create-pr

name	create-pr
description	Create a GitHub pull request for the current branch. Use when the user wants to open a PR, optionally specifying a target branch (defaults to 'main'). The PR title and body should describe the branch's net change relative to the target branch, not the branch's internal history.

Create Pull Request

Overview

Use this skill to create a GitHub pull request from the current branch. The PR title and body should describe the end-state of the branch relative to the target branch (default main), not as a chronology of individual commits.

Default to the repository's commit title style when writing the PR title. Do not treat PR titles as a separate style system unless the repository clearly does so.

Target Branch

• Default: main
• User can specify: Any branch name (e.g., develop, master, release/v1.0)
• If user mentions a specific branch, use that as the target instead of main

Workflow

1. Verify prerequisites

• Ensure gh CLI is installed and authenticated (gh auth status)
• If not authenticated, prompt user to run gh auth login first
• Check if current branch has commits not in the target branch

2. Inspect the branch diff against target branch

• Determine target branch (default: main, user can specify another)
• Refresh target branch locally if needed: git fetch origin <target-branch>
• Review changes relative to target:
  • git log --oneline <target>..HEAD
  • git diff --stat <target>...HEAD
  • git diff <target>...HEAD
• Summarize the net effect of all changes, not the internal refactor steps

3. Check for existing PR

• Check if a PR already exists for this branch: gh pr view --json number,url
• If exists, inform user and offer to update instead

4. Draft PR title and body

Title: Use the repository's normal commit title style to describe the net change Body structure:

## Summary

Brief description of what changed and why.

## Changes

- Key change 1
- Key change 2

## Validation

- Commands/tests that were run (if known)

Guidelines:

• Describe end-state relative to target branch, not chronology
• Collapse intermediate steps ("refactor after fix", "rename during cleanup") into final outcome
• Default to the same style you would use for a good commit title in this repository
• Only use Conventional Commit format if the repository clearly uses it for commit titles
• If repository has PR template (.github/pull_request_template.md), respect its structure

5. Create the PR with shell-safe handling

gh pr create \
  --base '<target-branch>' \
  --title 'type(scope): short title' \
  --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
## Summary

...

## Changes

- ...

## Validation

- ...
EOF
)"

Writing Guidelines

• PR title: Match the repository's normal commit title style
• PR body: Focus on user-visible outcomes, reviewer context
• Do not list file-by-file changes
• Mention the target branch explicitly in your response

Example Requests

• "Create a PR for this branch" → target: main
• "Open a PR against develop" → target: develop
• "PR to merge into master" → target: master
• "Create PR for release/v1.2" → target: release/v1.2