uplift

name	uplift
description	Create an uplift PR that cherry-picks fixes from merged PRs into a release branch. Auto-detects release branches from the repo. Triggers on: /uplift, create uplift, uplift PRs.
argument-hint	[github-username] [release-branch] [all|<num>d|PR1,PR2,PR3]
allowed-tools	Bash, Read, WebFetch, Grep, Glob

Uplift PR Creator

Create an uplift pull request that cherry-picks fixes from a contributor's recently merged PRs into a target release branch.

Inputs

• Arguments: $ARGUMENTS -- space-separated values:
  • First argument: GitHub username (the author whose merged PRs to review)
  • Second argument (optional): Target release branch -- the branch name to cherry-pick into. If not specified, auto-detect by listing release branches:

    gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/branches --paginate --jq '.[].name' | grep -E '^(release|v?[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.x|[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.x)' | sort -V | tail -5
    

    Present available release branches and ask the user to pick one.
  • Third argument (optional): PR filter -- either:
    • all -- evaluate all closed/merged PRs from this author in the past 30 days.
    • A duration like <N>d (e.g., 10d, 60d, 7d) -- evaluate all closed/merged PRs from this author in the past N days.
    • A comma-separated list of PR numbers with no spaces (e.g., 100,105,110) -- only evaluate these specific PRs.
    • If omitted, defaults to the recent 50 closed PRs.

Parse the arguments by splitting $ARGUMENTS on whitespace. Examples:

• /uplift alice -> username=alice, branch=auto-detect, filter=recent 50
• /uplift alice v2.1.x -> username=alice, branch=v2.1.x, filter=recent 50
• /uplift alice v2.1.x all -> username=alice, branch=v2.1.x, filter=all (past 30 days)
• /uplift alice v2.1.x 10d -> username=alice, branch=v2.1.x, filter=past 10 days
• /uplift alice v2.1.x 100,105,110 -> username=alice, branch=v2.1.x, filter=only those PRs

---

Step 1: Gather Information

Auto-detect the repository:

REPO=$(gh repo view --json nameWithOwner --jq '.nameWithOwner')

Run these in parallel:

1. Fetch closed PRs (method depends on the third argument):

   • Default (no third arg): Use gh pr list --repo $REPO --author <username> --state closed --limit 50 --json number,title,mergedAt,mergeCommit,labels,body,url --jq 'sort_by(.mergedAt)'
   • all: Use gh pr list --repo $REPO --author <username> --state closed --limit 200 --search "closed:>YYYY-MM-DD" --json number,title,mergedAt,mergeCommit,labels,body,url --jq 'sort_by(.mergedAt)' where YYYY-MM-DD is 30 days ago from today.
   • <num>d duration: Same as all but YYYY-MM-DD is <num> days ago.
   • Comma-separated PR list: For each PR number, use gh pr view <number> --repo $REPO --json number,title,mergedAt,mergeCommit,labels,body,url. Collect results sorted by mergedAt.

   Skip any PR where mergedAt is null (closed without merge).

2. Determine the target branch: If not provided as an argument, auto-detect release branches from the repo and present them to the user.

---

Step 2: Classify PRs

Review each merged PR and classify as include or exclude:

INCLUDE if the PR is any of:

• Bug fix (titles contain "fix", "bugfix", "patch", "hotfix")
• Flaky/intermittent test fix ("Fix flaky", "Fix test:", "Fix intermittent", "Disable flaky")
• Crash fix ("crash", "null dereference", "segfault", "SIGSEGV", etc.)
• Test filter updates (disabling broken tests, updating stale filter entries)
• Critical regression fix

EXCLUDE if the PR is:

• A feature addition (not a fix)
• A refactor unrelated to stability or crashes
• Already cherry-picked into the target branch (check by searching git log <remote>/<target-branch> --oneline --grep="#<PR_NUMBER>")
• Not merged (mergedAt is null)

---

Step 3: Cherry-Pick in Chronological Order

1. Detect the remote: Run git remote -v to determine whether upstream or origin points to the repository. Use whichever remote is correct.
2. Fetch the target branch: git fetch <remote> <target-branch>
3. Choose a unique branch name: Use uplift_<username>_<target-branch> as the base name. If that branch already exists (locally or on the remote), append a numeric suffix (_2, _3, etc.) until you find an unused name. Create the branch: git checkout -b <branch-name> <remote>/<target-branch>
4. Filter out commits already in the target branch: Before cherry-picking, check which included commits are already present in the target branch. For each commit, search the target branch log for the PR number from the commit message (e.g., git log <remote>/<target-branch> --oneline --grep="#XXXXX"). If a match is found, mark it as excluded with reason "Already in target branch" and skip it.
5. Cherry-pick the remaining commits sorted by mergedAt timestamp (earliest first):

   git cherry-pick <merge_commit_sha>
   

6. If a cherry-pick has conflicts, try to resolve them. If unresolvable, skip that PR and note it in the summary.

---

Step 4: Pre-submission Checks

After all cherry-picks are complete but before pushing, run whatever preflight checks the repository uses. Look for common patterns:

# Check for a Makefile, package.json scripts, or CI config to find lint/format commands
# Examples of what to look for and run:
# - npm run lint / npm run format (Node.js projects)
# - make lint / make fmt (Go/C projects)
# - cargo fmt --check / cargo clippy (Rust projects)
# - python -m black --check . (Python projects)

If preflight checks indicate formatting changes are needed, apply the fixes and amend the last commit:

git add -A && git commit --amend --no-edit

If preflight checks fail for reasons unrelated to the cherry-picked changes (pre-existing issues in the target branch), note the failures in the summary but proceed.

---

Step 5: Create the Uplift PR

Title Format

Generate the title dynamically based on the categories of PRs actually included:

• If only test fixes: Cherry-pick test fixes to <target-branch>
• If only crash/bug fixes: Cherry-pick bug fixes to <target-branch>
• If both: Cherry-pick test and bug fixes to <target-branch>

Body Format

Only list the PRs being cherry-picked. Do NOT mention excluded PRs in the body.

Use a HEREDOC for correct formatting:

gh pr create --repo $REPO --base <target-branch> --title "<title>" --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
Cherry-pick of #XXXX
Cherry-pick of #YYYY
Cherry-pick of #ZZZZ

## Included PRs
- #XXXX - <PR title>
- #YYYY - <PR title>
...
EOF
)"

Push and Create

git push -u origin <branch-name>

---

Step 6: Summary

After creating the PR, output a clear summary to the user:

Cherry-picked:

List each included PR with its number, title, and merge commit SHA.

Not Cherry-picked:

List each excluded PR with its number, title, and the reason it was excluded (e.g., "not merged", "already in target branch", "not a fix", "cherry-pick conflict").

PR Link:

Provide the URL of the newly created uplift PR.