resolve-bot-review-threads

name	resolve-bot-review-threads
description	Use when a PR has bot/Copilot review comments to clear — fix them, mark the threads resolved, and re-request the bot until the PR is at a good base (triggers "resolve copilot comments", "mark review threads resolved", "re-request copilot review"). Generic to any GitHub repo with bot reviewers.

Resolve Bot Review Threads

Overview

Bot reviewers (e.g. Copilot) post review threads on PRs as GraphQL reviewThread nodes. Resolving them requires the GraphQL API — REST has no resolve endpoint, and REST's requested_reviewers rejects bot accounts. This skill covers the full loop: list → fix → resolve → re-request → poll.

Ordering Rule

Fix first, then resolve. Never resolve a thread before the code change has landed on the branch.

git push origin BRANCH
  → resolve threads whose fix just landed (GraphQL mutation)
  → optionally reply to explain the fix
  → re-request the bot (GraphQL mutation, botIds)
  → poll CI + watch for new bot review (pairs with watch-ci)
  → repeat until CI green + no unresolved bot threads

After ~3 passes where each new review surfaces only re-flags of intentional design decisions (not new actionable changes), stop iterating and confirm with the user before continuing.

---

1. List Unresolved Threads

Basic listing (thread ID, author, file path)

gh api graphql -f query='
query($owner:String!,$repo:String!,$pr:Int!){
  repository(owner:$owner,name:$repo){
    pullRequest(number:$pr){
      reviewThreads(first:100){
        nodes{ id isResolved comments(first:1){ nodes{ author{login} path body } } }
      }
    }
  }
}' -f owner=OWNER -f repo=REPO -F pr=PR_NUMBER \
  | jq -r '.data.repository.pullRequest.reviewThreads.nodes[]
    | select(.isResolved==false)
    | "\(.id)\t\(.comments.nodes[0].author.login)\t\(.comments.nodes[0].path)"'

Full detail listing (id, path, line, body snippet)

gh api graphql -f query='
query($owner:String!,$repo:String!,$pr:Int!){
  repository(owner:$owner,name:$repo){
    pullRequest(number:$pr){
      reviewThreads(first:100){
        nodes{
          id isResolved isOutdated path line
          comments(first:5){ nodes{ author{login} body createdAt } }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}' -f owner=OWNER -f repo=REPO -F pr=PR_NUMBER \
  | jq -r '.data.repository.pullRequest.reviewThreads.nodes[]
    | select(.isResolved==false)
    | "===\nthread=\(.id)\noutdated=\(.isOutdated)\n\(.comments.nodes[] | "[\(.author.login) @ \(.createdAt)] \(.path)\n\(.body)\n")"'

Filter to bot-only threads (e.g. login contains "copilot")

gh api graphql -f query='
query($o:String!,$r:String!,$pr:Int!){
  repository(owner:$o,name:$r){
    pullRequest(number:$pr){
      reviewThreads(first:80){
        nodes{ id isResolved path line
          comments(first:1){ nodes{ author{login} body } }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}' -f o=OWNER -f r=REPO -F pr=PR_NUMBER \
  | jq -r '.data.repository.pullRequest.reviewThreads.nodes[]
    | select(.isResolved==false)
    | select(.comments.nodes[0].author.login | test("[Cc]opilot"))
    | "\(.id)\t\(.path):\(.line)\t\(.comments.nodes[0].body[0:60])"'

Pagination

The queries above use first:100. For very large PRs add cursor pagination:

reviewThreads(first:100, after: $cursor){
  pageInfo{ hasNextPage endCursor }
  nodes{ ... }
}

Loop until pageInfo.hasNextPage == false.

Key thread node fields

Field	Meaning
id	PRRT_kwDO… — the node ID required by the resolve mutation
isResolved	boolean
isOutdated	true when the diff line no longer exists in the current head
path	file path
line	line number
comments(first:N)	nested comment nodes: author.login, body, createdAt

---

2. Resolve Threads

Resolve a single thread

gh api graphql \
  -f query='mutation($id:ID!){resolveReviewThread(input:{threadId:$id}){thread{id isResolved}}}' \
  -f id=PRRT_kwDO... \
  | jq -c '.data.resolveReviewThread.thread'

Resolve multiple threads in a loop

for tid in PRRT_kwDO...A PRRT_kwDO...B PRRT_kwDO...C; do
  gh api graphql \
    -f query='mutation($id:ID!){resolveReviewThread(input:{threadId:$id}){thread{id isResolved}}}' \
    -f id="$tid" \
    | jq -c '.data.resolveReviewThread.thread // .errors'
done

Inline helper pattern

resolve () {
  gh api graphql \
    -f query='mutation($t:ID!){resolveReviewThread(input:{threadId:$t}){thread{isResolved}}}' \
    -f t="$1" \
    --jq '"resolved="+(.data.resolveReviewThread.thread.isResolved|tostring)' 2>&1
}
resolve PRRT_kwDO...A
resolve PRRT_kwDO...B

---

3. Optional Reply Before Resolving

Not required — "just resolve" is the default. Reply only when the fix needs explanation, then resolve (section 2):

gh api graphql \
  -f query='mutation($t:ID!,$b:String!){addPullRequestReviewThreadReply(input:{pullRequestReviewThreadId:$t,body:$b}){comment{id}}}' \
  -f t='PRRT_kwDO...' -f b='Fixed in <SHA> — explanation of what changed.'

Field name difference: addPullRequestReviewThreadReply takes pullRequestReviewThreadId (the full name), while resolveReviewThread takes threadId (short form). They are different input objects — do not swap them.

---

4. Re-request Bot Review

Get the PR node ID

REST uses integer PR numbers; the requestReviews mutation needs the GraphQL PR_kwDO… node ID.

# Method A: REST (simplest)
gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/pulls/PR_NUMBER -q .node_id

# Method B: GraphQL
gh api graphql \
  -f query='{ repository(owner:"OWNER",name:"REPO"){ pullRequest(number:PR_NUMBER){ id } } }' \
  --jq '.data.repository.pullRequest.id'

# Method C: gh CLI (newer versions)
gh pr view PR_NUMBER --json id -q .id

Discover the bot node ID

Bot node IDs rotate when GitHub updates the integration. Rediscover at the start of each session.

From an existing review on a recent PR (fastest):

gh api graphql \
  -f query='{
    repository(owner:"OWNER",name:"REPO"){
      pullRequest(number:PR_NUMBER_THAT_WAS_REVIEWED){
        reviews(first:20){
          nodes{ author{ login ... on Bot { id } ... on User { id } } }
        }
      }
    }
  }' \
  --jq '.data.repository.pullRequest.reviews.nodes[]
    | select(.author.login=="copilot-pull-request-reviewer")
    | .author.id' | head -1

Request review mutation

Use botIds, not userIds. Passing a bot's node ID under userIds returns NOT_FOUND.

nid=$(gh pr view PR_NUMBER -R OWNER/REPO --json id -q .id)
gh api graphql \
  -f query='mutation($pid:ID!,$bot:ID!){
    requestReviews(input:{pullRequestId:$pid, botIds:[$bot], union:true}){
      pullRequest{ number }
    }
  }' \
  -f pid="$nid" \
  -f bot="BOT_kgDO..." \
  --jq '.data.requestReviews.pullRequest.number' \
  | sed 's/^/Bot review requested on #/'

union:true adds to the existing reviewer set rather than replacing it. The mutation is idempotent — running it multiple times on the same PR+bot is safe.

---

5. Poll CI and Monitor New Threads

After each fix push, re-run the unresolved-thread query; see the watch-ci skill for CI polling and reference/poll-loop.md for a combined example loop.

Final status check

echo "=== unresolved thread count ==="
gh api graphql \
  -f query='query($o:String!,$r:String!,$pr:Int!){
    repository(owner:$o,name:$r){
      pullRequest(number:$pr){ reviewThreads(first:80){ nodes{ isResolved } } }
    }
  }' -f o=OWNER -f r=REPO -F pr=PR_NUMBER \
  | jq '[.data.repository.pullRequest.reviewThreads.nodes[] | select(.isResolved==false)] | length'

echo "=== latest bot review state ==="
gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/pulls/PR_NUMBER/reviews \
  | jq '[.[] | select(.user.login | test("[Cc]opilot"))] | last | {state, submitted_at, body_preview: .body[0:200]}'

echo "=== mergeable ==="
gh pr view PR_NUMBER --json mergeable,mergeStateStatus \
  | jq '"mergeable=\(.mergeable) state=\(.mergeStateStatus)"'

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Passing bot node ID under userIds	Use botIds. Bot IDs under userIds return NOT_FOUND.
Using gh pr edit --add-reviewer <bot-login>	This silently drops the assignment. Use the requestReviews mutation.
Hardcoding the bot node ID across sessions	Bot IDs rotate on GitHub integration updates. Rediscover each session.
Using threadId in the reply mutation	The reply mutation uses pullRequestReviewThreadId. Only the resolve mutation uses threadId.
Treating isOutdated: true threads as blocking	Outdated threads can be resolved without a code fix — the line no longer exists.

Auth

gh auth must have repo scope (the default for gh auth login). The resolveReviewThread and requestReviews mutations require write access to the PR repository. The node IDs involved (PRRT_kwDO…, PR_kwDO…, BOT_kgDO…) are GraphQL-only — they are not available or accepted by the REST API.