pr-create

name	pr-create
description	Use when creating a pull request. Analyzes branch changes, writes a clear PR description with friendly tone, and generates a structured test plan. Triggered by "create a PR", "open a pull request", or /pr-create.
tier	workflow
alwaysApply	false

PR Creator

PURPOSE: Create pull requests with clear, well-written descriptions that tell reviewers exactly what changed and how to verify it.

CONFIGURATION: Reads jig.config.md for git-host, ticket-system, ticket-prefix, branching.format, require-ticket-reference, and main-branch.

GIT HOST: Commands in this skill use GitHub (gh) as the default. If git-host in jig.config.md is not github, read framework/GIT_HOST.md for the platform-specific command equivalents.

---

When to Use

• "Create a PR", "open a pull request", "/pr-create"
• kickoff routes here during the SHIP stage
• finish Option 2 (Push and Create PR)

Do NOT use when: You need to respond to existing PR comments. Use pr-respond instead.

---

Workflow

Run review (code review swarm)
  |
  +-- blocking/major issues? --> Fix issues first, re-run
  |
  +-- clean/minor --> Gather context
                        |
                        Detect ticket from branch
                        |
                        Analyze ALL commits
                        |
                        Group changes by theme
                        |
                        Determine test plan items
                        |
                        Write PR body
                        |
                        Push + create PR

Step 0: Run the code review swarm

Before writing the PR, run review to catch issues while they are cheap to fix.

The swarm dispatches parallel specialist agents and produces a confidence score. If blocking or major issues are found, fix them first -- do not create a PR that reviewers will flag.

• Score 8+: Proceed to Step 1.
• Score 5-7: Review the major findings. Fix what is real, acknowledge what is intentional, then proceed.
• Score 4 or below: Blocking issues found. Fix them before creating the PR.

If the swarm was already run earlier in the session (e.g., during team-dev quality gates), you can skip re-running it -- just confirm no new changes were made since the last review.

Step 1: Gather context

Run these in parallel:

# Current state
git status

# All commits since divergence from base branch
git log {main-branch}..HEAD --oneline

# Full diff against base
git diff {main-branch}...HEAD --stat

# Check remote tracking
git rev-parse --abbrev-ref --symbolic-full-name @{u} 2>/dev/null

Read main-branch from jig.config.md (default: main).

Step 2: Detect ticket reference

Check the branch name for a ticket reference. Read jig.config.md for:

• ticket-system -- which system (GitHub Issues, Linear, Jira, etc.)
• ticket-prefix -- the prefix pattern to look for (e.g., ENG, PROJ, GH)
• branching.format -- to understand where the ticket number appears in the branch name

Examples of ticket detection by system:

System	Branch Pattern	PR Reference
GitHub Issues	user/gh-42-fix-login	Fixes #42
Linear	user/eng-1234-add-export	Fixes ENG-1234
Jira	user/proj-567-update-api	Fixes PROJ-567

If require-ticket-reference is true in jig.config.md and no ticket is detected, warn the user before proceeding.

Step 3: Analyze changes

Read through ALL commits -- not just the latest. Group them by theme:

• What is the headline change?
• What supporting changes were made?
• Were there any test, translation, or config changes?

Analyze every commit. A PR with 12 commits needs all 12 examined. Do not summarize based on the latest commit alone.

Step 4: Determine test plan

Select the appropriate checkboxes based on what changed:

Change type	Test plan items
UI components, styling, layout	Manual verification, Screenshots
Business logic, API, data flow	Automated tests, Manual verification
New API endpoints/queries/mutations	Automated tests, Manual verification
Translation keys only	Automated tests
Docs, typos, comments only	No testing required
Database migrations	Automated tests, Manual verification
Config, CI, build changes	Automated tests

Add context-specific items when applicable:

• Tested in dark mode / light mode (for theme-sensitive UI)
• Verified responsive behavior (for layout changes)
• Tested with empty state / loaded state (for data-dependent views)
• Verified backward compatibility (for API changes)
• Tested error states (for error handling changes)

Step 5: Write the PR

Title: Follow the project's commit convention from jig.config.md (e.g., type(scope): description), under 70 chars.

Body: Use this structure:

## Summary

{2-4 sentences. What changed and why -- in plain language. This is the part
reviewers read first, so make it count. If there is a ticket, mention what
it asked for and how this addresses it.}

## Changes

- **{Theme}**: {What changed}. {Brief why if non-obvious.}
- **{Theme}**: {What changed}.
- **{Theme}**: {What changed}.

## Test plan

- [ ] Automated tests (Unit/Integration) passed
- [ ] Manual verification (Screenshots attached if UI)
- [ ] No testing required (Docs/Typos only)

{Context-specific items from Step 4, if any}

Fixes {TICKET-REFERENCE}

Step 6: Push and create

# Push with upstream tracking
git push -u origin HEAD

# Create PR with HEREDOC for body formatting
gh pr create --title "type(scope): description" --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
## Summary

...

## Changes

...

## Test plan

...

Fixes TICKET-REF
EOF
)"

Return the PR URL when done.

---

Voice & Tone

Write like you are talking to a smart colleague. Not a press release, not a commit log.

• Short paragraphs. Often single sentences. Let the whitespace work.
• Lead with what changed, not how you got there. Reviewers care about the destination.
• Be honest about scope. A 3-file fix is a 3-file fix. Do not inflate it.
• Em dashes for rhythm -- parenthetical asides for color (when earned).
• Zero corporate speak. Banned: "enhances", "streamlines", "leverages", "improves the overall experience". If it sounds like a changelog generator wrote it, rewrite it.

Good summary -- feature

Adds webhook delivery for component update events. When a component is modified, the system publishes an event that the webhook service picks up and delivers to registered endpoints with exponential backoff retry.

Good summary -- bug fix

Fixes a race condition where the auth token could expire mid-request during long-running mutations. The refresh now happens preemptively when the token is within 30 seconds of expiry.

Good summary -- redesign

Redesigns the library dashboard with a two-column fixed+scroll layout. The left column pins quick actions in place while the right column scrolls through activity cards. Stat strip replaces the hero cards, charts are gone, and everything got the monotone treatment.

Bad summary -- do not do this

This PR enhances the dashboard experience by streamlining the layout and improving the overall visual hierarchy to provide a more intuitive user interface.

That tells the reviewer nothing. What actually changed? Which files? Why?

---

Pre-Submit Checklist

• review run -- score 8+ (or blocking/major issues addressed)
• All CI checks pass locally (build, tests)
• PR description matches actual implementation
• Appropriate test coverage for the change type
• No merge conflicts with base branch
• Ticket referenced (per jig.config.md settings)

---

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Listing every commit as a bullet	Group by theme -- reviewers do not need your git log
"Updated files" with no context	Say what changed and why
Empty test plan	Always include checkboxes -- even "No testing required" is a choice
Title longer than 70 chars	Move details to the body
Corporate tone in summary	Read it out loud. Would you say this to a teammate?
Missing ticket reference	Check branch name for ticket pattern from jig.config.md
Hardcoding owner/repo	Extract from git remote -- never assume a specific repository

---

Integration

Called by:

• kickoff during the SHIP stage
• finish Option 2 (Push and Create PR)

Related skills:

• review -- run before creating the PR
• pr-respond -- for handling reviewer feedback after PR is created
• postmortem -- uses PR data for retrospectives