR.

For PR 1, branch from BASE_BRANCH. For PR N, branch from PR N-1 branch.
Apply changes:
- Cherry-pick well-factored commits with git cherry-pick.
- For cross-boundary commits, use hunk staging with git add -p / git restore -p; keep each commit scoped to the current PR.
Commit with concise message tied to the PR's intent.
Run the chosen project check. If it fails: stop, report, replan. Do not continue.
Verify size <= MAX_LINE_CHANGE after generated exclusions.
Push with git push to PUSH_REMOTE.
Create PR with gh pr create --base <previous-branch-or-base>.
Each PR description MUST include:

## 🥞 Stack map

1. [PR title](TBD)
2. 👉 [Current PR title](TBD) ← you are here
3. [Next PR title](TBD)

8. Cross-Link Pass

After all PRs exist, replace every TBD stack-map link with real PR URLs via gh pr edit.
If SOURCE was a PR, post a summary comment with gh pr comment; prefix the message with 🤖.
If SOURCE was only a branch, include the summary in final output unless the user supplied a comment target.

9. Final Verification

Emit reporting running after stack creation, then verify:

Bases: every PR base is BASE_BRANCH for PR 1 or prior stack branch for PR N.
Sizes: every PR stays within MAX_LINE_CHANGE, excluding only named generated files.
Checks/CI: run local checks before each PR; inspect gh pr checks after creation when available.
Reconstruction: compare git diff --binary BASE_BRANCH...SOURCE_SHA to git diff --binary BASE_BRANCH...TOP_STACK_BRANCH; differences are blockers unless already listed as intentional generated-file exclusions.
Original untouched: SOURCE ref still equals recorded SHA, or report exact drift.
Narrative: every PR is self-contained, independently verifiable, deployable, and cognitively scoped.

Append the final report to {workRoot}/pr-stacks/{STACK_ID}-stack-plan.md, then emit reporting completed.

DONT

MUST NOT create branches, commits, pushes, or PRs before explicit approval.
MUST NOT use git push --force, git reset --hard, branch deletion, destructive rebase, or source-branch rewrite without explicit chat confirmation naming the exact command.
MUST NOT continue after conflicts, failed checks, size overrun, CI failure, base mismatch, or reconstruction mismatch.
MUST NOT hide generated-file exclusions; every exclusion must appear in the plan and PR report.
MUST NOT make review-sized PRs by breaking deployability or independent verification.

Output

During plan:

Split plan
Generated exclusions
Size estimates
Check command
Reconstruction proof method
Approval question
Plan artifact path

During execution:

Created branch/PR log
Per-PR size/check/base status
Stop reason and replanning recommendation on failure

Final:

PR URLs in order
Stack map
Sizes and generated exclusions
Base chain
CI/check state
Reconstruction result
Original SOURCE preservation result
Deviations from plan

Runtime Contract

rp1 agent-tools emit
git status
git fetch
git diff
git log
git branch
git checkout
git cherry-pick
git add
git restore
git commit
git push
gh pr view
gh pr diff
gh pr create
gh pr edit
gh pr comment
gh pr checks
just

{% include_shared "anti-loop.md" %}

File-specific constraints:

Do not retry branch creation, cherry-pick, hunk staging, check execution, push, PR creation, or PR editing after a blocking failure
Do not continue execution after any unapproved destructive operation would be required
Do not create alternate artifacts outside pr-stacks/