stacked-mr

name	stacked-mr
description	Autonomous AFK mode: build a stack of owner-scoped PRs/MRs, then batch-review them to the bar. Human merges. Use on /stacked-mr or 'stack PRs'.

/stacked-mr — Stacked PR/MR Pass

Builds a stack of PRs/MRs without reviewing each one immediately, then runs a batch review pass at the end. The canonical owner, knowledge, artifact, and follow-up contract is docs/workflow/agent-process.md.

Stack Shape

main
  -> 0012-first-ticket       PR #1 base: main
       -> 0013-second-ticket PR #2 base: 0012-first-ticket
            -> 0014-third    PR #3 base: 0013-second-ticket

Each PR/MR diff is against its parent branch. The human merges bottom-up.

Phase 1 — Build Stack

For each runnable ticket:

1. Pick the next now / next ticket by priority within the requested scope.
2. Confirm exactly one owner agent. If work needs multiple owners, split into linked tickets before building.
3. Set status in-progress.
4. Run the knowledge phase from docs/workflow/agent-process.md.
5. Branch from the current stack tip.
6. Implement TDD-first and commit.
7. File owner-scoped follow-up tickets for deferred work.
8. Run local smoke checks and inspect the diff.
9. Push the feature branch.
10. Open a PR/MR with base set to the parent branch.
11. Link the PR/MR URL into the ticket and update the stack ledger.

Do not run the code-review agent during this phase except for explicit trust-critical escape hatches.

Phase 2 — Batch Review

1. Refresh forge state for every PR/MR in the ledger.
2. Run one code-review agent pass per PR/MR in isolated worktrees.
3. Collect verdicts and review artifacts.
4. Fix request-changes branches, re-review only affected PRs/MRs, and restack children with --force-with-lease to feature branches only.

Phase 2.5 — Joint MR digest (human read surface)

The per-MR reviews above are the automated merge gate. They are not a human read surface — a human would still open N diffs. Produce ONE combined /digest over the whole stack so the human reviews the batch once. Because each MR is stacked on the previous, the stack tip already contains the union of the batch — the joint diff is free.

1. Open one joint MR, base=main, source = the stack-tip branch, as a draft labeled do-not-merge:

   # GitLab
   glab mr create --target-branch main --source-branch "$STACK_TIP" --draft \
     --label do-not-merge \
     --title "[BATCH] <scope> — joint review (do not merge)" \
     --description "Combined read surface for !#A..!#N. Members merge individually, bottom-up."
   # GitHub: gh pr create --base main --head "$STACK_TIP" --draft --title ... --label do-not-merge
   

   Record its number as $JOINT and the member MR numbers.
2. Run the code-review agent once on the joint MR (full main...stack-tip diff). That same codex session also emits the /digest patch — no extra model run. Around it run the deterministic digest stages with --joint "<member-csv>" (see /digest Stages 1 + 3).
3. The joint review's verdict is informational — the member MRs' own reviews stay the merge bar. Surface the joint digest; the human reads it once, then merges the stack bottom-up.

The joint MR is never merged. Close it when the stack has fully landed (it's a draft + do-not-merge; a future merge-sync extension can automate this).

Continue Conditions

• Runnable scoped tickets remain: keep building.
• True human-only blocker: file HITL and continue another lane.
• PR/MR cannot reach the bar after reasonable cycles: mark the ticket stuck with the artifact path and continue independent work.
• Scoped backlog exhausted: finish batch review and summarize.

Summary Format

Stack of N PRs/MRs, merge bottom-up:
  #1  0012-first-ticket   base: main              approve / tests pass
  #2  0013-second-ticket  base: 0012-first-ticket request-changes

Include PR/MR URLs, ticket ids, owners, bases, verdicts, test status, HITL items, delegated artifact paths, and follow-up tickets.

Hard Rules

1. Never merge.
2. Every PR/MR reaches the review bar before final handoff.
3. Force-push only feature branches and only with --force-with-lease.
4. TDD-first for every implementation ticket.
5. Batch reviews run in isolated worktrees.
6. The joint MR is draft + do-not-merge — a read surface only. Never merge it, never let it gate the member MRs.